6 Things I Wish I'd Packed For My Au Pair Year
Hey Au Pairs,
Edwina and I are both back in transitional periods of our life… yet again. For Edwina, she’s back in the US for a short time before moving back to Paris. Meanwhile, I’m figuring out how to wind down the nomad life and am planning on moving to London!
As a result, I’ve been thinking a lot about how great au pairing is for enabling you to travel while also giving you a purpose and a base.
When I first moved to Paris I was reallllyyy reluctant to view my chambre de bonne as a base or a home. I hated spending time there and didn’t even try to make it cosy. (The one up side of this is that I barely spent any time in my room so I saw a lot of the city and met Edwina!)
But, in those first few lonely months, I probably should have turned my room into a nest/hiding place/home so that I was HAPPY to return after a long day of children screaming, instead of dreading getting back into a dingy little bed.
So, to help you avoid this mistake, here is my list of things I wish I’d packed for my au pair year. Let us know on Instagram how you’ve turned your chambre de bonne into a lovely place to spend time!!!
1. Pictures of Your Loved Ones
This may sound obvious, but it wasn’t until the end of my year in Paris that I finally put up pictures of my friends and family. I didn’t have any frames, but used blu-tac instead.
Even those 15 images tacked on my wall made me feel more at home in my chambre de bonne than I had all year. Just looking at them when I woke up and before I went to sleep brought me such comfort!
When moving into a new place now, I always make sure to pack a framed picture to put next to my bed! This one is pretty obvious but it took me so long to realise that it was something to make a space feel more like home.
Let’s be real, just remember to pack hundreds of pictures of your pup. You can see your family on FaceTime anyways.
2. Decent Technology!!!
Maybe this point is super outdated (Edwina has told me so many a time) but, when I first moved to Paris (way back in 2013) I had useless technology. My laptop was SO old and falling apart, I had to sit at my little desk with it plugged in constantly for it to even turn on. My iPhone had a smashed screen and only loaded apps when it felt like it and THAT WAS IT.
Being an au pair meant I also didn’t have the budget for new tech when I finally arrived in Paris and realised “oh my god, this is the only way I can communicate with my loved ones and Messenger doesn’t even load on my phone.”
My advice is to sort this out before you go. Make sure you have a working phone, a decent laptop, an iPad, whatever you prefer (probably not all of them!) For those first few weeks in France, you’ll be so reliant on your phone, you’ll wonder why you even moved.
Now we both have decent computers and semi-decent iPhones. NEVER interrupt Edwina when she is working! (That is my jumper which leads me well into my next point…)
3. A WARM WINTER COAT
Edwina and I are light packers, sometimes to our own detriment. Edwina has a serious problem with only packing for the season she’s IN, rather than for the one she’s visiting. This year, she arrived in Paris with a bag full of summer dresses, only to realise it was freezing.
I’m not quite as weird as that… But, when I first arrived in Berlin the harsh winter mornings walking my host kid to school reduced me to tears on a number of occasions. Seriously, it gets COLD in Berlin (who knew!?)
My advice is to seriously research the weather you’re moving into. Don’t just look at the temperature online, find blogs written by locals to figure out what they’re wearing. As soon as I’d invested in a pair of thick winter boots, a decent coat, thick gloves and a scarf, winter wasn’t quite so painful anymore (but, I could have saved myself a lot of money by bringing those things from home in the first place!)
However, this doesn’t mean OVERPACK. Just pack well. In our book (which you can find on Amazon), we’ve broken down the perfect Paris packing list crafted over our many years of living in the city.
Edwina looking for appropriate clothing. (Seriously, it’s freezing here and that is MY scarf lol).
4. Books, Books, Books
Nowadays, I don’t go anywhere without my Kindle but, when I first moved to Paris I was surprised by how expensive books were. I used to spend a long time sitting in school playgrounds, parks, doctors waiting rooms, gym halls and having a book in those times was necessary. Unless you’re one of those lucky au pairs whose host parents pays for their data plan, I recommend carrying a book everywhere you go. (Check out our list of books to read!)
Au pairing can get boring and we’ve regularly been asked by current au pairs how they can feel like their brain isn’t going to waste. Our answer is to read everything you can get your hands on. This is the year you’ll actually have time to learn through books of your choosing, make the most of it (and let us know what you’re reading on Facebook.)
(One final point on books is that they also look great in your chambre de bonne!)
Take a book so you can pretend to read it while sipping coffee on your own and pondering your life choices.
5. A “Piece of Furniture”
This is a weird one, but my boyfriend claims that his favourite mug from home was something he was glad he packed as it always brought him joy. Just having one small thing you love in your new home gives you a real sense of familiarity when everything else is brand new.
Perhaps it isn’t a mug for you but a cuddly toy, a special vase, a lovely smelling candle, or a favourite cushion case.
6. Snacks from Home
Do I mean Yorkshire tea bags? Obviously. But, if you’re a lover of Swedish Fish or Gjetost Cheese, you’re going to struggle to find your preferred delicacy in Paris (for a reasonable price, that is.)
Forget clothes (or follow our rule or more underwear, fewer clothes) and pack the SNACKS instead. Nothing reminds me of home like a cup of tea and a bar of Dairy Milk.
That’s all for now!
Don’t forget to watch this week’s video to check out Alyssa's chambre de bonne and find out what she packed for her year abroad.
Then, let us know on Instagram or Facebook what you WISH you’d brought with you from home.
Ciao for now!
xo