Plotting and Packing

This weekend I did a bit of shopping for gear with Samantha and last night I got some more material in the mail. Pretty much everything that I'm going to take with me is now in my posession. I was reading the Lonely Planet forums the other day to glean some packing advice. What I learned (and already knew) was that the experienced traveler always packs light. I want people to think that I know what I'm doing so that's the advice that I'm going to live by. Rick Steve's website gives a good rundown of how and why to pack light.
So, following that advice I decided to only carry 2-3 changes of clothing and to do frequent washes in my hotel sinks. Obviously if I wash a couple of pieces of clothing every night then I would have to carry far less weight with me over the next month. I had a bad experience on a trip to Belize washing clothes in a hotel sink. I didn't have good soap and the cotton shirt didn't dry overnight. This was a problem because I had to pack it the next morning and it smelled strongly of mildew for the rest of the trip. The smell bled into the rest of my pack too. This time I'm going with a mostly acrylic set of clothing that will dry quickly and weight less. That said, here's a list of the clothes that I'm bringing with me.

2 pairs of pants w/ zip-off legs
2 tee shirts (cotton)
2 button down short sleeve shirts
1 button down long sleeve shirt
1 fleece jacket
1 thermal leggings (the pants are not warm and these weight nothing)
3 pair socks
3 pair underwear
1 brimmed hat
1 pair outdoors-ish sneakers
1 pair Teeva sandals
1 pair swim trunks

For a long trip, that's a pretty small set of clothing. It's mostly brown and khaki but I've got some color in the tee shirts and the long sleeve shirt is dark so I could pass it off as dressy in a pinch. I have put some thought into what other gear I'll need to have with me. I've decided that it would be a rare occasion that I'd need a sleeping bag or tent so I won't bring those. Here's a rough list of the other stuff that I'm taking.

1 set various toiletries
3 sets extra contact lenses
1 pair glasses
5 books (2 LP guidebooks, 2 novels, 1 programming book)
1 flashlight
1 medkit
1 tiny digital camera
1 alarm clock
1 silk sleep sack
1 light towel
1 small daypack
3 net stuff sacks
1 vial iodine tablets
1 notepad + pen
1 sewing kit
1 knife
1 lighter
1 piece of nylon rope (I've seen a lot of survival shows ;)

To pack it all up I've got a new travel bag. I really liked one that I saw on Rick Steve's travel site... it's a mid sized bag with stow-away shoulder straps that's the perfect size for light travel. Next I just need to put a little more thought into my exact itinerary. I'll relay that to you later.