Packing

How and what do you pack for a 9 month, 1-backpack trip? I stayed pretty close to the minimum amount of stuff on my packing list, and actually wasn't stressed by what I packed but rather all the stuff I didn't pack. Why the hell do I have so much Stuff? What the hell is all that Stuff, if everything I need is in a backpack in the hallway?? I stayed up till 5 am cleaning my room and still had no answer to those questions. Except that I'm awful at getting rid of things (namely fabrics, also dried tea bags and uh, a warped bike wheel).
Anyway, 2 hours of sleep and 7 hours of family roadtrip later (first time through Delaware where, to my mom's surprise, the leaves are "already changing color", and Baltimore via a really big tunnel, kind of claustrophobic)
AND we arrived in northern Virginia to stay with family for a few days.
Off to DC tomorrow for IHP orientation and real goodbyes