What is the equivalent of outlining?

NaNo writers are allowed to outline, but not to write, before November 1.  If my 50 paintings project is supposed to be an equivalent to NaNo, I should be allowed to do the equivalent of outlining, right?  OK, so what is the painting equivalent of outlining a novel?  And how can I do it if I'm moving in October?*

It seems to me that using actual paint would be going a step too far, but that doing an under drawing would be ok.  But how do I do an under drawing when I don't know what I'm painting in the first place?  If we weren't moving, I could set up still lives and make under drawings of them.  But my life (and all the stuff I keep around for still life studies) is all packed up.  It is hard to draw things when they are all packed up (well, I could, but black canvases are so faux-Rothko).

So I'm brainstorming things I can do to "outline" for my 50 paintings challenge without actually beginning to paint.  I could decide on subjects to paint -- simple, graphical things that will fit on one of my tiny canvases.  I could paint traditional still-life things like pitchers or lemons or apples (a blue bowl full of yellow lemons is something I have wanted to paint for a long time).  I'm sure I'll end up painting a half-empty moving box (as I'll be surrounded by them).  Maybe I'll start by coming up with a list of things to paint.

*For those of you who didn't know, my dear hubby and I are in the midst of moving.