I am a “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it” kind of person so I tend to over pack. Not excessively but I bring an extra set of clothes, more prescription medicine than I strictly need for the trip, nail clippers, extra contacts and solution (two sets, in separate bags. Don’t want to get caught without the ability to see), tylenol and dramamine, corkscrew (try opening a bottle of wine without one. It’s hard.), cotton swabs, extra razor blades, neosporin, bandages, etc. Yes, if I needed it I could probably run out to buy most of this (except for the prescription medicine and contacts) but I already own it. Why should I buy it again when it weighs less than 1 pound all together?
I just came back from a 4 day trip and, while unpacking, I found that over a half of my clothes were still nicely folded and unused. Next trip I’m packing lighter. I mean it this time!
This exactly. I don’t want to feel scarcity on my vacations, because that wouldn’t be very relaxing. I don’t bring more than I need, but I want clean clothes every day.
I’m curious about how people pack to go home. Do you have a system? Mine is that I make the bed, then put my suitcase and everything I own on it. I go through the drawers, closets, bathroom, and everything else and make a big pile on the bed. That way I don’t have doubts about what I left behind.
Depends. If I’m traveling by car, I take whatever I feel like taking because there’s plenty of room to do it. If I’m going by air I pack as light as possible - in most places you can buy anything else you want or need and there’s usually laundries and drycleaners about as well.
I never make the bed, but I do drag the blankets/sheets off and dump them on the chair, and put the suitcase on the bed. It helps that I never, ever put things in drawers. I only have to check the closet, the bathroom, and everything else is in plain sight. I pack everything, and then I sit back and watch TV while my SO follows me and goes through every corner to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I never do, but his obsessiveness makes him feel better, so I just sit back and accept it after all of these years. He does it before the trip, too. 
I always have to comfort him and tell him we are not going to some rural village, we are visiting a civilized place and there will be stores.
Oh, and like someone else said, I may pack more than I need, but mostly I end up using everything. If I pack an extra shirt or two, well, if I am sweaty or hot, then I have an extra shirt or two to change into! And I am inevitably glad. Same with panties - you really shouldn’t pack just one a day. I actually pack double, because after a full day of sightseeing I usually come back to the hotel room and take a shower, and thus - new panties.
I pack a few panties and Tshirts. If I need something else, I can buy it there.
I spent 10 days in Germany and all I packed was 1 backpack of clothes and 1 empty bag to bring back souvenirs. For a weekend trip up to visit my girlfriend I didn’t bring any additional clothes. This weekend I crazy over packed to meet her parents and brought 2 sets of workout clothes and a change for each day plus a swim suit.
I get more stressed out trying to keep track of all of the clothes and trying to remember where things are packed plus lugging the crap all over the place then I do when I realize that I forgot to bring enough shirts and I have to go buy one or that on the last day of my trip I’m not wearing underwear.
Any less and I wouldn’t even need a purse to fit it in.
I overpack. I don’t really overpack clothes, but I overpack other things that I might need. Right now, in the back of my car, I have a set of jumper cables, a set of wrenches, a set of allen keys, some kind of car emergency kit, at least 4 flashlights, a lighter, another lighter, a zippo lighter, a cigar punch, a can opener, a foldable shovel, a container of nails, a brick, a few pens, a disposable camera, a blanket, a sun shield, an emergency metal foil blanket, two ponchos, a small foldable golf jacket, a towel, and extra change of clothes, an extra pair of shoes and socks, a tire iron, two pocket knifes, a few throwing knifes from the Vietnam War, a notepad, a sleeve of golf balls, two glowsticks, a first aid kit, a first aid kit supplement of tylenol, aleve, cough syrup, pseudofed, etc., a road atlas, and state maps for Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and several smaller communities I go to (Bryant Benton area, Northwest Arkansas, Houston’s suburbs, and Little Rock). And that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head of the things that accumulate in my car because they were once useful. Oh, and waterproof winter gloves and latex gloves. And a scarf. I think I need help.
I answered moderately light, but I pack about what your friend packs, maybe less.
I developed my “bed pile” system precisely because for many years, and many many trips, I travelled with someone who had pretty bad ADD. It was not just to give me peace of mind, but her as well. She needed that level of organization.
Packing to go away is a whole different story. I have to shut the TV off so that I can concentrate, and even so I get a bit scrambled. I have to mentally go through all of the activities that I’ll be doing and pack for each one individually. Walking around? Not naked, so I’ll need clothes. Beach? Beach towel, sunblock, bathing suit, t-shirts that can get wet. Taking pictures? Camera and spare batteries. Grooming myself and being presentable? Shampoo, razors, nail clippers, deoderant.
And I still always forget something! This last time it was my Beetlebung Cafe water bottle.
I learned long ago (when I realized that I was going to travel for a living my entire goddamn working life) that unless I’m traveling to the far reaches of Fukwanaland, I can buy anything that I forget at my destination, or can find a laundromat. Also, I hate checking bags and I hate dragging a ton of crap with me. It either fits under a seat, or I don’t carry it.
I have a large suitcase and I always pack it full, right up to 49 lbs (I don’t weigh it before I go but it always seems to end up at that weight!)
I don’t go too crazy on clothes, but I’m also the size of person who can’t just go buy new shit. So I definitely have enough clothing for every day plus more.
I really go crazy on toiletries and sundries. I love me some travel goods aisle at the store! Last vacation I took like 10 different kinds of pills (what if I pull a muscle? Need a Benadryl? Decide to eat ice cream? Have daily allergies?) and I had to laugh because I STILL had to go to the store and buy some meds. Forgot to bring antacids!
I have to keep telling myself that I’m just going to [Major American City] and not outer Mongolia and I can most likely buy what I’m missing at Wal Mart. Lord help me if I ever go to Outer Mongolia!
I don’t know why, but it’s always been easy for me. I start with nightclothes, because that is historically what I forget, then go to underthings, then clothes for the week. Then I do camera and nailclipper and such things. I have one of those rollup things for personal stuff; it’s usually got most of the things like portable toothbrushes, toothpaste, gel, etc., already in there. Wires and stuff…and then really all I have left to do is the stuff I need the morning of, like my hairbrush, etc.
I’m flying to California this Saturday and I’ve already started to pack.
I am forcing myself to one suitcase this time. I always take way to many pairs of socks and skivivies and shoes. We’ll see how this goes.
But when I camp, I fill the minivan with bare essentials. Just what rich, British officer would take on campaign, every comfort.
I wish I could be more organized.
There are some things that I can pick up at a store if I forget, but there are a lot of things that I can’t. The local store won’t have my prescription of glasses, nor will I pick up an extra laptop. And I tend to wear expensive shirts, so just going out to buy another is… OK, I’ll admit to doing that. Vacation spots have the best clothes.
I used to pack exactly the clothes I would need (and I coordinated outfits so I could re-wear pants and sweaters with different shirts) and one spare pair of underwear. Now that I have a baby, I pack a couple extra shirts too.
If we’re going to stay at a hotel, I count on the hotel having shampoo, conditioner, and lotion for me.
I pack a lot of stuff but it’s things we are actually going to use. I pack any medications we might need (antacids, gravol, tylenol, etc.) and sometimes we don’t use all of them but it is worth having them when you need it.
I hate, hate, hate having to make trips to the store when I am on vacation. It is a waste of my precious downtime. So, I make sure we have everything we potentially need (I have a handy packing list for this to make it quick and easy).
About a week before you leave, start writing things down. Everything you think of, just make a list, and keep it somewhere where you will refer to it. As the week goes by and you pack things, cross them off the list. Add more if you need to. Put it somewhere where you will remember it. If you have to, bloody well wrap it around your toothbrush, so you remember that morning of anything you can’t do until that day.
I am a HUGE proponent of writing everything down.
That’s an excellent idea. I did that for one trip this year, and managed to keep the list for my subsequent trip. What I shoud do is keep the list in Notepad, then make a copy and delete things from it as I go. And I should keep two versions, one for beach vacations and one for holiday vacations.
Here is my pretty-much universal packing list- this can get me through a weekend or four months.
3 shirts- one tank top, one sleeved shirt, and one nice shirt
2 skirts- usually one casual and one more elegant
2 dresses- a sundress and a going out dress
1 pair of pajama pants- extra points if they can be worn out as well
1 pair of flip-flops
1 pair of decent looking shoes that can be walked in for long periods
1 scarf/sarong
1 sweater of some sort
1 pair of leggings in case it gets cold (also double as long undies!)
1 bathing suit
5 pairs of underwear
2 bras- one real bra and one travel unpadded thing that’s easy to wash
1 small cosmetics bag with toiletries
1 sandwich sized tupperware with jewelry and make-up
1 travel clothesline and Doc Bronner’s soap
1 small travel towel
1 silk travel sheet
1 slightly broken iPod touch for checking email with (you’re on vacation! get off the damn computer!)
1 Kindle, which I love
1 throw-away paperback to trade en route
1 camera and charger
1 tiny travel umbrella
1 small Nalgene bottle with my glasses in them (unbreakable! better than a regular case)
1 travel sized deck of cards
1 travel silk sheet (a very good investment), blow up neck pillow, eye mask and earplugs
That’s pretty much it. I HATE lugging stuff around, and I tend to take extended (one month +) trips with lots of moving from here to there, as opposed to getting comfy in a hotel. I also tend to travel in less-safe areas and find having a light load makes me feel a lot less vulnerable. If I can’t walk a few miles with it on my back comfortably, I don’t really need it.