A few years ago my Wife and I went to Germany for 3 weeks. All ground travel to be by train. We quickly realized that we need to pack very light. Did a great job.
I spend every other weekend staying with my elderly mother, so I have packing down pretty good.
But what sucks for me, is the size of my shoes. I wear 13’s. I often need hiking boots for trips. They take up a third of the space in a standard carry on bag. And at 6’3" 220pounds, my clothes take up quite a bit too.
My dear wife at 5’1" 120 lbs. can take all kinds of stuff.
Our next trip starting tomorrow is a road trip. Only 1200 miles and 10 days. I’m gonna take whatever I want.
The worst thing for me is, starting about a week before my trip, family and friends constantly ask me if I’ve started packing yet, and then act incredulous when I tell them “NO! I’ll pack the night before, like I always do!”
Hey, I’m starting a road trip on the third, we might pass each other on the road
I hate the nagging feeling that I forgot something. Even if I have a checklist I think that I forgot something from the checklist, and I also need to physically see it in my car to cross it off the checklist even if it has just been placed somewhere.
I am also close to a size 13 but I prefer Air Monarchs on trails except the most slippery ones. I find it ironic that the two pairs of trail running shoes I’ve tried had less water protection than the Air Monarchs: I can ford very tiny creeks without even getting wet in them.
Thankfully, I’ve only had to take one long trip by airplane since the airlines started squeezing the customers for baggage, because then I’d add the hassle of trying to bring enough clothes and not get dinged by the airline.
We take mostly hiking and skiing trips, so we pack for all contingencies. And we can dream up a lot of contingencies. We spend hours trying to winnow down our gear to just what we think are the bare essentials. And in the end, we typically only use about 1/2 of what we pack.
I hate the look of disappointment on CrankyDog’s face when he sees the luggage. He knows he’s either stuck going on a trip with us or we are going to disappear for a few days. For that reason alone, I wait until the absolute last minute to pack. With prepacked toiletries, it usually only takes me a few minutes anyway.
I’ll start two days before, and start considering every possible thing I might ever need to wear or change into, including looking at the weather to decide if I need a coat, sweater, hoodie or light jacket, boots or dress shoes, possible sock and underwear changes, etc.
Everytime I start packing I swear to myself I’ll not go overboard.
I always end up not using 2/3’ds of the stuff I take.
This. I throw everything together at the last minute, but I use a list and never forget anything.
My gf is in New Orleans, she flew there yesterday. She started packing weeks ago, buying new sandals, assembling cosmetics, etc. As she walked out the door I asked if she had charging cables. I assumed she didn’t pack them, that’s my job when we travel together. Luckily I had a ziplock prepared with them.
Lets say your travelling for 3 days and staying in 3 hotels. Figuring out what you need to haul up to each room so you dont need to unpack the whole car.
What sucks is the stress caused by the nagging feeling that I’ve forgotten to pack something important. Yes, I do use a packing list, but that just means I worry about whether the list is complete.
My dad would pre-pack the car to make sure the collection of (empty) luggage and bags would all fit. Our dog would see this and jump into her place in the back seat as soon as the door was open. She’d sit there, happy to be going on a trip, until my dad would unpack the car after gaining confidence that everything would fit. She would remain in the empty car, in her spot, looking around wondering what just happened.
I ALWAYS have a list, and never forget anything. But the hard part is packing medications. I take a lot of meds, and always pack two sets, one in my checked baggage and one in my carry-on. It can be difficult getting my pharmacy to give me enough pills to complete this.
And packing insulin, to keep it refrigerated, is always a problem.
I agree with the size 13 shoes. I generally resort even on business trips to wearing a comfortable pair of leather semi-dress shoes and then having a pair of thin runners in my bag. If I am going on an adventure, I will wear my hiking boots/shoes and pack either crocs (for water-based fun) or the runners. But I agree, I cannot pack another pair of shoes and maintain a reasonably sized carry-on. I have purchased sandals during trips and even thrown away pairs of worn-out pairs of shoes as I pack up for the flight home. I’d rather be dead than check a bag for a flight!
I used to be great at packing. My wife and I traveled around the world for six months with just what fit in two backpacks.
Now we have two small children. And we have to haul so much stuff with us.
Baby carrier. Two car seats. Double stroller. Travel crib. Bottles. Formula. Diapers. Favorite stuffed animals and blankets. Toys and other diversions.
Calling the vet to schedule boarding for the dog is the hardest part of packing, or I should say preparing, for a trip. packing does not bother me at all, if I forget something I will purchase a replacement.
