Thread: First Long Vacation After Lockdown - And I seem to have forgotten how to pack!

No joke. I spent decades traveling for a living. I took pride in my packing ability and packing RIGHT but LIGHT. I lived my road warrior days by the credo that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stated;

"He Who Must Travel Happily, Must Travel Light."

Believe me, I traveled light. I spent two weeks touring England and France about 20 years ago with nothing more than a small duffel bag on wheels (like an underseat bag) and a laptop case that fit over the handle of the small wheeled duffel bag. Yet when I was away for 10 days recently, I traveled like I was going on tour in the Outback, where you must bring absolutely everything you might even remotely think of needing for a six month stint. Granted, I traveled by automobile on this trip, and not by plane, but that never mattered in the past. Now, it seemed that traveling by car was an open invitation to throw everything in the car that could possibly fit in the trunk, and overflow into the back seat if required.

I'm not kidding. It was pathetic. I used to be a well-traveled man that toured the world with less than 25 lbs of carry on luggage. Yet on this last trip I brought what would barely fit in a steamer trunk and needed a bellman with a large luggage cart to get it all up to the room. And once there, it took me hours and hours to sort everything out. Everything I was not going to use in the next 10 days. And to find the very few things I was going to use, that would have easily fit in a small backpack. When I changed hotels for the last part of the trip, I actually left all but one smaller bag in the trunk, having thrown in the towel with excessive baggage.

So that did it. Next trip, I'm going back on the light packing wagon. A few socks, some underwear, two short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, two pairs of pants, one pair of shoes with toiletry kit in the small carry on bag, along with a Chromebook, a phone, and a Kindle with chargers in my computer case. That's it. Plus what I'm already wearing. Run out of clothes? Wash them at the hotel if there is a guest laundry, or in the bathroom sink if there is no guest laundry.

And if you really need a clean pair of underwear there is usually a place close to buy new ones!

Originally Posted by 32t

And if you really need a clean pair of underwear there is usually a place close to buy new ones!

That's a key point. So many that travel, especially internationally, think they have to pack everything they will need, for the entire trip, because there are no stores where they are going. You can buy just about everything you need while traveling to restock your supplies or clothes. I suppose that some travelers evidently think that people in other countries don't use toothpaste so they have to bring a six month supply just to be safe? Heck, I've seen domestic travelers packing two tubes of toothpaste in case they run out while traveling from, say, New York to Florida. Do they actually think that Floridians don't use toothpaste, so there are no stores selling toothpaste in the state of Florida?

I think Rick Steves on PBS says somethig like this regardig shampoo or soap in one of his shows. And he talks about paking very light. He says to lay the items you want to pack out on your bed and ask yourself one key question about each and every item. "Will you use this item ENOUGH to justify carrying it half way around the world?" If not, don't take it. Not, "Will I use it?", but "Will I use it ENOUGH to justify carrying it?"

Maybe slightly off topic but I like to read what people say they pack in their bugout or get out of dodge bags.

One of the best that I have read is a guy that has a pocket knife a larger folding knife and then a fixed knife in his bag.

After all that he then included a pencil sharpener.

Originally Posted by 32t

Maybe slightly off topic but I like to read what people say they pack in their bugout or get out of dodge bags.

One of the best that I have read is a guy that has a pocket knife a larger folding knife and then a fixed knife in his bag.

After all that he then included a pencil sharpener.

The only thing I know about "Bugout-Bags" is what I remember seeing Vito pack on "The Sopranos" HBO series when he had to bugout. I remember he had a duffel bag with wads of cash, a cell phone, a handgun, a change of clothes, and a picture of his family.

Jack Reacher travels with his (fold-up) toothbrush and US passport... and the clothes on his back.