Essential Packing
Going on a trip usually involves taking along some personal items. After you drag out the suitcases and make piles of the clothes that you want to wear while away, there is usually a moment when you look at all the choices and wonder how they will all fit. No one really enjoys taking multiple pieces of luggage on a trip unless they don’t have to actually do the packing or carrying of the bags. We like to tap into our inner organizational genius and use the tips we devoured in the travel literature to get everything in one bag. But there is never enough room. On top of that, we are often advised to leave space in the luggage for souvenirs. This would have been a good time for that capsule wardrobe to come into use if I had already decided on one.
Fold or Roll?
After you arrive at the destination, you often have to choose to take some items to a sub destination. This requires more decision making and some unfolding. refolding, or unrolling or rerolling to keep the unchosen items back at the original destination. The items selected for this part of the trip might involve water sports that require the change in clothing. Specialty items always seem to take up more room than plain old shirts and pants. Plus, I need my matching hat and sunglasses. There is no point in going on vacation and not look extra cute. So now I have a small selection of specific choices in a carryall bag for this part of the trip. And we haven’t even talked about shoes and toiletries.
The Essential Back Pack
The handiest choice for keeping just the essential items for daytime touring has become the backpack. These come in all kinds of styles and sizes and carry a surprisingly large number of items. Even better, they can be slung on the back or shoulder to allow for walking and holding hands when seeing the sites. The biggest challenge is not to fill it so full that it creates a backache. There is danger in having to stop and rummage through it while traveling in crowded situations. Since it sits on your back, it may also be a sparkly temptation to pick pockets. No passports in the backpack. Somehow, I can manage a whole day at a conference or on a trip with just the items in a good-sized tote bag too.
Tiny Cross Body
To truly understand what I must have to be allowed out of my home, I check the contents of my cross body bag. It is the handiest carryall for shopping since it keeps my hands free and I have edited it down to such a deliberate number of items that it scares me. There are no extras in there but somehow this is the one I use the most in my life. I wonder how I went from a whole houseful of stuff to one piece of luggage, to a daily bag or back pack and still was able to get by with just enough room for my real essentials. What is essential to you might be different, but men have been getting by with a wallet-only life for a long time. Of course, many times I was charged with carrying someone else’s stuff that they had no room to stow it in when I carried a larger tote. Now, I usually check to make sure that I have pockets too. Sadly, they are difficult to find on most pants these days. I like to understand what it takes to get by for most days. It reminds me to think about what I can buy or hold and still enjoy the day. That is truly the essential part of ownership. I guess when it comes down to the essentials, it’s not so much the amount of room as much as the choice of items.
What can you edit and get by without? Do you have a tendency just to fill up bags if they are larger? Can you be satisfied with a half-full bag?
