mikesmom

I, too, always make a list before I pack. I just keep crossing items off the list as they are put in the suitcase and I very rarely forget anything. I have learned over the years not to iron anything. Makes for a much easier pack. All the hotels have irons and ironing boards these days and I iron the clothes as I need them. I'm on vacation, I'm relaxed and it's no big deal. I used to hate all the ironing I'd do prior to a trip - it was exhausting and usually a complete waste of time because everything was wrinkled anyway. Now I do it when I get there - much better!

elizabeth_reed

I'm a list maker, also; it really helps me. Don't like to get luggage out too early because our cats know exactly what a suitcase means. My usual plan to update my toiletry bag a few days early, then pack most everything else the night before. I also store my toiletries, curling iron cover, swimsuit coverup, etc., right in my usual weekender bag -- so I know where everything is. For car trips, I want the fluids filled the day before so we can load up and head out.

dcespedes

I don't like to pack! boo hiss!! A list really does help--my husband and I keep our list on the computer and print it off as we need it but still I hate to pack and unpack as evidenced by the necessity bags etc. strewn about my closet floor from my last trip which I now need to go through and repack for next week. Also, I feel bad for the cat--she loves to play in, around, and on the suitcases until she sees our stuff going into them and then she goes into a sad funk

OO

I love reading these! All this time I've been thinking I'm all alone with this neurosis...how funny. There is no way I could pack without first making a list and that list is detailed right down to the number of undies and the various aspects of make-up...as if it isn't sold anywhere but our hometown! I pack with every contingency in mind, every "what if" base covered. Over pack? Yes, but I always have what I want too, and the luxury of changing my mind about what I would like to wear.

Yet another aspect to this neurosis--I'm not able to start putting things into the suitcase until the night before, and some items, not until we are ready to close up the suitcase, because I don't want them to wrinkle. (Yes I travel with cotton and linen! )

My husband does none of this, but he also ends up places wishing he'd brought things that are home hanging safely in his closet. He has his own hang-ups, though, just to keep me company. On our return home, he has to unpack the second he sets his bag down in the bedroom. I don't have the same compulsion, but feel guilty so join in and am of course delighted to have that chore out of the way once it's over. Left to my own devices, I could easily put it off until the next morning. Our suitcases are back in the closet within a half hour of returning from a trip. I'm not gonna tell, however, how long those maps, expended tickets, bits of paper, realestate magazines etc. from the trip sit in the bedroom wing chair. lol

Meesthare

I had to chuckle at the above poster who mentioned the cat's response to suitcases. My two almost stowed away once; I had packed everything and was just about to close the suitcase when I noticed it seemed a bit lumpier than usual. On being probed, the lumps moved and meowed. Hmm. I grabbed my camera and took a picture of my little calico looking quite annoyed at having been discovered. Both cats really do get upset when they see packed suitcases - so I think they probably hate packing more than I do.

GoTravel

From my years traveling for a living, my Health & Beauty Aid Bag stays packed.

I've been in the habit of buying doubles for years so whenever something looks low in my H&BA bag, I throw a new one in (excluding makeup).

I've also been in the habit of buying black for years so everything pretty much matches. No biggie there.

It is unpacking I hate. Laundry. Ugh.

Statia

Add me to the list of "packing haters."

For big trips, I also start putting everything on my guest bed about a week in advance and I STILL hate packing when it comes time. I hate packing at home, unpacking on the trip, repacking on the trip...and I especially hate unpacking when I return home. That one is the absolute worst! I love, love, love to plan trips and travel, but I abhor the packing process altogether.

Glad to hear I'm not alone and would love to know if someone ever hears of a 12-step program to get over this "packing dread."

Heartburn3

I usually keep my travel size toiletries in a neat bag I found that holds everything and can hung up when I reach my destination. I just add the last minute items as I use them the morning I'm leaving on my trip. This bag can either be a carry-on or fit in my luggage (if I have the extra space.

Packing my clothes isn't quite as easy. I lay out what I want to take and then put them in separate outfits ans pull the shoes out as I do this, so I don't end up with an outfit without the proper shoes.

I pick and choose and try to figure out what I want for each day. I then pack my undies with a few extras in case I want to freshen up after a day of power-shopping...LOL!

After getting everything packed, I sometimes change my mind about which outfit to wear while traveling. This involves taking an outfit out and then putting another one in.

I always make sure I have two empty plastic bags: one for whites and another one for darks. This makes it easier for me upon return to just throw the clothes in the washer without having to sort through them. On a return trip from Canada to FLL the airline lost one of my bags, but it turned up the next day. I wasn't upset because it held ALL my dirty laundry! I told them that if someone stole that piece of luggage, the joke wa on them!

Hope I had some tips for making packing and unpacking/laundry easier for some of you.

Heartburn3

OOPS!! I forgot to pack my SHOES!!!!

LOL... it happens everytime I pack

Judyrem

UNPACKING is the PITS! As for packing, I just keep on adding another top, more undies, more pants cause you never know. It is a holdover from my Deprssion era parents;-). I blame that on everything I do;-). Well somebody has to take the blame. yes?

elberko

I don't get to travel nearly as much as I'd like, so I love anything that's part of getting me there!

I'm also a list person, and I update it whenever I have an idea for something that would be good to bring.

I also keep lists from previous trips with notes as to what I didn't use, or what I wished I had brought. That really helps avoid over-packing.

Diana

Ooh ooh! I LOVE to pack! I start thinking about what I am going to take literally weeks before the trip.

My husband actually calls me "The Packing Queen." I'd have everything all packed a month before we leave if I didn't know it would LOOK like it had been in a suitcase for a month.

At least 2 weeks before we leave, I go through all of the things I am thinking of taking and put them on a spare bed and add or subtract or change to make adjustments.

I joke to my husband that he needs to think about making his "fashion selections" and getting them together for me.

We travel frequently for two to three weeks at a time, and I've got a system down for getting the most stuff into the fewest suitcases.

One of the reasons I like packing so much is the memories... As I pick things out, I look at them and remember a special dinner when I was wearing a particular dress, or a moonlit walk on the beach in a certain outfit, etc.

As another poster said earlier - once packing commences, the vacation has begun!!!

GoTravel

Diana that is so funny!

There is no way my husband even understands what packing means.

He just shows up at the car/airport and thinks a suitcase full of his favorite clothes has followed him.

Either that or he beleives in the "Suitcase Packing Fairy".

I wonder if he's ever noticed that I pack for him.

Diana

GoTravel, you need to let the "Packing Fairy" do what I did once...

I pack everything, but he has to get it all together in a central location for me.

Once, for a looong trip, he forgot to give me his - ahem - undies. I didn't realize it (REALLY, I didn't!), and he had like 2 pair to wear for a two week trip. For the first week, he had to keep washing them in the sink until we finally reached a destination with enough civilization to find some, and even then the only ones he could find were - snort, mwa ha ha - colored bikinis!

Heavens

Wow, it does help to know that so many share my dillema. I know, what is the big deal? I have never been on a trip and freaked out b/c I forgot that top.

My dh packs for himself in about five minutes. And of course he doesn't understand my condition. Thanks for responding. Nice to know I am not alone.

Annabel

I HATE to pack too. Since we travel often- - I have "vacation clothes". When I see something I really like I sometimes buy 2 of it. One goes in the vacation closet and I wear the other one. I also buy dresses that fold small and do not wrinkle (Ralph Lauren makes great dresses like that). Since I have to pack for my husband too, I just have his stuff dry cleaned, then just pack it.

It is all in the luggage too...my favorite piece is Briggs & Reilly wardrober. I pack most clothes on hangers, as there are 3 hooks for clothes and tons of other packing space. When it is packed up it only weighs 35 pounds and folds smaller than the other bag. When you reach your destination, unpacking is as easy as hanging clothes in the closet, since they are already on hangers - they are also not wrinkled. In the other suitcase goes all shorts , shoes, bathing suits etc...It took me a while to figure this out as we have had some luggage disasters. the wardrober makes things sooooo much easier!

So we check 2 bags and carry on 1 over the shoulder bag with jewelery, cameras, medications etc...


What I hate most is packing to go home...UGGHHH I now get up early the morning we leave to do that but what a Pain!

suzanne

I have razzledazzle's affliction...I MUST try on all my outfits before packing them. This way I know everything fits me (my weight is ever-fluctuating) and helps me to minimize my load. I pick out the shoes first (since I never bring more than 2-3 pairs) then decide what pants go with them, then find tops that go with the pants. I don't hate packing...it's all a science to me now, since I travel several times a month.

I don't like planning, researching & booking though (unlike most of you)...it just takes SO much time...several hours a day, every day before I leave - ugh! I just want to BE there already!

gojacks

This thread and the one about carry on luggage are a sure cure for insomnia. Where is JJASON when we need an interesting and fun thread?

Marilyn

This has turned into quite a fascinating thread. I had no idea so many other travel veterans had similar problems to mine!

My toiletries, makeup, etc are no problem at all. I keep a list on the computer (separate list for DH) and print it out to use as a checklist. And I have gotten to be a packing pro -- clothes arrived fairly unwrinkled regardless of the material and/or the length of time packed.

However...Razzle, I probably spend 2 solid days doing nothing but trying on various combinations of clothes until I'm satisfied.

GoTravel, LOL at the Suitcase Packing Fairy, a term that has now entered my vocabulary. It's quite clear who that is in our house! But I, too, refuse to make the choices -- he has to do that. When I get it all done, he turns up with an astounding amount of photo gear that he also expects to go into the suitcase -- most of it odd, awkwardly shaped, lumpy things that do not pack well (like a heavy-duty tripod).

Statia, I would go to meetings if I ever found a 12-step program for this. Meanwhile, I guess this is our support group!

travellyn

It's interesting that people are so polarized as to loving or hating packing. I have to say that I'm neutral, but still obsessive. I make lists way ahead of time, but mostly to see if I need to get something cleaned, buy/borrow/find an item, polish shoes, etc. I rarely use the list at packing time. At packing time, I have a general idea as to what kinds of things I will take, and either start 2 weeks ahead of time or the night before, not much in-between. My "weeks ahead of time method" is a tote bag in my closet into which I dump things I will need on the trip as I think of them or buy them.

What I DO hate is unpacking once I get home. I love luggage, for some reason, and have to stay away from stores or catalogues that sell it.