Packing

There are two kinds of packing: leisurely packing, and last-minute-oh-my-god-the-plane-is-leaving-in-2-hours packing. Obviously, I much prefer the former as it is less likely to trigger a migraine or take years off my life through the added stress. I’m also less likely to forget something truly vital, like prescription medications.

Today, I am leisurely packing. Since I am a Phillips, there are (as my step-mom says) rules. The first thing to do is to clear and vacuum the largest room in your home. Then, you assemble all the possible toys you will wish to play with on your trip. Things like the camera, binoculars, battery charger, the camcorder, the tripod for the camcorder, the laptop, the laptop’s accessories, games, a DVD player, a book of DVDs, perhaps a printer, you get the idea. Then you add books, at least 3 for each day of the vacation. Then come the toiletries, including insect repellent, sunscreen, and medications to treat everything from snake-bite to ulcers. Next you take the number of days on your trip, multiply it by the fact that you will likely change at least twice each day, and start adding clothes accordingly. And when making your clothing selections, don’t forget to account for every possible variation of weather known to man (we are experiencing climate change after all).

Now unless you’re planning on touring the continent with an entire Jeep’s worth of cargo space (which I’ve done), you’re now reluctantly forced to concede that the airline is not going to provide the second plane required to transport all of the stuff you’ve accumulated. So then you get to sit down and play a game of ‘lifeboat’. The advantage to this method is that you hardly ever forget anything remotely important. That’s not to say that during your trip, you won’t suddenly miss Article X, but there’s some small comfort in knowing that you didn’t forget it and it’s on your living room floor at home because you thought Article Y was more important to bring…

Anyhow, it’s now back to leisurely packing!