The Perpetual Tourist

I’ve never understood people who take days to pack for a trip. I hate it when I call a friend to propose an evening out and they say “I can’t, I have to pack for my trip this weekend.” And it’s only Tuesday. Wtf? (After Thanksgiving, I told my mom what I really wanted for Christmas was for her to help me make a new dress, something that I’ve seen her do from start to finish in under an hour in the past. She said no, she’d be too busy getting things in order for her 5-day trip to Florida after New Year’s. I’m beginning to think that “packing” has become the go-to excuse for blowing me off.)

Packing has never taken more than two hours for me, and that was only because I absolutely had to do laundry in order to have something clean to wear on my trip. I don’t keep a particularly organized house, though I’m not a complete slob (anymore), and yet I can still find everything I need for even a long trip and pack it in a suitcase or two within about five minutes. My suitcase for a trip of a week or more usually includes the following:

• One outfit per day for up to a week (jeans are recyclable, and it is assumed that laundry facilities will be available after a week) plus a few extra shirts in case my mood changes, and at least one dressy outfit.
• Shoes for working out and shoes to match whatever dressy thing I packed (I will wear my comfy shoes on my travel day, so I’m taking 3 pairs in all)
• A swimsuit and some sweats for the hotel pool, jacuzzi, and gym
• Hairbrush, toothbrush, deodorant, razor
• All of my underwear (you don’t want to take any chances)
• Enough feminine supplies to plug up the Mississippi (like underwear, it’s good to overpack these things)
• My multivitamin
• My laptop and its various cables
• A camera and extra batteries
• Chargers for everything that will need charging (phone, iPod, laptop)
• A towel (I wouldn’t really call this a necessity, but I do what Douglas Adams tells me to)
• The Happy Fun Bag (more on this shortly)

How hard is that? What part of this takes so long to put together? What am I leaving out that is eating up all this trip preparation time for everyone else, and what am I missing out on as a result of my negligence? As far as I can tell, nothing.

The one part of my packing that does require actual thought and maybe a little bit of time is the Happy Fun Bag. I think everyone has one of these for trips; I got the name from my friends who travel a lot with a young daughter. You definitely need a Happy Fun Bag when you’re traveling with kids, but I recommend them for adults, too. It’s full of all that stuff that will keep you from getting bored out of your wits on a long car ride, a layover, or during your down time in a hotel room somewhere.

When packing my Happy Fun Bag, I like to give myself plenty of options. Sure, that mystery novel may be appealing right now, but who knows what I’ll be in the mood for on the plane? Or what if it sucks? I always pack three books: two I haven’t read before and one I have read and loved in the past, just in case the other two are duds. I also put my iPod in there, a deck of cards, a pad of paper and a pen, something to snack on, my crocheting (check with airlines to see if they allow knitting and crochet needles in your carry on bags — some do and some don’t), and a few puzzle books. Lately I’ve been on a real Kakuro kick, but I also pack variety puzzles just in case I get bored of that, too. I tend to bore easily while in transit, so it’s good to have a lot of options in the Happy Fun Bag.

In truth, I won’t really touch most of what’s in there during my trip. It’s all about the options. I can’t just pack one book and expect to be satisfied with it, because if I do that, you can bet I’ll wish I had my crafts instead. So I just pack all of my easily portable diversions for every trip, and I’m rarely bored while traveling. It would be easier if I could just sleep in a car or a plane, but I pretty much have to be lying down in a bed at night to get any sleep. However, we don’t call it a Happy Fun Bag for nothing — it’s a great thing to have on a trip.

So that’s how I pack for a trip in under 20 minutes. 5 minutes for the suitcase and 15 for the Happy Fun Bag. Seriously, did I leave anything out?