I Hate to Pack

Thursday, February 16. 2006

....and I'm sure I'm not alone.

It's such a problem, that I don't look forward to trips/vacations because I first have to face PACKING TORTURE. Doesn't it all make sense from an ADD perspective? You have to.....

Plan
Remember details
Face a deadline
Making decisions: how many shorts to pack? Should I bring a raincoat?
Do lots and lots of boring but necessary chores to prepare, ie:

Clean your place, especially if you have a babysitter, housesitter or pet sitter staying over.
Stop the paper/mail
Wash clothes
First FIND the clothes you need to wash
Pack (more later)
Shop for items you'll need
Leave detailed instructions for the care of your kids/pets, etc which in my case, has always been at least 10 pages long
Book a cab (uh oh...that reminds me!)
Errands!

Smart Packing

Ok, so the errands are done. Now for the absolute worst part:

MAKING DECISIONS ON WHAT TO PACK

Now, I don't know about you, but figuring out what to wear for ONE day, at home, is tough. But for a whole week? I truly agonize over this. Especially if I'm going to a conference or wedding, where there are many events going on, requiring different types of outfits.

....and the list goes on.

Then there's the ride to the airport. Do I think about the warm breezes and sandy beach waiting for me? Of course not. I'm obsessing over whether I forgot to pack my contacts, plane reservations and my youngest child.

After that comes the embarrassment. I habitually over-pack. I FORGET that wherever I'm going, there will be a Walgreens for forgotten toiletries; a Gap for tshirts or casual wear; and a mall for anything else I might need. You'd think I was going on a 6 month tour around the world, the way I pack.

Which makes me wonder:

Does the hyperactive/impulsive person overpack- just throwing things left and right into suitcases? Or does he/she grab a few basics and leaves it at that? Does the inattentive overpack, for fear of forgetting something important? Or does he/she simply forget the most important of things, and then falls apart at the destination?

I found a really helpful article on HOW TO PACK.

I'd be curious to hear how you handle packing for trips. I'm all ears....

Posted by Terry at 23:34 | Comments (3)

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RE: How to Pack!! I howled to hear Terry describe MY packing habits... I always think it's going to be quick and easy, and I end up doing it in the middle of the night before leaving the next early morning... up all night, a wreck the next day, and still feeling like I forgot something after all.

(I did -- heading for Ecuador, got to the airport and couldn't find my passport... panicked, took a $50 cab trip back home to find it, couldn't find it, it was actually in my suitcase back at the airport all the time. But I missed my plane and Christmas with my daughter... no flight until the next morning. Cried for 24 hours. Talk about trying not to be so hard on myself after one like that!

Are you also in awe every time you see someone consistently pack light and early, neatly, with no hassle during the trip about "nothing to wear." My boss would calmly depart for a week-long conference where she was SPEAKING, with a carry-on suitcase only half full!! To rub salt in the wound, when my little girl would watch me pack in my usual fashion, she (who has none of these problems) would always make me feel so much better by saying "when Janet (her stepmom) went to Thailand for a month she only took one pair of shorts and two bathing suits! How come you can't do that?"

My mom, who was also a raging ADHD but died at 76 before I had my diagnosis at 55, had the same last-minute, all night, hysterical packing experience. I watched it my whole life. No wonder. It was imprinted, as in Nature!

As for helpful hints, I have found that rolling clothes neatly and tightly is very helpful, takes less space and doesn't rip the stacked clothes apart when you remove an article from the middle of the suitcase. Especially helpful for my bulging gym bag.

But I am still, with all I know and have read to be true, fairly clueless as to how to talk myself out of taking everything I like. And of COURSE even with a bulging suitcase or two, I still want something I didn't bring. Fussy Diva at times.

Thank you for helping me laugh at these sometimes overwhelming frustrations. Now pardon me while I go dry off my cell phone after dropping it in the toilet (again.) Last one I drowned didn't recover.

Candace

#1 Candace Laska on 2006-03-02 02:32

You wrote, "I found a really helpful article on How to Pack, " unfortunately, your webmaster never set the link and so now the rest of us have to guess where we might find it!

#2 Christa on 2006-03-03 19:35

A month before I have to go anywhere I start making lists of what to pack, then while I pack I double and triple check to make sure I get everything on the list. Granted I am usually still packing up to an hour before I have to leave but I'm getting better. I keep meaning to file one of the lists afterwards to make it easier for next time...but of course I always forget!

#3 Lisi (Homepage) on 2006-08-18 09:17

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