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Getting Organized

12/6/2014

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Picture
A few years ago, one of my nearest and dearest who shall remain nameless tossed his apartment keys into his checked luggage as he hastily packed for a flight home. He arrived about midnight, but his luggage didn’t. You can imagine the rest. … There’s no way to get into a 10th-flour apartment through a window, and Manhattan locksmiths don’t work cheap in the middle of the night. Luckily, the hapless traveler hadn’t packed his credit cards.

He wouldn’t have been saved by any packing list in the world, but his story highlights the fact that advance planning—and early packing can sometimes save us from folly.

As the holidays approach, travel sites are full of advice on how to pack. Almost universally, they include depressingly detailed lists. (Tweezers, dental floss, moisturizer? Really?) I use a listless method myself. Long before I began traveling as much as I do today, I bought a toiletries bag that I packed once and haven’t unpacked since. It holds make-up, hair stuff, dental stuff, eyeglass cleaner, hand sanitizer—in other words all the things I’ll need, no matter where I’m going. When I return from a trip, I replenish whatever I’ve used and put the bag on the travel shelf ‘til I’m ready to go again. No list necessary.

Sitting on the shelf beside the toiletry bag is a banker’s box holding medication containers, a jewelry case, and small zippered packs for cords, chargers, batteries and plug adapters—stuff that can be easily packed in advance, with a minimum of decision-making required. Again, no need for a list. The containers serve as reminders. Also in the box are an umbrella, sunscreen, insect spray, and other items I need on some trips but not on others. Again, their presence in the box are my reminders.

Having all that stuff on the travel shelf means I’m half-packed before I start. The hard part, deciding what clothes to take, is a little less formidable with the detail stuff done.

One more tip: Do your liquids sometimes leak during flight? I used to seal bottles of mouthwash or hair spray or other necessary fluids in zip-type plastic bags and hope for the best—which usually meant a damp messy bag when I unpacked later. There’s a better way. After screwing on the cap, wrap scotch tape tightly around the joint where cap meets bottle—and take the tape with you so you can do the same thing for the trip home. Okay … I still put the container in a plastic bag (extra insurance, so to speak), but so far I’ve had no more wet bags to contend with.

Happy traveling!


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More Happy Packing

6/9/2014

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PictureMy two angklungs
Before I left on a recent trip to Southeast Asia, I had resolved to travel light, but things didn't work out quite the way I'd envisioned. While I managed to travel light (light enough, at least, to keep the airlines happy), I didn't exactly travel small. This meant, of course, that the bag I took had lots of empty air so I cinched the interior straps around my clothing (and make-up and electronic gear and ... well, you get the idea) and off I went, well under 40 pounds and happy.

As it turned out, this was a very good thing. How else would I have had the space to return home with two angklungs, an Indonesian kite, and an assortment of smaller items? I'm not much of a shopper, but some things just had to come home with me. The angklungs were freebies--one received after my fellow travelers and I participated in a workshop at Saung Angklung Udjo and the other given to me by a traveler who didn't want to lug hers home. Since these musical instruments play only one note, I thought, "Why not? Two notes are better than one." Of course, as you can see by the picture, these bamboo creations, which produce a lovely, marimba-like sound, are rather delicate so the next issue was how best to pack them so they'd arrive intact.

In my last blog, I pointed out the space saving virtues of zippable plastic bags. Now, however, what I needed--in spite of the fact that I was returning with more than I took--was enough filler to prevent the angklungs from being too heavily jarred in transit. Once again, those plastic bags to the rescue. Zip them part way up, blow in a little air, quickly zip them the rest of the way and--voila!--you have an excellent substitute for the bubble wrap you didn't think to bring along.

And there you have it: the all-purpose packer's helper, plastic bags.

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Happy Packing

5/10/2014

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My garage houses a smorgasbord of luggage—large bags that, once filled, flirt with the 50-pound limit, smaller luggage that can go aboard with me, a wheeled laptop-plus-other-stuff case, a wheeled backpack, two backpacks sans wheels that have to be carried as (more’s the pity) actual backpacks, duffel bags, gym bags, shoulder bags . . . The array is quite distressing. The truth is I hate to pack, and I suppose on some subliminal level I’ve believed it would be easier if I could just find the perfect bag. Now I know, however, it’s not the bag that’s the problem; it’s the decision-making involved in the packing process. What to take? What to leave? Too much thinking.

And now I’ve complicated my life by deciding to “travel light.” You know what I mean. Surely you’ve seen those videos where someone demonstrates how to pack for a round-the-world gig in a backpack. I don’t aspire to such overachievement, but I would like to travel with something smaller than a steamer trunk.

Hence, my resolve. We’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I’ve discovered a helpful tip or two. Have you ever noticed that your suitcase is fuller when you pack to go home than when you left? For some people that might be the result of too much shopping, but I’m not a shopper and my dilemma turns out to be caused by delusional thinking. I used to think just tossing in the dirty clothes at the end of a trip not only simplified the packing, but would result in saving space as well. Not so. But who wants to fold dirty clothes?

Here’s a nifty trick. Take a few gallon-size zip-lock bags. Stuff them with dirty clothes, squish the air out, zip them closed and—voila!—toss them in. You’ll be surprised at how much space you’ll save. (And no need to buy those expensive “space saver” travel bags either.)

Happy packing!


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