Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/09/03/my-travel-packing-list.html
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No towel?
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I find that the bandana is good enough.
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You can buy some microfiber towels that take up less space than a regular towel, so there’s that.
On a side note i do really like the idea of compartmentalizing what one packs into specific little bags. One can just go down their list of stuff and not worry about having forgotten something, i should try to do something like this myself as i’m looking to travel more within the next year or two.
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I put everything into a single grocery bag and shake it up. It’s not a proper vacation unless I am frantically looking for some incidental item every morning.
(organization doesn’t make me happy, it makes me sad)
I’m similar, I have a toiletry bag and everything else is dumped in whatever is large enough to hold it all. My brain prefers digging through one thoughtless bag, rather than spending the time organizing lots of smaller bags. (Maybe it’s that giant box of lego I was raised on?)
I do love my lists however. A lot of my outdoor activities are spur of the moment and the list guarantees a quick pack. Mine live on google drive.
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I have a set of tote bags, one for each activity, containing the main items + a list of extra things to check for. One for biking, one for hiking, one for SUPping (my main 3).
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Makes sense if you have multiple hobbies with a varying set of equipment. I mostly drink and watch movies, and I’m not supposed to pack beer in my luggage.
For day hiking I only need the shoes I already wear, a hat, and some spare socks. For longer hikes it all has to fit into one of my framed packs anyways. It’s not really organized other than a box for food, a ziplock for trash, and everything else rolled up and stuffed wherever it can fit. I’ve busted the seams or zippers on more than one pack because of my haphazard technique.
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Good grief, you damned near need a bag just for all that.
Great list. I’m a bit obsessive when it comes to leaving my home base for any extended amount of time, so I also have a pre-trip checklist of tasks for closing up house. It’s things like making sure the oven is off, the dishes put away, lights off, valuables locked up, etc. A little overboard, but it makes me feel better.
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Because we all have a license to Illustrator 
How about a package-independent format? .txt file would be great.
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We have a pre-launch checklist as well, and it is crucial, even if we are only leaving for a few days. Open some breakers in our circuit breaker panel (we have been chasing an intermittent short circuit since March); take out garbage, compost, and recycling; pour a bit of bleach in the flushed toilet; lamps and radios on timers; stop the mail; irrigation timers set to keep plants outside alive; close and lock windows on house and cars; throw all the container / potted plants in the bathtub and give them a thorough “shower” soak; give a neighbor the heads-up and give away any fresh produce that we didn’t finish prior to launch-time.
Etc.
One memorable xmas trip, we thought we were smart and we cut off our water at the consumer side of the water meter. We opened up every valve so that our pipes would not freeze–hey, they were all drained. Little did we know that the ball valve closure we expected to be fully functional was old, crappy and compromised. Something somewhere flooded unexpectedly, which we found when we got home 8 days later. Fun!
Even though I know there’s a disclaimer at our credit union about liability for stuff stored in the vault, we do make use of our safe deposit box while we’re gone.
Our home’s “decorating style” has been termed “Already Been Looted” by a dear friend. She’s spot-on. My DH calls our decor AGS (Ain’t Got Shit), and that’s true.
Here’s one for the pre-launch list, just in case you have batteries left on their chargers while you are gone:
In the Austin metro area, a few years ago, a house burned down when a battery to a cordless power tool was on a charger, there was a power outage and then a power surge when the power came back online. It was too much for the charger or the battery, and ka-blooey. My google-fu is weak right now, and I can’t dig out the article from the digital miasma.
Safe travels.
Smooth sailing y’all.
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No belt, socks, hat, tiny package of baby wipes, or shorts/ swimsuit?
And you have a laptop charger listed, but no laptop…
I made a similar list…
Mike
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Nail clippers double as hangnail clippers when I travel. When I travel I generally have four pouches:
Emergency and first aid gear (rarely accessed)
Toiletries and medications
Electronic accessories
Food
Too many pouches and you start losing them.
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Also, what’s in the black bag?
Hint: A decade ago I found that the micro-fiber towels advertised for pets were waaay cheaper than pricey travel store ones.
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OOPs.
Sorry.
I am the opposite, my absolute record was packing a suitcase in the 15 minutes between receiving the alert from the taxi company and the car pulling up my driveway
I like to travel light with only hand luggage and when you do it every couple of weeks for business, you know exactly what you need (and what you don’t) for a week away
I haven’t packed any toiletries for years, I don’t like the hassle to put them in little bags and have them inspected and put them back… anything I require will be available at destination and if not… I make do
My wife was the one with the lists and the start packing three days before the flight, until she came to the dark side of relaxing and enjoying the trip. But it took her a few “where is such and such?”, and me “probably in the suitcase you packed yesterday”
That’s a collapsible water bottle
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