Packing is funny.
Essentially, as with most endeavors, you’re trying to strike a balance.
Pack too much and you bog yourself down.
Hell, most of us are bogged down at even at home.
Have you seen any of those hoarding shows?
(I assume there’s more than one.)
People — WE HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF.
You don’t need every shiny plastic thing you see on TV.
Clutter is visual and energetic noise.
Feel and deal with the internal emptiness that no amount of stuff
(or comfort food, or drugs, or spectator sports, or pornography) will fill.
Easier said than done. I know.
Pack too little and you’ll end up wherever wishing you had X.
(Most Americans will never experience this.
Which part? Both.)
It is a delicate balance, to be sure,
one that I’ve yet to achieve, however,
here are a few words of advice I feel qualified to impart:
Start laying out your stuff weeks before the trip.
Make color-coded lists.
Err on the side of taking less.
Besides, 99% of domestic destinations will have
all the same Targets and what have you
where you can buy whatever you forgot
or whatever you realize you should’ve brought.
As with anything else, your first attempts will be far from perfect.
Practice.
Take shorter trips initially; assess your system and take notes.
Don’t get a dog or have kids
before you’ve more-or-less mastered packing.
If you’ve already got a dog or have had kids, give them away
(joke—mostly).
Realize that packing too much stuff usually stems from
some inner reluctance to depart that you aren’t acknowledging.
All of this is very general, I know.
Specific tips to come in a future post.
Mostly, cultivate efficient and habitual organization at home.
If you aren’t organized at home,
packing for the road will prove difficult and frustrating.
Packing is funny.
And hopefully, with practice over time,
it becomes an efficient process requiring less and less effort.