Wendi’s Wanders

These two souls strode along on foot, ahead of the howdah in which Bahá’u'lláh was riding . . . Wayworn and faint, they would reach the halting-place; and yet, weary as they were, they would immediately set about preparing and cooking the food, and seeing to the comfort of the believers . . . once the friends had eaten their meal, these two would be busy collecting and washing up the dishes and cooking utensils; this would take them till midnight, and only then would they rest. At daybreak they would rise, pack everything, and set out again, in front of the howdah of Bahá’u'lláh. `Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í writings

Last summer at the Irfan Colloquium in Acuto I met Jason Pack from New Jersey, who participated in the academic discussions about the Bahá’í Faith. We got to talking about this travel blog and I said one of my first blogs was about how to pack, using a standard list I keep on my computer. Jason told me about his mother, who for 40 years has packed from such lists and is the consummate packer - she even had the perfect surname for the task! I asked if she could share her story and here, at last, it is! I must say, I do keep a clear plastic bag (8 inches by 8 inches) of small-sized (no more than 100 ml each!) toiletries and liquids, toothbrush and small items always ready, always packed, so I can just pick it up and throw it into my carry-on luggage (which is so often the only luggage I am taking). So good to see that Jason’s mom approves! And I agree with her about black . . . And the shower cap tip for shoes is invaluable! Thanks Jason and thanks to your mother, Sandy Pack, for these packing tips!

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My first foray into packing lists started with repeated ski trips almost 40 years ago. My list was a hand written piece of paper that I later made Xerox copies of. It contained all the items that would need to be brought on each trip in appropriate columns. Under the heading `Ski Clothes’ appeared jacket, pants, hat, mittens, long undies, etc. The changeable items would be the après clothes for the weekend and I would hand write them under their column. At that time I always travelled with my dog and his columns contained dog leash, dog bowls, dog food. When my son was born we left the dog at a kennel and took him instead. His column had diapers, baby bottles and powdered formula, which was easy to travel with. After a few years those items changed to Lego and other toys. The Lego lived all-year around in a large zippered bag, the kind that blankets come in. The Lego was accessible at home to be played with but could also be thrown in a suitcase with no extra preparation needed.

Then I discovered spreadsheets. This was the best thing that ever happened to packing. Lists could be saved and modified as needed. Each workbook would represent a particular trip. Each spreadsheet contained in it would represent a category of packing, e.g. carry-on items, toiletries, clothing, and a miscellaneous category for those items which didn’t belong elsewhere. Each spreadsheet contained a column for each family member. After the trip was over I might write notes in that spreadsheet to help me for the next trip. For example, I found that cotton clothing was necessary for the Middle East. Light weight synthetics, while they took up less space in a suitcase, were just too hot. One spreadsheet labeled Prep contains list of things needed to be done before the trip. The columns might be things to buy, things to cancel, i.e. mail and newspapers, things to do just before departing, e.g. lower the thermostat, take out the garbage, close all windows, turn off lights, and program the DVR or VCR for the mustn’t miss TV shows.

I read somewhere once that it was useful to keep a toiletry bagged packed and ready to go containing everything that might be needed. From then on, I collected small sizes of things to populate such a bag. If I was travelling to a place that didn’t require a given item, say sun screen, I would remove it for that trip but keep it in the drawer the always-ready-toiletry bag lived in so that I would remember to recombine it when the trip was over. I keep all my medications in their bottles in a clear zippered bag. This goes in my carry-on bag. I always travel with a small flashlight which I keep in that medication bag. Another zippered bag contains all I need for my glasses and contact lenses: small bottles of lens solutions, cases, a supply of disposable lenses, extra eyeglasses, a small bottle of eyeglass cleaner and a cloth.

For dress shoes, I purchased inexpensive plastic shoe trees because they are lightweight and keep the shoes from being crushed. To save space and preserve their shape, handbags can be stuffed with underwear and other small items. Hiking shoes and sneakers can be stuffed with socks. A friend recently taught me another valuable tip. Disposable shower caps are perfect for covering the soles of shoes in a suitcase. They are lightweight and take up no room.

I haven’t had the airlines lose my bags for many years now but I retained my old habit of packing defensively anyway. When travelling as a family, we try to have each bag contain some clothing of each family member so that if one bag gets lost no one is without clothing.

I find a black-based wardrobe works best for me when traveling to a city. A black suit can be dressed up or down and doesn’t show stains. Black does not work well however in the sun in a warm climate. Since I get cold easily I always pack a shawl, a scarf, and a hooded goretex (waterproof) jacket. These can be used to keep dry in the rain or for warmth. Although not appropriate in some cultures, leather is great for travelling because it doesn’t wrinkle. I have a black leather blazer which can be a lightweight layer but also is more dressy than a sweater or fleece.

Now that I have become dependent on a PDA I transferred the spreadsheets to my Palm so that I could modify them on the fly. A spreadsheet on the Palm screen is too small for my aging eyes so I transferred the list to Listpro, a list application. Regardless of the medium, I find preparing a list in advance essential. Items not written down mean last minute decisions, or worse - forgotten items. Last minute decisions for me result in my bringing everything I own (just in case), which results in too many overweight bags.

I’m not as good at making lists as I used to be. I’m more unsure of what minimum of items I need to make me comfortable but I have almost 40 years of old lists and notes to fall back on.

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