How long is your packing list, and how do you organize it?

[bouncing]

Here, I'll follow up with a list for an upcoming two-week trip to Oaxaca! There will be a laundry machine on-sight, so I'm planning on doing laundry about every 3-4 days.

Bags

• Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30 w/ Absolute Shoulder Strap
• Tom Bihn Pilot
• Tom Bihn SideKick
• Osprey Ultralight Zip Organizer for Toiletry bags
• Aeronaut 30 packing cube
• Aeronaut 30 laundry stuff sack

Clothes

• 4x Ex Officio boxer-briefs -- these are the best travel underwear I've found. Comfy, breathable, easy to wash and dry.
• 2x Darn Tuff Socks
• 2x "Fun" socks -- With colors that match my shirts.
• 1x Blue jeans
• 1x Gray pants
• 1x Shorts
• 1x Swim trunks
• 1x Brown leather belt
• 2x Penguin brand button-down shirts, matching aforementioned fun socks
• 1x T-shirt (Target brand, whatever)
• 1x Sunglasses
• 1x Icebreaker Merino Wool hoodie
• 1x Super-slim flipflops
• 1x Brown boat shoes, matching belt
• 1x Street shoes

Personal care

• Prescription glasses
• Sunglasses wipes
• Victorinox flat nail clippers -- these really are the best for travel. I highly recommend them. They're impossibly small and light but great quality.
• Foldable toothbrush, beard trimmer, etc. Just normal stuff.
• Small zip-lock bag with some first aid items

Tech/Work items

• Laptop - Thinkpad X1 Carbon
• Phone - Google Pixel 2 has Project Fi, so wherever I go, I'm covered.
• Nekteck Charger -- Charges everything I need it to
• Kindle
• Super-short USB A-to-Micro cables
• Anker USB A-to-C Cable
• Outlet spliter -- Pretty similar to this one. Be a hero at the airport.
• Roost Laptop Stand
• Logitech MX Anywhere S2 Mouse
• Havit Mechanical Keyboard -- It's the most compact, low-profile mechanical keyboard I can find
• Mophie USB C battery pack
• Bose QuietComfort 35 ii
• Bose SoundSport -- these are for things like guided tours where you listen to remote walkie talkie things.
• A small bag of dongles, adapters, etc -- various things

Documents and Money

• Passport
• Bellroy Travel Wallet
• Proof of insurance, vaccinations, etc

Misc

• SOG Keychain multitool
• Titanium Spork

[fredlet]

How long is your packing list, and how do you organize it?

I use gTask Pro and Stylebook. Most of my Tom Bihn bags have preloaded pouches for toiletries etc and then my standard survival pouch (lip balms, phone cables, battery, etc) goes into whatever day bag I use.
Also there are just certain shirts I reserve for travel (merino, Ably).



fredletsTravels

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[Amy]

@fredlet, thanks for the stylebook recommendation! Cool app!


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[ejvc]

I am always packing both for me and for kids. But in terms of organisation: categories are clothes, workout, toiletries, first aid, repairs, laundry, entertainment, work stuff, plugs, gifts, food. I have a one-page list that I cross stuff off of.

I like your containerised systems, everyone! That seems like it would save a lot of time.

[Cristina]

Hmm... I just posted a pic of a test pack over in the "Your Photos are Needed" thread and it got me thinking.

Though I do make a paper list of the dynamic items I need to pack for a trip, I forgot a major part of my packing is the test pack. Test packing is fun and so I always think of it like a bit of a treat (taking the luxury of time instead of a last-minute scramble) but I didn't think of it in terms of my cognitive style.

I'm generally a hands-on thinker/external processor. I don't do well to plan a project out step by step in my head or on paper. For pretty much every project, I do a bit of prep and then I'm better off just starting a test/draft and then revising and doing another iteration. So it shouldn't surprise me that I pack this way but I never thought about it before.

[3rdCoastHighlander]

You can get the clothes you listed in the lower left section into a Side Effect???

Great idea. I've used the SE whenever I don't want to carry my S19. I bought the SE last summer for my trip to Spain, so I'm still learning how to incorporate it into my travel habits. Thanks for the idea!

[aedifica]

Great idea. I've used the SE whenever I don't want to carry my S19. I bought the SE last summer for my trip to Spain, so I'm still learning how to incorporate it into my travel habits. Thanks for the idea!

Oh, I thought your packing list said that you did fit those clothes into a Side Effect, and I was incredulous. If you manage it, please post photos!

[b1gsky]

I actually don't have one. I always carry the same essentials while travelling, so I don't need a list for those. The only part I adjust is clothing/shoes and then I just have a look at the weather and think of the activities I'm planning beforehand and pick when I pack. I know my wardrobe fairly well (and which outfits I can make with certain clothes and when and how I like to wear them), so it's not too difficult.

[ejvc]

I would forget my head if it weren't screwed on, so I have a master list. Then I delete stuff I don't need for a particular trip. And I still forget stuff. Also I frequently lose the list.

[Rei]

I would forget my head if it weren't screwed on, so I have a master list. Then I delete stuff I don't need for a particular trip. And I still forget stuff. Also I frequently lose the list.

write the list on your phone (and do not remove non-needed items from the list but put a X before the undesired item) ... and email yourself (it's what I do)



BTW: for my travel list I take the previous one and save it as new list for the new travel (in an excel file), so I have a list for each big travel, like versionning
it goes like: essential / bags-pouches / equipment-tools / toiletery-drugs / clothes / leisure

[ejvc]

No can do. Need it on paper. Lists on phones make me crazy. But I do save the master list for printing and crossing out, so I can always go back to the original*

*also it is not my list, which means it's always in one place on the inter webs. I use the OneBag.com list with the additions of bras, camisoles, down vest and skirt, foldable shopping bag, resistance bands, and fun bag (art supplies, concentration toys, physical toys, games & rules, downloads, comfort toys). Onebag man doesn't travel with kids, that's pretty clear. Also you don't strictly have to *pack* downloads, but you better do them where wifi is good.

[sujo]

I maintain my packing list in a Word document. Since most of my travel is for work, I have it down to a 41-line list. The first set of lines are bottoms: work slacks (4 color choices); jeans, capris and shorts. Then tops: long-sleeve tops, long-sleeve tees, button downs, short-sleeve, etc. Then sweaters, and then choices of underwear, socks, pjs and bras. I move into outwear with jackets and shoes. I then have my 3-1-1 (which is always packed) and comfort items like books, CDs or DVDs (yes, I still use those). I also add if I take a packable tote or a Small Shop Bag (zippered or not).

The Word file consists of a table with two lists per page. There's a column for number of items and a column for items. It also has a place for the bags I use (travel and work) and a space to add notes about the trip.

I set a style for the title of each list (When, what season, how many nights, where, why) so that I can maintain a hyperlinked table of contents. That way I can go to any trip and see what I packed. I have been using this one document since January 2015. I'm up to trip 35, which is next week. I leave Monday but I'm already packed.

Edited to Add:
I thought I'd post an image of a list (if you can read it). It appears my image came out black and white. However, I use red text to indicate what I will wear for travel and green text for notes after the trip, marking items that worked well, I didn't use, or some other comment.

[icarusrex]

I use the "Reminders" app on my iPhone. I can keep a list of everything that I ever pack/might need to pack. Just before a trip I go though the app and "uncheck" all of the items I think I might need for the trip. Then I mark them off when I'm packing. This method works well for me so I don't have to make a new list every time, yet I can customize my packing list based on a vacation, work trip, and depending on the weather/season of the place I'm going.

[Frank II]

First, let me say I have way too much time on my hands.

I have a master packing list that I keep on Google Docs. It was organized by category--clothes, toiletries, electronics, etc.

But now I've taken it and organized it by where things are packed. I use a wheelie bag and a TB Pilot. In the wheelie bag I have packing cubes and sacs. All different colors. These organizers are now their own category and what I pack in them is on the list. So I might have "Large Orange Cube--Jeans and Sweaters. Blue slim cube--misc items." Then I list ever item in the cube. This way I know where everything is.

I even go so far as to break down the Pilot and list what goes in each compartment and with what type of organizer(s).

Then, when I'm ready to pack, I print out the list and cross things off as they go in the bag. Some things stay packed all the time like laundry items, most toiletries (althought these get replenished) and a few others.

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[aedifica]

First, let me say I have way too much time on my hands.

I have a master packing list that I keep on Google Docs. It was organized by category--clothes, toiletries, electronics, etc.

But now I've taken it and organized it by where things are packed. I use a wheelie bag and a TB Pilot. In the wheelie bag I have packing cubes and sacs. All different colors. These organizers are now their own category and what I pack in them is on the list. So I might have "Large Orange Cube--Jeans and Sweaters. Blue slim cube--misc items." Then I list ever item in the cube. This way I know where everything is.

I even go so far as to break down the Pilot and list what goes in each compartment and with what type of organizer(s).

Frank, I like that idea! It seems like it would work best if one always uses the same luggage and always has similar travel needs--does that describe your packing these days?

I've been reorganizing my packing list since the post that started this thread, and I've been moving closer to a system like yours but I'm not all the way there yet. As a step in that direction, some of my packing list is now organized by when I'll need the item (things to have available in the airport, things I won't need in the airport but will need on the plane). That stuff used to be organized by category.