Packing and preparing to leave for a vacation

Make a permanent packing list--what you need for every trip. Always refer to it. Always stick to it. Eventually you'll be able to pack for a trip in your sleep.

Also, a trip shouldn't generate extra laundry.

But hey, you be you.

Cords, chargers, dongles, memory cards, headphones, batteries, adapters, etc. are such a hassle to gather and keep organized, so I bought an electronics organizer bag. I got the larger model because I needed room for a mini projector and the remotes associated with it. It will be one less list to check off when I pack.

The downside of having everything consolidated and organized is that if you misplace or lose your neat little kit, you're screwed.

Agree that you should have a list that you can refer to for every trip.

Why do you need more things as you get older?

I can’t sleep without a fan! I always bring extension cord tooo.

My Mom's Theory of Packing: Put everything you want to take on the bed. Then pack half of that. (I usually pack about two thirds of what's on the bed, and I'll still come home with a couple of things I never wore but took "just in case I need XXX".)

I love packing! It's almost half the fun of travel (spoken as a kid who grew up too poor to travel). Unpacking is the pits however...

A few tips:

1) I have a packing list that breaks down items by group, I edit to the specifics of each trip, but modifications are usually minimal.

This is helpful in two ways 1) streamlines the thinking process of "what do I have to pack" - you can just actually start packing faster 2) grouping similar items further streamlines the process (one trip to the medicine cabinet for all items there, one trip to the socks cabinet, one trip to the accessories cabinet, etc.). Stressed out packers are usually the ones who wander from one item to another randomly.

2) I start early and break it down into several small packing sessions. I've never understood people who wait to the last minute to pack everything (I'm aware many are like this).

It makes the time spent less laborious by breaking items into small chunks. Also visualizing what you've already packed usually helps you to realize you have enough stuff, or types of stuff, and vice versa. When you realize you've packed 20 shirts already, you can be done thinking about shirts and move on to something else. When you realize you're basically done with packing, another added stress reliever.

3) I try to have dedicated travel items that never leave their travel bags. I have a sundries bag. I leave copies of my IDs and credit cards in a pocket in my suitcases. I have all my travel electronics cords and plugs and related gadgets in a clear Ziploc bag. No fussing running around for all these items as the trip nears. They just go in the bags and I'm further relieved of stress worrying about what I may have forgotten.

4) I plan out my outfits. Well, this is just fun for me. It further minimizes the process time (oh what to wear!). Also helps you identify items that you can wear several times in combination with other items. This has made the biggest dent in terms of overpacking for me.

5) I realize most travelers today lean casual. There are truly few occasions when you need to be dressed to the nines when travelling. I plan for comfort and that reverberates in my mindset.

Obviously, I am a planner. Your mileage may vary based on your level of planning, but I love the feeling of it being the day before I travel and knowing I can do what the fuck I want - including going to bed early so I can be relaxed - because everything's packed!

Only vacation at nudest resorts, dear.

My tip - pack/travel light. And if you forget something, eh , you can always buy it along the way. Except when it’s your passport, you decrepit senile!

It's much easier when you're traveling by car then when you're flying. You can always take extra stuff and it's not a problem.

Packing all your electronic devices and cords in one organizer bag increases your risk of being singled out for luggage inspection - they look like bombs on x-ray. Spread out your devices, separated from cords, throughout your luggage.

I was lamenting this the other day..I used to pack so light. Now I pack vitamins, fiber mix, fish oil, ambien, all kinds of sunscreens and moisterizers, electronics. Ugh! Getting old sucks.

My life got ten times easier once I bought some packing cubes for inside my suitcase.

R10 No offense, but that's horrible advice. Believe it or not, security agents register what may be a bomb based on an object's shape / design / density. The monitors display subjects in different colors based on these criteria. It's the colors that set off a secondary inspection. People travel all the time with all sorts of electronic gadgets and you do not see mass secondary inspections. Here in the US, significant enough sized electronic gadgets are supposed to be taken out as well. Even cameras don't get much scrutiny.

If it's just a phone charger, phone battery bank, more cords, more chargers, more batteries then spreading them out all over one's luggage is a surefire way to misplace them / forget where they are / create more clutter in your suitcase.

I'm R6 and fly abroad and internationally every 3 months or so and not once has my electronics clutter bag been questioned (not sure if putting them in a clear Ziploc bag has helped, but I think does - I also put all toiletries in a clear bag).

However, I have been subject to a secondary search recently for 1) a bag of trail mix from Target (their Archer Farms brand is wrapped in what appears to be foil and the agent inspected for a good 2 minutes with her hands, explaining it was the packaging and composition at the end of the process) and 2) a container of preworkout powder (it substitutes for coffee when I need caffeine on the road and can't be bothered to deal with finding a coffeehouse) because the agent thought it may have been cocaine.

I also used to travel with a separate CPAP bag. That thing looked like a bomb, three components - including a water chamber, hose, and all sorts of widgets including the face and nose pieces. No secondary search ever.

Everything really important and harder to replace goes into my backpack which i carry on the plane. (passport, credit cards, cash, laptop, cellphone, external battery, adaptor plugs, cables, just some of my toiletries and all my prescription medication. So mostly what's in my suitcase are clothes and the rest of my toiletries, because I usually travel for a month or more. I also sometimes bring, wine bottle opener, cooking knife, extension cord, black duct tape, some wire, band aids, zip lock bags, if I know that im staying at a not well stocked Airbnb.

Tickets! Money! Passport!

Unless it's medication you need to take daily don't worry about it. If you forget something just buy it when you get there. It's a vacation not a life sentence.

You could get by with just one small bag filled with cash.

[quote] one trip to the accessories cabinet

Only on DL do men have "accessories cabinets"

Stop vacationing at Furry Conventions!

As I get older I want to pack lighter. If it can't fit in a backpack then fuck it.

I travel at least once a month, sometimes more. I fit everything into a single carry-on suitcase and I never wear things twice, It's all about efficiency

Here are a few of my tips:

1. Stick to one color theme for your wardrobe, e.g., blue shirts and gray pants. That includes dress shirts, tennis shirts, t-shirts. Boom! Everything matches everything else.

2. Roll everything for packing. Stick socks inside the shoes you pack. For dress shirts, put one inside the other (as if you were wearing five shirts at once) and then pop the collars up, fold in quarters and roll. Take at least one no-iron shirt (Brooks Bros has good ones) so that gives the others time to dewrinkle when you arrive if they get wrinkled. (There are tons of YouTube videos on how to roll clothes for packing)

3, One pair of dress shoes that also works with more casual stuff, one pair of running or other gym shoes.

4. Buy a back up of all your chargers and keep them in ziplock in your suitcase. Ditto toiletries--keep a bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor, Advil, hair gel, etc. already packed so you just need to pack it.

5. Buy a USB plug (plugs into regular outlet but has three or more USB ports) for easy charging in your room.

6. Wear your coat, blazer, sweater (if winter) onto the plane. You can always take them off and they don't take up room in your suitcase. Ditto any kind of bulky shoes.

7. All chargers in your backpack/briefcase along with any kind of medicine you need ASAP

8. Get a backpack or messenger bag that slides over the handle of your carry-on suitcase

9. If you need to overpack anything, take extra socks--changing your socks before dinner can make you feel a lot better.

10. Remember to pack an old t-shirt and hangout shorts for when you're in your room. I usually wear the t-shirt on the plane under another shirt

Hope that helps.

Don't have a big problem with packing as I travel light. I admit I do miss a thing or two. The most recent being when I left Australian money on my coffee table as I flew off to Australia. Luckily, there is family who give you spending money (yay!) and ATMs.

My biggest problem is preparing--mainly due to the cats. I spend the last 24 hours cleaning, tidying up and getting my cats' stuff together for the catsitters. Every single time I tell myself that if I would just clean and tidy up my apartment days/weekends before my trip I wouldn't have to rush through it hours before going to the airport. Rinse and repeat.

Reason #257 dogs are better than cats

Lucky OP. I wish I could afford to go on a vacation.

- Packing master list: I keep mine on my phone in a free app called "AnyList" (it doubles as a grocery store app too). My master list has everything from a parka to swim trunks. It's easy to mark off things you don't need based on the season, and then the rest as you pack them.

- Duplicate chargers: I bought a travel charger from Anker that was cheap -- it plugs into the wall and has USB slots for four charge cords. Then I bought the cords to go with it. They stay in my travel bag and I don't mess with the ones I leave at home.

- Packing cubes: the best things ever. Leaving, you separate everything by type. Coming back, you separate everything by clean and dirty. I just unzip the "dirty" cubes into the washing machine. And if TSA searches your baggage, it's a lot easier if everything is zipped neatly into the cubes.

- If you find it hard to sleep in a new space, use a white-noise app (again, they're free) and bring clothespins to pin the drapes shut so no light gets in the room.

Have fun!

Let me break it down for you. If you are young and gorgeous it doesn’t matter what you pack. If you are concerned about what to pack, you’re likely past it which translates into invisible. In which case, a couple of flour sacks and your fav sunglasses should do. Btw I’m invisible myself, but I used to be gorgeous so I’m coming from a place of experience.

R23 you just need to plan better and not procrastinate!

R6 here. I used to have a cat and he helped me plan and organize my packing process. I couldn’t throw all my packing on my bed or on a desk/table because he’d roll all over everything and get cat hair everywhere. I also couldn’t leave the suitcase open for very long as he’d have to plop himself in there. Also having the suitcase(s) out for a few days seemed to get him mentally prepared for my upcoming absence. He’d lay on top of them and give me the “you’re leaving me again aren’t you?” eyes.

I just learned to get shit done early so only essential items remained on the last day.

You know your travel dates, just pretend you have to take off a a few days to a week earlier. Rarely will you truly be “so busy” with “no time” to meet that deadline.

I can pack for a 2-week trip in 15 min. And, I never check a bag. Take half as many clothes and twice as much money as you think you'll need is a good strategy.

Don't forget: you can turn your underwear inside out.

Some of you sound like the gross smelly tourists wearing the same wrinkled clothes I try to avoid!

Seriously, pony up the check luggage fee and do us all a favor! And no, it does not take THAT much time to wait for luggage.

Take some of the space-saver vacuum pack bags for your t-shirts. They help compress things.

don't forget your wig and itching powder...

These are really good tips! Thank you. My last “vacation“ was to my mothers funeral almost 2 years ago. That was not a vacation!

I finally arrived at my destination after a 7 hour drive and I’m chilling in my hot tub! Thanks VRBO!

OP at R34.

I was counting on going on vacation, too.

OP/ r34, I hope you have a wonderful vacation. Enjoy.

OP, where are you vacationing?

Near Lake Tahoe R38.

I love Lake Tahoe! Do the raft trip where the Truckee River starts at the edge of the lake’s north shore.

R39, nice! Lake Tahoe is gorgeous! Have fun.

I think the problem with giving packing advice is we all travel differently. For me, light and simple is best. I enjoy packing because I love to travel and it almost seems like my trip is starting when I start to pack. I would never bother with making lists and such; it just seems boring to me. Apart from my wallet and my medications, anything else I forget is unimportant or easily picked up on the other end.

But I do have a possibly unique approach to packing that may be of interest to a few of you. I keep a stash of what I call travel clothing. No, it’s not what’s sold as travel clothing (e.g., jackets with a zillion pockets). My travel clothing is clothing that I’m on the verge of getting rid of, but it’s not really nice enough to donate to charity. I pack those shorts and pants to wear on my trip, I leave it all behind at my destination, and I travel home almost empty-handed, with just a few odds and ends.

Packing and the airport shit are the two things I cannot stand about traveling. And depending on where you go, when you how, and what you’ll be doing means the clothes you pack will always be different.

[quote]But I do have a possibly unique approach to packing that may be of interest to a few of you. I keep a stash of what I call travel clothing. No, it’s not what’s sold as travel clothing (e.g., jackets with a zillion pockets). My travel clothing is clothing that I’m on the verge of getting rid of, but it’s not really nice enough to donate to charity.

This is great advice. When I have socks and underwear that are wearable but getting ratty, I put them aside for travel and throw them away when I pack to go home.

[quote] clothespins to pin the drapes shut

hack for that: use the skirt hangers--the ones with the clips on them--instead.

[quote] Take half as many clothes and twice as much money as you think you'll need is a good strategy.

Who takes money? Are you going to places that don't take credit cards or have ATMs?

^^ Chinese tourists. They don't believe in banks/ATMS (as their government can take anything in them anytime).

That's why they are targets for pickpockets and thieves, they almost always carry cash on their persons.

I have a toiletries kit and a "first aid" kit. About twice a year, I go to Walmart ( I know) and by the travel sizes of shampoo, hair products, deodorant, toothpaste, extra razor, and an extra tooth brush. Indigestion, constipation, gas, headaches, sinus and allergy meds, aspirin, band-aids, antiseptic ointment, etc. And my extra charger is in my computer bag. Make sure you pack those anti bacterial wipes too. Including the ones for your ass and the clorox wipes to clean off countertops and toilet seats. I put that stuff in zip lock baggies and put it in my carry on in the same bag with shoes caps and other shit. As a rule I pack two prs of casual pants and one pair of dress pants. Maybe two or three tops for every pair, underwear and three prs of shoes, including the ones I wear on the plane.

For longer trips with more stuff, the packing cubes mentioned above really do help keep things organized. I thought they'd be total overkill but my BF wanted them, so I went along with it. Wow, they make a difference.

And secondly, I always choose a wardrobe color palette to start. Am I wearing blues/browns or black/greys? Doing this helps me pack a wardrobe that I can mix and match on the trip. Everything pretty much goes together.

[quote] Indigestion, constipation, gas, headaches, sinus and allergy meds, aspirin, band-aids, antiseptic ointment, etc. Make sure you pack those anti bacterial wipes too. Including the ones for your ass and the clorox wipes to clean off countertops and toilet seats... Maybe two or three tops [not "shirts"]..."

R48 is my grandmother reincarnated as a prissy gay man.

R49, see tip #1 at R21 re: color scheme. It's key to packing light.

I'm curious now about these packing cubes...

Limit yourself to Ship 'n Shore separates and a dressy dress......

My husband loves packing my bags and does it exquisitely. I was recently stopped at customs and the agent opened and immediately shut my carry-on muttering "This ain't no drug dealer's bag."

SF resident here. In my trips to NYC I've seen most gyms there suffer from the same problems as gyms here 1) small urban spaces (they all feel claustrophobic) and 2) heavy volume (it's hard to keep them well maintained). Crunch and NYSC did strike me as gross. I suppose if you are doing comfortably/well in Manhattan, Equinox would be a solution to avoid this.

However, I wouldn't pay for the same gym if you plopped it down here in SF. The workout equipment and facilities do seem overrated and common.

I would pay for an Equinox membership if I were in LA however. Gyms are everything there. They tend to be bigger, social, and teeming with beautiful people. NYC does have more attractive men in SF though, but I'm unsure working out in their presence justifies the high membership fees.

^^ woops. Wrong post!

Find different uses for the same article of clothing.

As R51 suggested, I just want to reiterate the value of a chosen color scheme for your trip.

Buy a couple of vacation homes and keep a wardrobe of clothing at each one.

Makes travelling so much easier.

So true

Mostly I'm curious as to how R55 decided that the workout equipment at Equinox is "common"

R55 here. Visits to Equinox, accounts by others, and photos of various locations show it is the same equipment that is found in other gym chains (Precor) including my own gym in the LA Fitness/City Sports Club chain. Not to mention the members commenting on this thread have not described any unique characteristics of weights or equipment.

What makes Equinox worth it are the "amenities" and "clientele" to these same members. Others have mentioned "classes." I'll translate: 1) no poors 2) no uglies and 3) steam room extracurriculars.

R62 and R55 here. I got all mixed up with the Equinox megapost, but you get the point.

It's so DALOCAS (Datalounge Class Anxiety Syndrome) to refer to gym equipment as "common"

Even better is that R55/R62 doesn't get why it's so funny.

Better still is that it took them three posts to figure out they were on the wrong thread.

This is for R55

Competition bumper plates. Not the common ones they have at Equinox, lol.

I do two things:

I have a "permanent overnight bag", which contains small bags of all the toiletries and phone chargers and duct tape and other stuff I always need when traveling. So for an overnight trip I just throw a change of clothing in there, and for a long trip I transfer the bag of toiletries and the bag of helpful items like phone chargers into a larger suitcase.

As for packing a wardrobe for a long trip: In the weeks ahead, I start setting aside clothing and stuff that I might want to bring, put it in a designated spot. There's no work involved, when I get dressed in the morning and go through the closet, I think "Hey, that pair of pants will be perfect for Tierra del Fuego", so I set the pants aside and go on with my day. When the time comes to shove things in the suitcase, my wardrobe is sitting there on hangers.

R64 It's not funny, because it isn't. It's actually the truth. I don't care either way, as I have worked out there and considered a membership. However, there was a healthy discussion of the pros and cons of Equinox. Yes, I posted in the wrong thread, because some of us don't determine our worth based on whether we "Datalounge" correctly. Is there a Datalounge acronym for that as well?

I see you didn't actually comment on the fact that Equinox's equipment is the same found at other chains nationwide, i.e., common.

Oh and as for those bumper plates, they have them at Fitness SF, another common gym chain here in San Francisco.

Try harder, including your cuntiness, because you suck at it.

very high tech fabrics are your travelling friends.

Just pack the Infinite Dress!

I love that R67 is doubling down on their cluelessness.

I'm sure there are Klassy workout machines (gold-plated/diamond-encrusted? Tom Ford?) that would be perfect for them

(And if you have to tell someone they're not very good at "cuntiness".....

And why do femme men so desire to be unpleasant women? Is it a power thing, like "I get pushed around all the time, but fantasize that I am a beautiful but unhappy woman who is nasty to everyone?

Just don't get it.

Wait-- I missed that there are "common" gyms now too, not just "common" exercise equipment, lol.

"The people there were so common! They were actually sweating while they worked out, like common beasts! Mother always said 'a gentleman never sweats.' And she worked for many gentleman in her day, so she should know!"

R67 & Millenial, if you all don't understand what common means and/or can't accept when it is explained to you, then that's on you.

Oh, and if you want to not be called a bitch, then perhaps you should stop carrying on like one.

Look-- an entire HOUSE of Commons!!!

Oh millennial, I see you are easily triggered by the word common. Does it hit close to home?

If that's so, I'd highly recommend you not work out at any Equinox gym as that is all their equipment is!

Look-- The GYM at the HOUSE of COMMONS.

I mean fuck, it does not get more common than that!

Barbells! Feh! Next thing they'll make me take off my leg warmers and watch sportsball!

"You just ignore those boys when they call you a sissy. They're just common, that's all they are. They wouldn't recognize a little gentleman when they see one, Lindsey. One day you'll be a Senator, representing the great state of South Carolina. I can just tell."

"Oh Mother, they are just common! You should see them in gym class on the ropes! Or in the locker room afterwards! They look just like stallions! And I will be a Senator. I can feel it in my bones:

Thanks for hijacking the thread, Millennial. Seems to be a common occurrence with you.

Earrings. Caftans. Done.

This thread seems done.

Ladies and gentlemen, please stay on topic! Take your discussions to another thread. Thank you.

Yes, I'd like to know what Millenial has to offer on the subject of packing tips. He's blown up this thread but none of his responses actually remotely touch on the matter.

Wasn't she going to Mexico City? Perhaps she was kidnapped. That would be a packing tip "don't bring tickets to Mexico!"

The State Department has travel advisories about Mexico. It’s not in the most dangerous categories of destinations, but the whole country is included in warnings.

Mexican resorts are poisoning travelers with methanol-laced cocktails.

R83 I just came from Cozumel. They don’t need poisoned cocktails, the place is already culturally dead. Are all cruise ship destinations now destroyed by their own success? My recent Caribbean cruise indicated there is no reason to leave the ship. The destinations are gross. I get that this is their livelihood, but getting asked 200 times if I need a taxi, massage, fill in the blank, Is not fun.