What to Pack?

One of my favorite comics, Itchy Feet, has this great comic about packing, Cargo Reduction.  It could not be more true.  In my earliest days of travel, I would pack everything but the kitchen sink, now, I grab my passport, phone, wallet and go!  My mentality, “Well, I’m not going into a remote jungle, so if I forgot it, I can buy it.”  The journey to get there has been a long one though.

I remember my first trip abroad (to a country other than Canada) – Beijing, China.  In college, I managed to travel half-way across the world with a theater class for 10 days.  For this trip, I packed two suitcases, half empty anticipating a lot of souvenir purchases, and while there were a lot of souvenir purchases, I also looked a little silly lugging around two suitcases larger than me, particularly when everyone else just had one bag.  Did I mention we were only staying for 10 days?

My next trip abroad was two years later to New Zealand and Australia through the School for Field Studies.  The packing list for this trip had not been updated since they built a more permanent site in the forest.  My parents being the worrying type had me pack everything on that list and then some.  To everyone’s surprise, I managed to fit everything — all the clothes, headlamps, spare flashlights, sewing kits, mess kit, knife, first aid kit, and duct tape – in one bag.  After that last trip, where I was the only one with two bags, there was no way I was ever going to bring a second bag on a trip again.  It did not matter that this trip had a list a mile long, and I would be out of the country for seven weeks.  I made it all fit!  To top it all off, each one of those items came in handy.  While we didn’t go bushwhacking, where if you read that list you might think that was the idea, we did go camping, clothes were ripped, and boots were worn out.  That trip, I thanked my lucky stars I have worrywarts for parents because my first aid kit, mess kit, sewing kit, and duct tape saved the day more than once.

After college, I struggled when packing because most of trips during college were in remote areas, where items of necessity are not as easy to come by.  My first few trips, I over-packed.  Then, as I traveled more, as I lived and worked in two different states a plane ride away, I learned to pack light.  Very light.  Now, with all the travel I do, I mostly check that I have my passport, wallet, keys, and phone.  If I have those things, I’m good to go because I’m often in a city or some form of civilization.  If I need something, I can still get it easily.

So that leads me to the question, what do you pack for a trip?

Must Haves:

• Passport
• Wallet
• Keys
• Phone with charger

The Must Haves

With these, you can get anywhere, do anything, and purchase anything else you may need.

No matter where you are going, there are some other nice things to have.  These are The Basics:

• Appropriate clothes (warm? Cold? Dress up?  Beachy?), including a spare set of underwear and socks
• Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant, feminine hygiene products
• Comfortable shoes (can be worn and not packed!)

The Basics

Next obvious question is, where are you going?  Are you going somewhere remote or to a city/town?  What are your specific needs?  I don’t mind using hotel shampoo/conditioner for a short period, but for longer trips I try to bring my own, especially conditioner — hotel conditioner does not detangle my hair.  These are the Trip Dependent Items:

• Towel and face cloth (preferably quick-dry)
• Ear plugs
• Camera
• Headlamp/flashlight/torchlight
• Headphones
• Book
• Shampoo/Conditioner
• Bodywash/scrub/soap
• Lotion
• Book(s)
• Power Adapter

There are definitely some other things you can pack.  My sister likes to pack her hairdryer and a ton of clothes, so packing definitely varies from person to person.  Is there anything else you like to pack?  What are your Must Haves?