My bag weighs how much?
I love to travel. However, travel entails a huge roadblock for me = PACKING. Why, oh why, is packing so hard for me??!? You see, I'm what some might call a "mood dresser." Any of you who are familiar with Seinfeld know what I am talking about. There's an episode where Jerry invites George to go to California for a very short, two-day trip. Jerry packs a modest carry-on, while George brings three giant bags. Jerry is super perplexed by this and asks him what the heck he's doing - at which point George explains to him that he's a mood dresser and needs to have all options because he won't know what mood he'll be in on a certain day, so he's basically packed his entire wardrobe for a two-day trip.
While this is somewhat of an exaggeration, an episode has never rung truer to me than this one did. THIS IS ME. I am NOT a minimalist and this fact makes packing really difficult for me. To give you an idea, here's my packing regimen: I lay out nearly my entire wardrobe and then slowly take away things I feel, at that moment, I can live without for the duration of my trip. I then start thinking about shoes. What the!?$? How am I supposed to widdle these down? Different shoes go with different outfits, and how am I supposed to know what to bring if I am not sure what I am going to want to wear that day? Let me tell you, this is my form of torture. I pick everything I want to take and then purge. I never get more than two hours of sleep before a big trip, because this purging process usually takes me ALL NIGHT. I then pack what I have on my bed into a suitcase and delight in the fact that I have extra space. I proceed to cram a few more once-purged items back into my suitcase to the point that the suitcase is verging on crammed. Now I don't have any extra space and resort to sitting on the darned thing to zip it shut. Even after the suitcase is shut, I still try to slip a shirt or two in the front pocket of the stupid thing. And what about all my toiletries? Blow dryer? I need this space for clothes! This means that I have to take at least two bags. I can't give up space in my main suitcase for toiletries. This is my precious space that will result in moods over the next x amount of days.
You would think the saga ends there, but it doesn't. Once I get to where I am going and am trying to get dressed for the day, the regret sets in and I start thinking about all the aforementioned purged items from my suitcase that I now want to wear at that moment. I don't want to wear anything that I have packed - it's all ugly to me and I end up not wearing any of it, just wishing for the stuff I have left behind.
This, in part, makes packing more difficult the next time around because I remember how frustrating it was to not have something with me, thus ending up having to wear something that I didn't want to. There's nothing worse then feeling unattractive. Am I right, ladies? Result? An okay day with the undertone of ugliness. Sigh. Never mind that I could be in Italy or someplace fantastic. If a girl feels ugly, the world just ain't right. Why, oh packing universe, do you have to be against me so?
I know, I'm sick. I have problems. But what's a girl to do? So, I'm throwing the question out to the blogosphere: Am I crazy or does this sound a bit familiar to you out there?
We are going to Utah for a pretty lengthy trip at the end of this month and this dreaded task is creeping up on me. This time I not only have to pack for me, I have to pack for Lois. Double the trouble. I do find comfort in the fact that Lois' clothes are so tiny and they don't take up much space at all. This has got me thinking...someone needs to invent a machine that can shrink clothes to baby size - just for traveling purposes - and once you have reached your destination they become your size again. This would be a dream come true! Just imagine the possibilities! I could bring whatever the heck I wanted and not feel remorse about leaving something behind or remorse for not being able to pack a normal amount of clothing. Problem solved.
Until my travel clothes shrinker comes in the mail in 2000-never, I'm just going to try to pack like a normal person. Because I've been hearing some nasty rumors about $50 to check a second bag onto an airplane. Ahh crap. There goes my toiletries...
Yes, I need help. I need to join over-packing anonymous. Anyone know where I can find such a group or do I need to become president? Hi. My name is Lilianne Wright. I have a over-packing problem. Response: Hi, Lilianne. Welcome.
