The art of packing a suitcase

A few days ago there was a completely irrelevant little 'news' article on nu.nl. It said: "Women overpack by two thirds for a holiday". Oh, really? A British department store decided this was a topic that needed research and the outcome is considered news for some, obviously commercial, reason. I thought it was ridiculous, but it made me think of my own packing behavior, so I will pay some attention to it anyway...

Every guy will agree to that headline and most women will shrug their shoulders, saying: 'better safe than sorry'. And if it fits and you 'carry' your own suitcase: who cares? The funny part is that one third of the women in this research had been caught out by excess baggage charges, due to their overenthusiastic packing. And half of these women had lied to their partners about the weight of their suitcase, afraid their hubbies would make them leave stuff at home. Seriously?

I am sure many women will recognize the overpacking to some degree. If I didn't take the time to reason with myself I too would bring too much (I am talking about two or three shirts that I won't wear, no more). But over time I have become a better packer. Especially since I prefer my backpack over my suitcase. A suitcase will take up the same amount of space, whether it is full or not. And it has wheels, so besides the suitcase-in-the-airplane-throwers who cares how heavy it is? It is not just that I am more mobile with my backpack, it's also a good way to prevent overpacking. (And it makes me feel adventurous, even if my travel itinerary consists of nothing but from airport to hotel to beach to hotel to airport)

In the past I have packed bags to last for a period of six months, twice. So a short holiday is nothing. Bring it on. If I had to, I could go with a pair of underwear and a toothbrush. Seriously.

I am about to leave for a sunny, hot and relaxing holiday shortly. I need to start thinking about packing myself. I have moved many things from the 'should really bring that' to the 'you really don't need that' category. Strange how two minutes of thinking makes stuff change categories so drastically. This is all still in my head. When I start the real packing, I will lay out only the real necessities and then carefully add some to the 'that would be nice to wear to....' category. Next day I check that last category and take half of it out. Then I am packed perfectly.

You can easily do that because you will wear things twice and you can wash your clothes there too. And if you are going somewhere you can't, I am guessing nobody gives a sh*t about what to wear anyway.

This was the long way to say that I am leaving for a (not too long) holiday to a lovely place that you see in the image above. I probably (damn those smartphones and free wifi) will not be writing anything before I am back. If you decide you want to order something at Stoffer + Blik anyway you can, of course. I will ship your goodies the second I get back home. In about 11 days from now.