Neurotic Much? or I am Queen of All Packing

Friday, May 9, 7:00 pm

The Husband is amazed** that I am already completely packed for Italy a full 36 hours before our flight.  Usually I am running around panicking about having forgotten something.  This is not to say I pack too much, just that I usually put it off until midnight before the morning I have to leave.  I consider myself a fairly light packer, although not compared to my friend Skoopy who can be ready for a 30-day trip in under 30 minutes.  I think it is due to her owning a bottomless Mary Poppins bag, which you’d think would be available in England but I have yet to locate.  She must have gotten it in New York.  You can get anything in New York.  I have to resign myself to a Tommy Hilfiger carry-on with an adjustable shoulder strap.

       ** by “amazed” I mean that when he walked in the door I talked at him for 5 minutes about what a great packing job I did and he said, “That’s great baby.”  I would like to note that upon seeing how I fit everything into a shoulder bag he immediately abandoned his idea of taking his hard-case rolling suitcase and said, “I think I can fit everything in my back-pack.”

I have to put extra thought into packing this time because we are flying RyanAir which is a discount airline.  The tickets are cheap but only because they charge extra for everything.  It is 4 Pounds to not to do e-check-in and 16 Pounds to take an extra bag.  Also, I need to be able to carry my bag since we will likely be walking to and from various train stations and a rolling suitcase would be a pain in the ass and make me look super touristy.  I realize there is no way for us to avoid looking like tourists in Italy – really, are there any two paler people?  Even the English are tanner than The H and me.  When I put on shorts to make sure they still fit after so many months of Minnesota cold I had to grab sunglasses to protect my eyes from the glare.  I don’t think I dare try a rub-in bronzer.  No matter how good the advances in bronzers I’m pretty sure I would turn out orange.

Anyway, what The H doesn’t know is that after he left for work at 7:30 Friday morning I laid out all my clothes on the bed and tried them on in different combinations to come up with the perfect flexible travel wardrobe.  Here is the detailed inventory of my excellent packing job:

In The Tommy Bag:

- pair of GREEN cargo capri pants (will wear on plane)

- pair of subtle green shorts

- new pretty black skirt with little white deer and aqua trim (purchased at JOY in London, has not been worn yet)

5- tank tops (2 black, 1 orange, 1 yellow, 1 aqua)

- pink tee shirt with black birds and flowers (will wear on plane with GREEN pants which makes me look like a watermelon which makes me very happy)

- new subtle green patterned jersey dress Mom bought for me in London for my birthday (can be worn alone or over shorts)

- pair of comfy Rocket Dog trainers (require socks, will wear on plane)

- pair of cute green and yellow owl Keds (do not require socks)

- pair of black sandals (It goes against all efficient-packing logic to take a third pair of shoes, but these are thinner than most flip-flops and I really need something to wear with my cute new skirt.  Plus I think I will be glad for open-toed shoes I can slip on to walk around the hotel).

- beige jacket (will wear on the plane and then I really hope to not need a jacket but it would suck to not have one if it’s chilly)

- black t-shirt (extra)

- white tank top (for sleeping)

2- bras (will wear one on plane)

10- panties (will wear one pair on plane, you just can’t pack enough panties.  I had to cut myself off.)

5- pairs of short sport socks in neutral hues

- mesh bag for dirty socks and panties

- bikini (because you just never know)

- new yellow wrist watch (5 quid at the rag market, will wear on plane)

- Small toiletries bag with mini shampoo, mini conditioner, mini Lemon & Tea Tree Shower Gel, mini deodorant, mini comb, mini brush, mini toothpaste, travel toothbrush, razor, Garnier blemish SOS pen,  1 extra ziplock bag, 3 saline eyedroppers, 5 safety pins and 8 Q-tips

- Black cloth butterfly purse (I considered not taking this but I have enough room and my orange purse really really does not match my new skirt and it might be nice to have an extra bag I can sling over my shoulder in case of shopping and this one is perfect because it can easily fold up to fit inside the other purse)

- 1 wash cloth in zip lock bag (I’ve learned they’re not big on wash cloths at hotels here)

In the orange and brown striped Le Sportsac purse:

- Passport

- UK entry permit

- Green leather wallet with chain with MN driver’s license, credit cards and Euros

- Cloth squirrel pouch with extra Dollars and Pounds

- pocket Italian phrase book (buon giorna)

- pen, highlighter (for use in phrase book)

- black sunglasses

- handkerchief (it’s actually a dinner napkin from the Goodwill)

- small empty water bottle

2- mints leftover from a restaurant

- Large matching pouch with L’Oreal Solar Expertise 50+ Sunblock, 3 band-aids, 3 wet wipes, what’s left of a mini pack of tissues, tiny emery board, 2 stretchy beaded bracelets I won’t be upset if I lose, 6 tabs pseudophedrin, tiny tube of Abreva, 4 hair elastics, 2 hair clips, 1 pack mint gum and 1 set foam earplugs (I know that seems strange, but the The H has huge containers of them at home in MN for ear protection while motorcycle riding and they just end up in all my bags and I figure as long as they’re there already I might as well bring them along.)

- Small matching pouch in purse with various make-up items (make-up?  what make-up?  this is natural)

- 13 pages of print-outs of hotel and flight information which I will stick in the side pocket of my Tommy bag and hopefully never look at again.  More importantly, 6 re-typed half-pages of condensed flight and hotel info including walking directions and rail times, organized by date and cut & stapled into a mini-book which will fit conveniently in the zipper pocket of my purse.  Like I said, I am the Queen.  (We don’t have a printer in the flat.  I asked The H to please print the document on light yellow or pink paper and he said, “No, you’re not high maintenance.”)

Lastly, these items are either already packed or I will make, um, I mean ask The H to carry some of them:  Travel alarm clock, Florence guide book with map, Venice guide book with map, red camera & battery charger, red cell phone & charger, red MP3 player (I considered not bringing the MP3 player but I really like having the headphones to stick in to those audio tour things they have at historical sites and as long as I’m bringing the headphones I might as well bring the MP3 player; it’s tiny.) 

The H says he is very impressed with how much space is left in my bag.  He agrees that I am the Queen of All Packing and that I am a Very Good Planner and asks if I am going to be like this until we get on the airplane.  Like what?  “Like a dancing puppy.” 

I am a good planner and I plan to fill all that empty space with new clothes from Italy.  Silly man.

—

Example of excellent packing skills.  Note how easily the money can be replaced with Italian clothes.