Pack everything you are bringing the day before you travel

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” — Saint Augustine //

With weeks of planning and hours spent considering and reconsidering what to bring on my 3-month trip, how is it that I still was scrambling up until the last-minute before leaving for my trip, such that I almost missed my train that would get me to the airport on time?  The short answer is, that is a great question.  And the relevant advice I can pass along, is that if you are traveling for multiple months, no matter how organized you think you are, pack everything you are bringing the day before.

Interested in the slightly longer explanation?

Over the last several weeks, I accumulated all the items I will need to pack for my 3-month trip.  By researching about a dozen packing lists from other multi-month travelers, I came up with my own list of items that I think will be perfect to pack for travel to Southeast Asia.  Some of it I already owned, and the rest had to be bought.  I purchased items online from Amazon, and spent more time than I’d like to admit in REI, Midwest Mountaineering, and Target.  Most of what I bought went straight into my backpack as I purchased it, and the day before my trip, I felt well-organized and prepared as I began packing.

I actually was packing for three different trips.  The first part of my trip was a week on the West coast with my wife and friends to enjoy the area and go to a wedding, requiring some casual clothing as well as some dressier attire.  Immediately following that I flew to Singapore for 2 weeks of project work to complete, which required business casual clothing.  And then finally, I’d start my solo backpacking trip.  As the first part of my trip approached, I packed my clothing for the West coast and stacked up most of what I would need for Singapore in a neat, organized pile.  I woke up the day of my flight around 8am, which was 4 hours before I would need to leave for the airport.

As I went through my packing list I noticed things I was missing (don’t forget to bring hiking boots), which I pulled in, and made some last-minute decisions on things to leave at home (probably won’t need that extra t-shirt).  Once I had everything pulled together, I tried to pack everything into my 3 bags – a regular carry-on for the West coast, a backpack, and a daypack – but it wouldn’t fit.  With 15 minutes until I needed to leave for the airport, I finally got everything packed, but then remembered that I had created another list of things to do before leaving for the airport once done packing.  I frantically started working through the list and got to the last to-do item, which was transferring music from my Mac to my tablet device, for the trip.  After a software install, device restart, and software update, time was running short.

Very short.

So short, in fact, that I only had time to transfer to my tablet songs with band names beginning with the letters A, B, and C, before having to abort the rest of the transfer and leave to catch the train to the airport.

So, the moral of the story is … unless you are ok only listening to Abba, Backstreet Boys, and Crosby Stills and Nash for 3-months on the road, I recommend getting yourself packed up the day before.

Lessons Learned:

• If you are going on a long trip, pack all of your belongings the day before
• Make a list of any other things to do (ahem, transferring music to your tablet), and get those things done the day before as well – then on the day of the trip, you can spend the time leisurely and relaxed, with plenty of time to get to the airport and catch your flight

More Packing Tips:

• 10 packing tips every traveler should know
• Packing smart and traveling light
• Ultimate guide to travel packing

Do you have any packing tips to share?  Who are your favorite musical artists beginning with the letters A, B, or C?