I’m packing to go on a girls’ trip to Ireland to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. I’m so excited!
As I’ve been packing and planning, I’ve been thinking about how much my relationship with packing has changed.
I used to be a chronic overpacker.
Not a little extra, I mean, truly deeply committed to the idea that I might need absolutely everything.
And many of my clients are the same way.
Packing brings up a lot…
Will I have what I need? What if the weather changes? What if my body feels different that day? What if I want more options? What if I get there and wish I had brought the other thing?
It’s easy to act like packing should be simple, but it’s not. It’s actually a pretty complex project.
You’re trying to plan for future weather, future moods, future activities, laundry access, location changes, and, for a lot of women, a body that may not feel exactly the same from one day to the next.
That’s a lot to account for.
Which is why I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is skipping the planning part of packing and going straight to the suitcase.
If you do that, it’s hard to stay focused…
The clothes start talking. Your shoes start talking. Your anxiety starts talking. The size (and weight) of your suitcase is talking…
And suddenly you’re no longer making choices from a clear space. Instead, you’re reacting to whatever feels loudest at the moment.
That rarely ends well.
There’s a quote I love (often attributed to Abraham Lincoln):
“If I had four hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first three sharpening the axe.”
I find that planning is the single biggest helper when it comes to packing light.
Before I start pulling clothes, I plan the trip out. I look at how long I’ll be gone, where I’m going, access to laundry, and what activities we have planned.
Then I map it all out, either in a spreadsheet or on paper…day by day.
I literally write out the day, the weather, the activities, and the outfits I’ll need.
That way, I can see what I actually need before I ever step into my closet.
Once I do that, the whole thing gets easier. I can see where I need a travel outfit, where I need daytime walking clothes, where I need something nicer, and where I can re-wear pieces.
I build my suitcase around what makes sense for the trip instead of grabbing random things because I’m afraid I’ll be without them.
And truthfully, most of the time, we bring way more than we use anyway.
Planning helps cut down the excess, but it also does something more important…it calms the noise. It gives you a clear place to start. It shifts packing from a vague swirl of stress into an actual project with a strategy.
So, if you tend to overpack, or avoid packing until the last minute, or end up shoving things in a bag and hoping for the best…maybe the answer isn’t trying to plan for every possible outcome.
Maybe the answer is giving the planning part the respect it deserves, so you can bring less but feel better.
Packing is one of those things that gets a whole lot easier when you stop pretending it should be effortless and start treating it like it is a problem worth solving well.
