Travel Tip of the Week: Make a list

Last week I talked about my back from over packing.  My suggestion is to create a list of items and attach conditions to them.  Certain things I need every business trip such as my laptop, socks, underwear, chargers, but other things I only need certain trips such as my passport and Charles Schwab ATM card are only needed for international trips.

Also apply multipliers.  I bring underwear and socks in a # of days + 1 fashion because ya never know.
I bring shirts equal to the number of days, but I may only bring 2 or 3 pairs of slacks and 1 set of workout clothes…2 if i’ll be gone more than 4 days.

When I go on personal trips things are skewed because suddenly I need jeans, I may need sandals, etc, and I have to do those trips as a one-off (except for underwear and socks).

I don’t have this formally written down because I hate lists and organization, but I try to mentally go through the list.  I also triple check that I have my passport when going to Canada.  I always have my passport card in my wallet and recently I’ve been driving across, but I still like to know I have the book too *just in case*.  I check before I leave my house, I check while I’m still driving, then I check again after I’ve parked my car.