Packing !

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Hehehe! Ditto, but I do draw the line at ironing my smalls v(

Lol lol it's so you can't pack more in:-P
Lol
Ok that one is a bit wierd lol

Yes, it's a bit OCD is it not but each to their own eh?
We all have our idiosyncrasies, yours seems to be ironing your kecks, hey ho

I'm not gonna share my little habits hehe.

L2H see what you've started here..? Bon voyage.

L2H see what you've started here..? Bon voyage.

Lol
Ditto
Hope you and the family have a great time

Thanks guys no doubt you'll hear from me at about midday tomorrow with a hello from the CH ... Hic !!!

ok this is my routine

week and weekend before (I usually travel on a Thursday and go for 6 nights) I start to put clothes etc on the spare bed and continue to do so as and when I see / think of items. this is generally a bit random but eventually works and I do have a mental list in my head of what I want / need. Sometimes I see something in the wardrobe and replace that with an item already on the bed sometimes I just add it to the pile. This includes things like toiletries too.

Monday - time spent on hand luggage and checking documents. Usually order taxis at this point as well.

Tuesday I do a check for numbers of things - pair of pants, socks and t-shirt per day. 2-3 evening type shirts, jeans/trousers etc and to see if I'm missing anything. I'd rather have too much at this point than too little.

Wednesday evening - move everything to the main bedroom - more room on the bed - and sort things. Usually removing things rather than adding. Leave for a couple of hours to have dinner and do other things like set the PVR. Return for final check and actually pack suitcase. May swap one pair of jeans for another at this point. Case closed and weighed. Sometimes this results in some items being decanted into the spare holdall that was coming anyway to balance things off a bit. Am usually under 23KG !

Case them moved to the hall.

Usually end up thinking 'have I got this?' but generally resist adding more stuff.

Thursday morning - Hand baggage is last to be checked with documents in a documents wallet. My 'heart pants' and Tonty & Beary are always the last to be loaded!

Final routine at home is to do any washing up and put rubbish and recycling out. Plug holes s get a slug of bleach down them and the loo gets a final flush and if the winter I check the central heating timers are set and the thermostat set low.

Once taxi arrived it's too late to worry about forgetting something and if I have then I may get it in duty free or wait until I get to my destination or just do without.

Nothing gets ironed!

Oh and I also sort my cash out into denominations and all facing the same way !

Wow tontybear you are thorough indeed.
But....nothing gets ironed?:-0
I'm intrigued. Hmmm

Crikey tonty - now that's a routine!

Mine is like this:

Night before flight: get home late from work, tired, drink some wine. Maybe get suitcase out of the cupboard. Resolve to pack before bed but then never get around to it.

Day of flight: wake 90 minutes before need to leave the house, shove suit and a few shirts into my case, laptop/ipad and chargers etc, sponge bag if I'm particularly organised, and then (and this has truly happened) maybe book the hotel I'll be staying in later that day...

On arrival: immediate trip to shops to buy the various items I've forgotten to bring.

ah, the joys of work trips! Still, it used to be harder - when my son was younger he would help daddy pack by removing items from my suitcase and stowing them elsewhere in the house.

It probably sounds more complicated than it is in practice but it is what I do.

It's the routine I picked up from my mother. Except she would have ironed things !

This thread is getting better as it develops, roflmao

at240 - I just could not be that disorganised! Lol. I don't travel for work much, and never long haul if I travel internationally, but whether its business or pleasure, gotta be organised.

Just today I confirmed a meeting in Manchester with one of my customers, which is an excuse for a jolly, so straight online to book trains and hotel within minutes of confirming business meeting, and now I'm thinking about whether to eat in Chinatown or the trendy Northern Quarter, whether I want Chinese, Japanese, Italian blah blah, and it's 2 weeks away. I'll probably go online later and look up dining options, even though I know a handful of restaurants I could go to. And even for this simple trip my case will be packed and in the hall the night before with my paperwork. Gotta be organised!

Come to think of it, I better see which suit stills fits! I rarely wear them but this is an occasion that calls for it. Here's where I see if my dieting has really been worth it lol.

And if I'm taking gadgets away with me I'm a nightmare, my OH despairs. Everything charged up before we go then all chargers and cables have their own pouch, when going overseas adapters have another pouch.

I've even been known to repack his case if I don't think he's done it properly!

We leave in a week and I am packed, holiday file sorted, docs all in chronological order (although passport still in safe so I can't lose it) and clothes to wear on trip ironed and folded on suitcase. Have to admit I don't have the currency as the bank will deliver it to my work on Thursday but once received notes will be checked and placed in the wallet - facing the same way and in order of course!

Thanks to this thread I can now relax knowing I am not the only V-Flyer with travel OCD. y)

Home routine in preceding days includes cleaning entire house from top to bottom, grass cutting as close to travel date, but only after checking to see what timing weather forecast will allow. Yes, bleach down loo in last thing, but only after checking with himself that he's finished using it. And then often he decides he DOES want to use it after all... more bleach...

Rubbish will already have been done and dusted, but quite often there are a few last minute bits in the bin, so have started to collect those in a carrier bag and drop into a waste basket at the local shops en route to the airport.

Paperwork will have been check a few times already but, just for good measure, is checked just before we leave. We'll already have worked back from the time we need to get to the airport and decided what time we need to get up - but I am always, always, always up well in advance of that time....

OCD? Yep, and proud of it

My name is LizzieP and I iron everything...
And use packing cubes to make sure suitcase contents are super organized...
As well as all the usual stuff of banknotes in correct order, facing the right way...
And copies of passport / insurance and travel itinerary left with friend...
I love going away, honestly!!!

When I began reading this thread I thought I better not contribute as no one would be as OCD as I am ....... But .....hoorah ! I am not alone. Yes, even to taking the final rubbish in a carrier bag.
And I make sure I leave the washing machine door open and turn the car radio off and put a large bottle of water in the fridge for my return. And just why do I do a final dust ?!

That's easy - it's in case anyone comes into your house. The last thing you'd want is for them to think your place is dirty!

Oh yeah, washing machine door open, to air.... and bottle of water in car for return, I do that too!

Out of interest, what do you all do about your post while away? I do have (usually) my sister in law coming in periodically, but not every day. Apparently the post office does a service that keeps your post and then delivers it in one batch when you return, but I haven't tried it out - anyone here tried that?

My name is LizzieP and I iron everything...
And use packing cubes to make sure suitcase contents are super organized...
As well as all the usual stuff of banknotes in correct order, facing the right way...
And copies of passport / insurance and travel itinerary left with friend...
I love going away, honestly!!!

Lol wow LizzieP that is awesome!
Packing cubes? Oh my what are they? Sounds like whatever they are they're gona take my packing OCD to the next level lol

Out of interest, what do you all do about your post while away? I do have (usually) my sister in law coming in periodically, but not every day. Apparently the post office does a service that keeps your post and then delivers it in one batch when you return, but I haven't tried it out - anyone here tried that?

A friend of mine has tried it because she had one of those external post boxes -- and it worked OK. But then she found a cheaper solution who also waters her plants... :w

I used to pay the Post Office to keep my mail but after several times of having the date for it all to be delivered messed up I was lucky enough to have a helpful neighbour. So ..... I leave two containers in the entrance ... One for flyers ( not the V sort ! ) etc, the other for obvious personal mail. The neighbour just lets himself into the entrance bit to pick the post up each day .

I always wondered whether it was sensible, in the interests of "preventing identity theft", to tell several strangers that you are going to be away -- and then let them hold on to all of your mail...

Well I thought I was bad having all of my travel money sorted and all the same way round with a printout of travel plans from tripit also on my phone an iPad but I am clearly not as alone!

I however just stuff the clothes I will need in a case the night before I go away.

Does anyone always print boarding passes even though you know there is no need to ?

Right that's it, next time we travel you are all invited round for a packing party
Despite best efforts to be organised our cases are stuffed to the limit and the calmness has turned into mild nervousness/excitement.
Just need to do the following :
bleach toilets, empty bins, set freest to record things, remind our neighbours we are off....phew

1 hour til taxi arrives )

This thread is like a breath of fresh air!

I'm a list maker! I make lists of everything I am going to need while I am away then remind myself that I can do without the sewing kit, large first aid kit AND travel first aid kit, six types of painkiller etc, twenty pens ...

I then halve my list. Then halve it again.

Having a few pets in the house means that setting things out early would just mean they would be trampled and used as bedding so tend not to bother. They start to sulk when they see the suitcases come out of the spare room and have been know to have a protest in one - new suitcase for me please!

And use packing cubes to make sure suitcase contents are super organized...

Packing cubes? Oh my what are they? Sounds like whatever they are they're gona take my packing OCD to the next level lol

But I also use packing cubes! A fairly recent discovery but an absolute God send if you like to start getting ready really early. I am an overly enthusiastic ironer as well and have been known to iron socks to get them to lay flat in my packing cubes. So much easier for me to use than laying out in a suitcase. gfonk - highly recommend you look them up!

I am the same with bank notes and paperwork. Have been known to reprint paperwork as it got creased.

Everything HAS to be ready the night before. Suitcases in the car where possible. Clothes have to be laid out the night before, shoes undone, belts already looped etc ... toothpaste on the toothbrush.

Will stay up til the small hours to get everything ready so all I have to do in the morning is get up, shower, dress and leave. )

So glad I am not alone!

But I also use packing cubes! A fairly recent discovery but an absolute God send if you like to start getting ready really early. I am an overly enthusiastic ironer as well and have been known to iron socks to get them to lay flat in my packing cubes. So much easier for me to use than laying out in a suitcase. gfonk - highly recommend you look them up!

I am the same with bank notes and paperwork. Have been known to reprint paperwork as it got creased.

Everything HAS to be ready the night before. Suitcases in the car where possible. Clothes have to be laid out the night before, shoes undone, belts already looped etc ... toothpaste on the toothbrush.

Will stay up til the small hours to get everything ready so all I have to do in the morning is get up, shower, dress and leave. )

So glad I am not alone!

We also use vacuum bags as well. Though you need to be careful as it is then very easy to overload lol
They are more useful for your return tbh as that is when you are less likely to want to pack at the hotel so just lay everything in the vacuum bag and squash all the air out. bingo!! lol

I will definitely be looking up packing cubes at coffee break though.

First, apologies to L2H for asking a question on her thread. But actually - on the subject of packing, does anyone have any good tips for packing a shirt so that it minimises creases? or are creases inevitable?

Collared shirts are hard work to keep crease free although you can buy special shirt packing things for single shirts but, IMHO, look expensive and a faff - iron at destination or hand over to hotel laundry service! Packing cubes (I use the eBags ones) are like mini, soft-sided compartments in your suitcase so you can pack say, t-shirts in one, underwear in another etc rather than stuffing items into corners, but the real saving grace is when overseas customs select you for the random search...no blushes and no trying to cram everything back in to the case under supervision! Great for backpacking too so you don't have to empty the whole pack trying to find one item (which will be at the bottom). Once you start using them, you won't pack any other way again. OCDers of the world unite!