To List or Not to List

Do you use a packing list to plan what you’ll take on vacation?

I usually don’t. I start about a week in advance and lay things out on the bed in the guest bedroom (where my closet is!) when I start thinking about what to take. I can be watching a DVD one night and think, “must bring my blue tank top,” and I’m up to toss it on the stack of clothes. Travel requirements such as necessary visas and immunizations are a different story. For those, I make lists and schedule things well in advance so I’m not freaking out right before I leave on vacation.

Europe travel guru, Rick Steves, has a packing list template on his Web site. It’s more helpful than many Web lists because it even suggests the number of certain clothing items to bring in many cases.

I know people who have multiple packing lists saved on their computers, organized by type of destination: beach, city, outdoorsy, cruise, etc. They just print out the right one, pencil in a few new things, and start packing.

How about you? Are you super organized, or do you start throwing things into a bag 20 minutes before you’re off to the airport? Add a comment and let us know.