Packing Up: Leave the shaving cream home (and other advice)

If you're anything like me, you love to travel and you love when it comes time to "get packing." Packing for a trip signifies more than just getting stuff together - it means you've made the step from simply thinking about going to actually getting up and going. Like waiting for a gourmet meal to arrive at your table, when you're in the packing stage you can almost taste the fun you're about to have. And if you start packing when I do, it means you're leaving tomorrow.

But that's about where the packing romance stops. Most of the time, packing is a chore along the lines of cleaning out the vacuum bag. It has to be done, but very few people like to do it.

Over the years and trips I've taken, I think I've finally learned how to pack. Along the way, however, I've made plenty of mistakes. Sometimes a mistake results in simply not knowing your destination well enough. For Europe, I didn't pack a nice outfit. I should have. In Central America I brought a sleeping bag - totally unnecessary in the tropics. On a long trip, forget the fancy travel bags. For example, I brought along a spiffy toiletries bag to Costa Rica, and it was overrun with tiny ants who found their way into every compartment and ate my toothpaste and shampoo. A simple zip-lock bag would have kept the bugs out.

Some do's and don'ts:

Don't check luggage if you can carry it on. Think small.

Don't pack more than one pair of jeans. Zero if possible. Too heavy.

Don't bring lots of grooming items or jewelry. One comb and some toothpaste should do it.

Don't, for any reason, bring anything other than a backpack for active or extensive travel.

Do research your destination in advance (i.e, if it's going to be cold most of the time in Iceland, don't pack shorts because it MIGHT get sunny one of the days).

Do bring true necessitites: mosquito repellant, sturdy shoes, sunglasses, hat.

Do bring at least one "fun" item, like a funny key chain children will like.

Do leave some room for souvenirs. Like good stories and pictures, they'll grow in value after you get home.

Here's how I'm taking a dose of my own medicine:

On my next trip to the tropics, I am planning to pack better and lighter. I plan on taking a daypack only with two changes of clothing inside. Everything will be sealed in slide-zip plastic bags. One will hold toiletries. I'll skip the sleeping bag in favor of a tiny tape recorder - to record the wonderous sounds of the rainforest at night. And this time I'll bring a flashlight that doesn't rust in humidity.

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