The Benefits of Packing Early

I always pack early for a trip. It's part of who I am as a person. It turns out that I have passed this habit on to my kids as well. My husband packs the night before we leave, but the kids and I bust out the suitcases at least five days in advance. We are planning what we'll wear, thinking about what we'll need. We will leave nothing behind! Except that sometimes we do anyway.

For me, the draw of packing early has something to do with knowing that I am less likely to forget something essential or find that something I want to wear on the trip needs to be laundered than if I were to leave it to the last minute. It also is nice knowing early on that I've got everything in place for the trip to go smoothly. Because I've had loads of time to think through everything we will need and get it into our bags, I don't worry that we will arrive and have to scramble. We will arrive and be able to slip right into holiday life. But beyond that, a big part of the attraction is beginning to imagine the trip through the things I am packing.

I put my beach towel in and imagine settling on the beach with a book and some good snacks. I pop in a couple of cardigans and think of dinners outdoors in the Old Town at dusk. I drop in my most comfortable shoes and imagine walking up to the Chateau to enjoy the view. It's another perk of going to the same place over and over again - I know exactly what I have to look forward to. And when I pack, I think of all those things. In a way, I am beginning the holiday early, if only in my mind. With plenty of very boring and tedious things to do before we depart, I am more than happy to have this little bit of pre-holiday pleasure.