I’m what you might call an overpacker from the standpoint of and in regard to traveling. I pack more than I need and then some (pause for laughter). There’s an indignity in struggling to lug around far more bags than one needs for, say, a two-week vacation, but there’s another indignity in forgetting to pack certain essential items. Here’s a comprehensive guide to packing right for your next trip.
Selecting Luggage
Luggage is as great a place to start as any. Suitcases are a pretty essential piece of luggage and I think people should travel with more of them. Most people probably think it’s stupid to travel with multiple suitcases, even though it makes perfect sense to do that because they have wheels, and you probably have two hands and could probably carry at least two per hand. Alas, a secondary or tertiary piece of luggage is usually a wheelless bag of some sort.
I’ve always traveled with at least one blue polyester lKEA bag, which is unfortunate because they have no aura and zero drip. It is recommended instead to travel with a briefcase overflowing with documents so you look hard working but imperfect. Our experts at Miscellany News Cableslicer, through rigorous testing, have found that this is the cheapest briefcase on Amazon.
Packing Clothes
Sometimes, I wish I had just an identical set of brown-and-yellow-striped sweaters, like Barry in the adequately rated 2007 film, “Bee Movie,” and that I could just wear the same outfit every day of a trip and not have to think about my apparel at all, but I choose variety over substance.
It’s recommended to pack one more set of clothes than the days that you are traveling, and then another set in case that extra set spontaneously lights on fire, and then double that number in case you shit your pants every day. There are certain clothing items that you can definitively overpack. I’ve been known to overpack baseball caps (I brought like nine to summer camp one year). With any accessories, you should be choosy about how many you bring. More than two zoot suit hats is excessive.
Packing Entertainment
Most forms of entertainment are readily accessible on “the phone” these days, but there’s always value in traveling with physical board games. In the sorely underrated 2025 film, “Paddington in Peru,” Mrs. Brown decides to bring a travel set of Scrabble on the family’s trip to Peru. Later in the movie, when they arrive in Peru, she asks her daughter if she wants to play Scrabble and she says she doesn’t want to play. That is the entire Scrabble arc in the film.
You have to prepare for such disappointments with these things (if Mrs. Brown had suggested some sort of phone activity, maybe her daughter would have been interested). Still, on the off-chance that someone will play Scrabble with you, pack Scrabble.
Packing Food
Having a good snack on hand is an important part of overcoming the uncertainties of travel. I often take an Amtrak train back from college and, on my last trip, the cafe cart was closed from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m., essentially meaning it was closed for the entire dinner rush. This is not an uncommon occurrence on Amtrak’s Maple Leaf train line. Luckily I had brought a sub sandwich on my journey back to Poughkeepsie, so this inconvenience was trivial. Also on the train ride back from college, I spilled five small packs of raisins on the floor which I had to pick up. While a bummer, this feeling was completely offset by the sense of ease I had from not being raisinless on the trip. Bring any food that puts you at ease.
Packing Toiletries
I don’t know how popular of a take this is, but I think complimentary hotel toiletries are pretty rad and I like using them over whatever soap or shampoo that I bring. Most toiletries can be procured from wherever it is that you’re staying, whether a hotel or someone’s house or otherwise, so only pack the essentials. The only item that I think is truly essential to bring is your toothbrush, because that’s an intimate relationship.
Traveling with Animals
Traveling with animals is tricky. I don’t envy anybody traveling with a cat or dog on a plane, though I do envy the cat or dog because flying on a plane is pretty cool. Smaller animals, like bugs, are far more portable and manageable on flights. I saw this video a couple weeks ago of a woman taking a call on a phone that had an ant farm on the back of it, and while that’s probably not great ant treatment, there’s nothing stopping you from traveling around with a standard ant farm or, better yet, a talking cricket who will give you advice on your journey, so you can become a legitimate boy.
What not to pack
I recommend saving space where you can for the trip back, which means not packing certain items. For things I have not covered in the section below, and in the interest of complete clarity, here’s a comprehensive list of things not to travel with:
- a large beach ball (blown up),
- multiple staplers,
- a live crab,
- egg (raw),
- a fish tank,
- The Declaration of Independence (original)
Well, that does it. With this info, you should be able to get where you’re going with plenty of dignity left.