Mikeshea.net

Packing Light

Mike Shea, 7 March 2009

My grandmother, Frances Bremseth, died 2 March 2009 at 99 years old. She was active both mentally and physically until she had a massive stroke on Saturday evening and died two days later. That is about as good a way to go as anyone could hope for. She learned how to drive on a Model T, lived through the great depression, two world wars, Viet Nam, Korea, two gulf wars, and 9-11. She saw the birth of TV, the home computer, and the internet. She was smart, funny, and politically savvy until the day she died.

So Michelle and headed to Oklahoma to celebrate her life with her family and friends. Being a Zen acolyte, I'm always looking for ways to simplify things. This trip, as a way to make it a bit more fun for me, I tried to pack as light as I could and still survive three days in a tiny town in Oklahoma. I've used Onebag.com as a guide as well as Tim Ferriss's tips for travel. Here's my current three day packing list:

One trick is to wear clothes that don't pack well and have every article serve multiple purposes when possible.

Here's what I wore on travel days:

• one pair tactical internet pants.
• socks, underwear
• one black Eddie Bauer extra tall t-shirt: serves double duty as an undershirt and a regular shirt
• one light wrinkle free dress shirt of a color that fits everything else I'm bringing
• one blazer. I really want one of those Tilley travel blazers. I don't need this for casual trips.
• one pair Dr. Martin 1460 Black Nappa boots: My current favorites but those 1460 For Life boots are really tempting.

Here's my general packing list:

• one pair socks per day (up to four).
• one pair underwear per day (up to four).
• one black T-shirt for every two full non-travel days (up to three): serves double duty as undershirt or regular shirt.
• one pair dockers.
• one collared wrinkle-free light dress shirt: I can probably omit this for warm casual trips.
• one collapsable rain-resistant wind breaker
• My Tilley hat
• one swimsuit: double duty as shorts
• one tie if there are formal events
• Toiletries: razor, toothbrush, small toothpaste, floss stick, bar soap, deodorant, and earplugs for the plain in a zip-loc bag

Here's my entertainment packing list:

• Two Uniball 207 pens
• My trusty Moleskine pocket notebook
• Large lined Moleskine journal
• iPhone & charger
• Sennheiser PX-200 folding headphones
• Shure iPhone microphone adapter
• One paperback novel

I had brought a Nintendo DS on my trip but ended up never touching it. I'll probably skip it next time. The iPhone has some great games and not having enough entertainment around forces me to get out there and explore.

All of this fits in a L.L. Bean Deluxe Book Pack that I can carry on the plane. This is enough to last me up to five days out. Theoretically this would last even longer if I wash clothes on the trip. Some trips, like Gencon, require a bit more like my D&D stuff. On other trips I might want to bring my laptop.

Tilley sure makes some great travel clothes, at least on screen, but boy they're expensive. Still, I love the Tim Ferriss idea of traveling around the world with less than 10 pounds of stuff. This trip to Oklahoma worked out pretty well - casual and semi-formal over four days with nothing but a backpack.

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