tips on packing for a trip effectively*

*for someone with exactly my preferences and constraints. for everyone else, this guide is much more comprehensive.

i travelled itinerantly for about a year. now, it usually takes me about 10-20 minutes to pack, from start to finish.

• count the number of mornings, not the number of nights or days. you sleep in your underwear, or nothing — the thing that actually matters is how many times you’re getting dressed
  • pack at least one extra underwear and pair of socks. also, pack 1.2x underwear & 1.2x pairs of socks per morning, rounded down.
    • quantity of underwear = 1 + round_down(1.2(number of mornings))
• bring melatonin, partially as a hypnotic (if short term), but mostly as a chronotic (if medium-long term).
  • how to actually adjust your sleep schedule
• bring a trash bag for dirty clothes.
• the only way to not overpack is to have underpacked a few times. 🤷‍♂️ it’s not that bad
• bring more sweaters and fewer tshirts
• put your heavy stuff in carryon and lighter stuff in your backpack
• most of the work in packing comes from:
  • having a really good model of what you’ll be like when selecting clothes in the morning
  • having a good wardrobe that you like
  • …to the extent that you don’t already have those two, packing for a trip becomes MUCH more difficult