Have you ever put something down and not even remembered touching it?
That happens to me a lot, I instinctively move something or put it away, but don’t even realize I’m doing it. This means sunglasses and random objects are usually not always where I think they should be or for Danny where he thinks they should be.
On the road I was always worried about losing things. Mostly our passports and cash, but also just little things like our laundry line and sunscreen. Ridiculous, I know. Surely every market had twine, but it wouldn’t have the cool little clips and small neoprene pouch that our fancy shmancy seatosummit one had. We might be able to find sunscreen, but it wouldn’t be the waterproof 30SPF oil free kind from home that we love.
Somewhere along the road of selling it, quitting it and giving it away I got very protective over those precious few items in my backpack.
So we developed a stuff survival system. DEFT- Drying, electronics, food, toiletries- the things that would most likely be left behind. We double checked as we left the room. “Honey did you pack____?” I’d say. Things were tightly put away in pouches, our backpacks fit together like puzzles, everything only fit one way which made it a lot easier to know when something was missing. But not everything.
Somethings were lost along the way.
Actually quite a few things, especially as time went on. Towards the end of the trip we stopped paying so much attention to our stuff, perhaps because we knew the end was in sight. From a rather expensive rain jacket in China to yes, a laundry line left hanging at a campground in Africa, many of those precious few items were left along the way. And you know what, at the time, we missed them. We had truly packed down to our essentials, there was hardly anything in that pack I didn’t use on a daily or weekly basis. But losing them didn’t ruin our trip. (Although I think Danny would disagree about his raincoat!)
The stuff I was trying to protect really didn’t matter. It made us more comfortable, but when I couldn’t buy contact solution (for the record ONLY Ethiopia) I just did without. In the end we both came home with packs smaller than when we left. Not because we lost so many things, but because we realized we could do more or the same with less. We let our stuff go and you know what, it was rather empowering.
Packing for a big trip? Check out our youtube video on packing a backpack!
Andrea says
We have a very well-developed packing/checks system on the road. The big thing is checking our room before we leave on check-out. Have only lost one eye mask (for sleeping) so far. Clothing lost due to stains beyond repair is another story…
Jillian says
Pretty darn good. We started to relax our system a bit towards the end. Needless to say that’s when things went missing. We were so much more vigilant at the beginning!
Raymond says
I hate leaving stuff behind as well. It’s just a pain to search for a replacement… 🙂
Jillian says
Have to agree. Although you can usually find something that works at a market, it’s still not the same!
Lorna - the roamantics says
wow guys- love this! completely understand! i’d just sold nearly everything and within a couple of days was at TBEX…and lost a cute little coat (one of two) i’d chosen to keep! but you know what, it didn’t ruin my trip and i just moved on with the mindset of letting things go. “i guess i didn’t really need that” is becoming my staple reaction. 🙂
Jillian says
Good reaction! It’s hard to let go of the things you keep though isn’t it?
jill- Jack and JIll Travel says
I lose stuff all the time. When that happens, my first gut reaction was always to replace it. But sometimes we’ll be forced to do without and I’m always amazed at how we adapted and simply did without. Still hate it when it happens though.
Jillian says
It becomes easier and easier to let things go. I’m amazed at how little we actually had by the end of the trip, but I’ll be honest, I started to miss having “stuff”. I hope I don’t become a hoarder!
robin says
A good point well made – I think it’s a kind of seperation anxiety that makes you get so attached to apparently random things when on nthe road – you can almost always manage without them but they take on an extra significance as if they are part of your identity or something that ties you to home.
Jillian says
Exactly Robin! It’s almost as though we felt we were losing a bit of home when we lost an object from home. We were so tied to those few objects they became more than just a clothesline, they became an emotional connection to home.
The Travel Chica says
I feel pretty good about how I packed for my trip. I can honestly say there is nothing in my pack I haven’t used except in the medical kit (which is a good thing!). But it did take me several hours of paring down my giant pile of stuff before I got everything to fit in my bag. I discovered that using a small bag makes you pack much more efficiently.
Jillian says
More efficiently and more carefully! A smaller bag is better, even now when I take a big bag I throw in way, way more than what I need without even thinking about it. My goal is to always be carryon size!
Laurel says
I love your positive attitude towards losing stuff. I’ve left stuff in a hotel and if it was really important, I had it shipped to me, but you’re right, most of the stuff I really didn’t miss.
Jillian says
We did try to have Danny’s rain jacket shipped to us, but they never “found” it. Our flip video camera was graciously shipped to us by our South African CS hosts after it was left behind, which was a huge god send, we hated being without it!
Jeremy Branham says
I like the DEFT system. However, I would probably take out food and include cash and passports in there. I honestly hate organizing stuff so I am always afraid I will forget something when I pack!
Jillian says
Our cash reserves were always stashed away in the same 5 spots as were the passports so we didn’t really have to worry about those. It was easy to know if the passports were gone based on their hidden location…. 🙂
Christina says
I think I’ve gotten pretty good at minimising stuff I take with me on trips. I agree that you can do more with less. I have to say upfront though I do believe that spending a bit of money before you head out on a longer adventure (say, a RTW) on gear and clothing you like and that is multifunctional is a prerequisite for that. I mean, packing one item that I have to buy, instead of having to use 3 that really annoy me after a few weeks… On my first bigger trip I got rid of 1/3 of my backpack contents because I wasn’t using them! The only area where I’m still tempted is… shoes. 🙂
Jillian says
Shoes! I have to admit I let my shoes go when we started to travel, frankly I just couldn’t decide. When I resolved to only take a carry-on sized pack it became easier to decide- nothing fit, so nothing came! Sounds like you’re a pretty good packer. I have to admit that I love multifunctional stuff, and I also prefer spending abit more before heading out. We spent A LOT on gear before we started to travel, but I will happily admit much of it returned with us!