So with Ireland in mind, and tickets purchased in advance, and my leave all scheduled at work I started what is the most anxiety inducing portion of travel for me, which is packing. The good news is that I have finally found a coping method.
A spreadsheet.
After years of domestic and convention travel I finally have a spreadsheet template with multiple categories that works. Over the years I’ve noted whether or not an item was used or not and trip over trip, it has been refined to a point where I finally feel comfortable making a copy of the previous spreadsheet and then adding a section for trip specific things like if we are going to a convention and I need a cosplay specific list or in this case, international travel.
Things I would modify after this trip:
- Could have really used a pair of room / shower slippers.
- I did not use the phone gimbal at all for reasons I’ll talk about later.
- Only bringing one pair of jeans
- Travel CPAP is on the list forever
The last one is really game changing. Not only is it incredibly packable, it doesn’t need distilled water. Instead of a water tank it uses a 30 day humidity capture cartridge that was so effective that in one of our hotels I experienced a rainout for the first time in a long while.
Fun Fact: Rainout as described in this link is very tame. Let’s imagine that you’re asleep. Then imagine that a teaspoon of water enters your nostrils, forced in by air pressure. In my case I think my body reacts as if I am drowning.
The list handles a lot of the anxiety and the travel CPAP works as designed. It is compact, easy to fit into another carry on. I know it takes up space but I put it in a medical only bag that has my prescription drugs and I sneak in a snack or two, which I did with my original CPAP bag anyway. The new medical bag is actually a piece of travel luggage with proper handles and organization instead of a protective sleeve that only had a shoulder strap. Anything liquid and in a transparent bag is also in here so I don’t have to dig anything out at security.
So I’m packed the day before and everything is ready. Total luggage count for a two week trip to Ireland:
- One carry on travel backpack
- One Personal Item
- One Medical Bag
- Zero checked luggage
No checked luggage! I made some hard choices to but this was intentional so we could just hit the ground and get to our first aparthotel without waiting for baggage claim. I had some anxiety about cutting some items but I learned I didn’t need them or I could just be flexible around them. I still over packed but not to the level of self detriment that I have in the past.
We'll get to Ireland, I promise. Yes I know aparthotel isn't a word.