Ready for Take-off

Our two-month sabbatical in Bali is just around the corner – and if my family had not been stopping me, I would have been fully packed weeks ago 🙂

I guess how we pack and prepare for trips says a lot about our personality and I loved chatting about this with many people in my network in the past couple of weeks. Just for fun, I tried to condense the patterns I spotted into 7 packing archetypes.
 

1 – MAMA BEAR

• Main goal: make sure everyone on the trip is fully taken care of
• Packing strategy:
  • starts washing and shopping at least a week in advance
  • packs for everyone in the family, including pre-planning what shoe size the kids are going to have during the trip in four months
  • packs enough food to feed an entire legion
• How to spot: brought the biggest picnic, but forget his/her own toothbrush or ski jacket

2 – THE SQUIRREL

• Main goal: reduce mental load by starting to pack as early as possible
• Packing strategy:
  • drags random items onto a pile for weeks 
  • piles up a lot more than what actually fits into the suitcase only to spend hours right before the actual trip going through all the stuff and descoping it
• How to spot: will wear the same clothes for days prior to the trip to make sure his/her favorite items are ready for packing way in advance

3 – THE HERO

• Main goal: bring the one item that everyone else forgets to enjoy a moment of glory
• Packing strategy:
  • mainly thinking of edge case scenarios for special gear like headlights, first-aid kits, champagne, ducked tape and more
• How to spot: will be the one fixing the broken exhaust of the camper van McGyver style using wire and an old coke can, but might have forgotten to check their passport expiration date 😉

4 – THE FREQUENT FLYER

• Main goal: minimize time for packing
• Packing strategy:
  • owns a second set of their favorite make-up items and toiletries which is always pre-packed
  • has special travel bags for shoes, suits etc
  • uses a fancy trolley with complementary laptop bag that can be stacked onto the handle
• How to spot: the app of every major airline is pre-installed on their phone and they are taking calls right up until boarding closes

5 – THE MINIMALIST

• Main goal: carry as little weight as possible and feel free like a bird
• Packing strategy:
  • packs for the sunny best case scenario
  • either brings items that mix and match nicely or does not care about fashion at all
  • turns their underwear upside down if need be 🙂
• How to spot: feeding on other people’s lunch box with slightly blue lips (as they forgot to bring an extra sweater to the mountain top)

6 – THE LIST MAKER

• Main goal: not to forget anything
• Packing strategy:
  • keeps several customized excel packing lists for different seasons and kinds of trips which will be revised and enriched after each trip
  • will usually only start packing a few hours before the trip
• How to spot: You may find dirty clothes in their suitcase upon departure. They had the perfect list, but forgot to do the laundry in time…

7 – THE TETRIS PACKER

• Main goal: bring as much as possible within the given luggage limits
• Packing strategy: 
  • will make extensive use of vacuum bags
  • knows how to roll and stuff underwear into the shoes
  • needs to be left alone when in charge of packing the car which will take about an hour and follow a scientific method unknown to any spectator
• How to spot: might be wearing an Airport Jacket for some extra luggage space 🙂

Turns out I am a cross-over between Squirrel, Mama Bear & Hero, married to a List Maker and Tetris Packer.

I’m curious to hear which ones resonate the most with you 🙂 Which archetype would you add to the list?

My next Butterflies will most likely be sent out from Bali – until then I wish you a wonderful start into the summer.
 

Lots of love,

Tanja

This text was first published in my though-letter Tanja’s Butterflies (May Edition 2023 – Part 1). If you are interested in receiving the next editions in your inbox including additional resources such as inspiring quotes, books and more, you can subscribe here.