I once had a friend who was a famous elite athlete. She taught me many things, but the best thing I learned from her was how to pack for a trip. Her method has served me well, and it’s worth sharing.
She was leaving for a four-day, out-of-state competition, hundreds of miles away. However, she was going to drive so she would have her car when she arrived, without the bother of renting one. I dropped in just as she was getting ready for the trip. There were already two large duffle bags and two backpacks lying open in her living room.
What happened next was a methodical pile-up. Literally. First, she brought out everything that would be required during the contest. That included the sports clothing she intended to wear, her shoes and equipment, and two jackets. One would be used at the start, before the race began. The other would be stored at the finish, just in case it was needed.
She brought out enough underwear for seven days and put it down in the center of the room. Next to it, she placed four pairs of shoes — a pair of elegant heels, boots and two pairs of athletic shoes, one pair brand new. Next to those, on the well vacuumed carpet, she placed some sweaters, both long- and short-sleeved, and a bunch of t-shirts. An extra set of everything was placed on the carpet as well. By this time, the living room floor was covered with a pile of stuff.
She sat down and quietly looked at the pile again. Then she went into the kitchen, where a selection of unopened snacks were waiting, and added them to the pile, a little apart from everything else. Again, she sat and stared at the mess in the center of the living room. Then she got up and removed two sweaters and two tee-shirts and put them back in her closet, bringing out another pair of socks that were tossed on the pile.
I could tell she was deliberating over a 40-gallon cooler. It would be nice to have cold drinks on the road, especially since she usually flew to contests and someone on the plane would always provide beverages. But I could tell what she was thinking. The cooler would take up a lot of space, and then she would also be stuck with this ungainly thing the whole time. She got up and took the cooler back down to the basement.
The thing that impressed me most was the immediacy of the packing. This athlete traveled frequently to out-of-state competitions, so she had a pretty good idea of everything that would be needed. Now she was going through the pile, winnowing out stuff which she probably wouldn’t wear or use. That meant that more than one quarter of the pile on the floor went back into the closet. With everything laid out to see, it was easy to choose what to take. She folded everything neatly.
She picked up one backpack and began to pack everything required for the competition in it — including training clothing. She took that backpack out to the car. In one of the duffle bags, she placed the warmest clothing. Then she stared at the other, empty duffle bag and backpack. She took the duffle bag down to the basement. The large backpack was packed with everything that still lay on the floor.
When the luggage was taken out to the car, the living room was spotless. There was no sign that someone had just packed to drive a long distance and spend four days competing before driving home again. The lesson — pile it up and choose — has always served me well.
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Wina Sturgeon is the editor of the online magazine Adventure Sports Weekly
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