Bad news, dear followers: I’ll be gone for a week, starting tomorrow. And when I return on Saturday, I’m going to be completely and utterly exhausted, and for that reason, I’ll probably hibernate for as long as my mom allows. But, fear not! I’m going to leave you with one last post (or maybe more, depending on whether or not I can sleep tonight) to enjoy. While I’m gone, I’ll be doing plenty of brainstorming for new posts. Actually, that’s a bit pointless, considering I’ve got two notebook pages full of ideas that need written. But I’m getting off topic here.
Tonight, I’m going to be revealing the reasons that I both love and hate packing. It’s been one of my projects for the last week (and I’m still not done–surprise, surprise!) and so I’ve got a bit to say. Since I want to leave this post on a positive note, I’ll begin with my negative opinions and end with the more positive ones. Here goes…
Why I Hate Highly Dislike Packing
(hate was a little too strong of a word, so I changed it.)
- I always forget something. Always. And the entire time I’m packing, I’m stressing over what I’ll forget. I stress so much that I forget about one of the most important things (last year, I forgot my bible. That wouldn’t normally be a big deal, except for the fact that I was going to church camp) and so all my stressing ends up to be completely pointless. Even knowing that, I feel like if I don’t obsess over a highly detailed and well-thought-out packing list, I’ll forget something else that’s extremely important. Like underwear.
- Packing lists are the bane of my existence. This is for many reasons. One, I spend way too much time on them, and I always forget something. Two, because I’m a bit OCD, and after a while, the messy scribble marks indicating that an item is packed start to grind my gears. Three, halfway through packing, my list mysteriously likes to disappear, only to reappear moments before I leave the house. Convenient, eh?
- I end up doing more unpacking than packing. I pack my favorite clothes, and I always end up unpacking them and wearing them before I leave for the trip. Also, it so happens that my toothpaste runs out right before the trip, so I have to dig out my new tube from my luggage, which leaves a gigantic mess. And when I go shopping for the trip, I like to get shampoo and conditioner that I love but hardly ever get, so I’m so excited to use it that I have to unpack it and use some before leaving.
- Do you know how freaking difficult it is to cram everything into a duffel bag and a suitcase? It’s pretty hard, especially since I’m a girl and I feel the need to pack a billion things that I won’t even end up using during the trip. But one bag and one suitcase is generally my limit, so I force myself to stick to that, no matter how hard it will be. Otherwise, I have to deal with everyone commenting on how much I pack, and that’s just not worth the extra bag.
- Things are crammed in so tightly that when I need to get one thing, everything comes toppling out. Refer back to number four for a moment. As I’ve said, I pack a lot and I don’t have a lot of space to work with. Now picture me sitting on top of a suitcase, trying in vain to get it shut. Got that in your head? Good. This time, picture me unzipping the aforementioned suitcase. When I picture it, I laugh at the mental image of tee shirts and undies tumbling out onto the floor. That pretty much describes my situation every time I go to unpack. Sigh. Talk about frustrating.
Why I Love Like Packing
(I decided love was too strong a word to use here, too.)
- It gets me super excited for the upcoming trip, and who doesn’t love the feeling of excitement? I know I love it, even if it does keep me awake long into the night for weeks in advance, just thinking about how incredible my trip is going to be.
- It’s fun to decide what I will and won’t need, weighing the options in my head as if it’s some gigantic decision, and then finally choosing to just pack both things because I’m a girl and that’s what girls do. Gotta be prepared, you know.
- When I start packing, I realize how much stuff I really use on a daily basis. It’s enlightening, and I love pretty much anything that allows me to learn/realize something.
- I always discover something that I haven’t seen in months when I start packing. The other day, I found one of my favorite long-lost tee shirts buried in my suitcase from the last time I packed.
- I get to buy my favorite shampoo/conditioner/body wash, just for the trip! Sometimes I get those adorable little travel sizes, but usually I stick to the regular sized bottles so that I’ll have some left over when I return home from the trip.
And that pretty much concludes my list. What about you? Do you like packing, or do you dislike it? Why?
I’m headed to bed now, folks. Maybe I’ll post in the morning before I go, maybe not. In the meantime, if you get bored, check out my previous posts and answer the questions I’ve asked at the end of them. It would be incredible to come back to a ton of comments and likes and all that jazz. Don’t let my blog fall into a black hole while I’m gone!
Love, 
Author Ashley 
Enjoy your trip, Ashley.
Thanks! Believe me, I will.
Have fun on your trip! 😀
Hate/Highly Dislike
1. *NODS*
2. I like packing lists but I am also not OCD. Sometimes I misplace the lists though
3. So glad not to have this problem but that must suck!
4. YES. I don’t like to take a ton of bags and zippers have become an enemy. Worse is you will probably come home with more stuff so it’s like a losing battle. Clothes take up so much space.
5. YES. That one thing is usually at the bottom of the bag too.
Love/Like
1. Yes!
2. True.
3. Yes.
4. Heh, it’s like going shopping sometimes!
5. I usually don’t buy anything like that because my future mother-in-law gets so much travel-sized stuff that she usually sends it to me before the trip. I also save any shampoo/conditioner/etc that the hotel provides and I don’t use. Mostly because my sister has a weird obsession with hotel provided stuff. o.o
I generally like packing, unless I don’t have much time to do it. Then I get cranky about it. Forgetting stuff is really the worst thing about packing–and trying to get everything to fit. I hate unpacking a lot, unless it’s like souvenirs or something. I dislike unpacking the clothes I wore because it means laundry!
Haha! Glad I’m not the only one like this.
When I repack at the end of my trip, I shove everything back in the bag, and then I just dump it into the washer when I get home. I’m seriously lazy.
Actually, I rarely stay in hotels, so I don’t really collect that stuff since I don’t get a chance to. But I understand the obsession your sister has, hotel stuff is ADORABLE!