Notes from a (reformed) packrat

Last night, my husband and I had the distinct pleasure of dining and spending time with a former piano teacher of mine. They had never met, so it was a delight to introduce them. Sandra has been adding “photography” to her already incredibly impressive and established career, so we spent some time looking at her portfolio, drinking wine, and catching up. 

We got into a discussion that was very “a propos” Zheng’s and my upcoming trip (we leave for Europe tomorrow). The discussion was prompted by “packing lightly” and how I didn’t see any value in it at some point. 

Speaking from experience, there are several ways to reform a packrat:

1. Have the airlines restrict the amount of checked baggage you can bring. I hate spending money unnecessarily, so I would rather make hard and fast decisions about what to/not to bring than give the airline $50.00, to transport something I already own. The limitations are sometimes to a carry-on only, or up to 35 kg of checked luggage for international flights. 

(Sidebar here: if someone else is buying my plane ticket, such as for a business trip, which means also that baggage fees are covered, I check a bag). 

2. Have your stuff get stolen. I had one near-encounter with theft in Milano in 2005, when a man tried to “help me” with my very heavy bag. He ended up trying to run away with it, but it was too heavy! The carabinieri (police) stopped him and took him to the security office. 

I unfortunately also had a bag stolen from the Edison, NJ train station in 2012 - I had left it on the backseat of my car and left the car at a train station for two days. That was such an awful experience, as the thieves ended up walking away with a recording device and some other beloved clothing. 

3. Travel around Europe by train. If you travel by train, you lug your stuff yourself. That also means that it has to go in a luggage rack above you. This means that you have to lift it yourself. 

4. Get some packing lessons from a shopkeeper. There was a boutique in Harleysville, PA which unfortunately closed. While it was open, I would regularly go there and shop (during breaks from Eastman). She advised to have my core wardrobe be black-based. 

This makes sense because - no matter where I travel, I usually have a performance folded into the middle of the trip. Or the purpose of the trip is for a performance, or work, etc. 

So this means that mandatory garments are:
black shoes (classic black pumps)
black gown

And then these shoes go with *everything else* in the suitcase. Shoes are all color-compatible with the rest of the suitcase. Other colors go with a black-white combination. 

Clothing (shirts / shorts / skirts) all goes with each other. If an item is not “combinatorial” (there you go, twelve-tone doctoral theory from Eastman!) with at least two or three other pieces or outfits, it doesn’t go.  

Happy summer packing to all … 

PHOTO: From above the United States …