*The most exciting thing about He Said, She Said is wondering if we’ll still be married by the end of each post! We both write on the same topic but only get to read the other’s work after it’s published.*
He said:
Packing is like trying to shove your guts back in when you’ve been happily disemboweled for ages.
She said:
Nothing makes post-holiday blues worse than unpacking and doing loads of washing.
What’s more, he says:
I find packing a torturous activity. Every time I have to pack, every item I shove into my suitcase goes in with a nagging thought that I won’t need it. And that it’s taking up the space another item I’ll really want instead.
I wish I was one of those guys who just throws stuff in a bag and that’s it. Or one of those men who can live in two t-shirts, one pair of shorts and one pair of undies for a two-week vacation, but I’m not. I like having a choice.
I know this probably sounds like the rantings of a hoarder and a girly one at that, but the older I get, the more deliberate I find my packing choices.
As for unpacking, I find it strangely cathartic. I like to get home – no matter how long I’ve been travelling – and get on with it. I once had a flight back to Sydney from Europe via Brunei. It took over 40 hours door to door. It didn’t matter. I undid my bag and got stuck in.
Really, unpacking is easy. Everything needs washing, so put it in a pile. Everything else either goes in the bathroom or back in the bedside cabinet. Easy. I also like to hide the souvenirs from the trip in my stuff so they won’t get broken. Unpacking turns into something like an Easter egg hunt.
And I LOVE unpacking my duty-free and admiring it! Wish I could get those oversize bottles in normal shops!
And another thing, she says:
I like to think I’m good at packing, but in reality it’s not always the case.
This week I’m heading on a work trip and I’ll be away for 4 days / 3 nights. I’ve known about this trip for weeks but I haven’t even begun to write a list of what I’ll need or think about what to wear.
I’m bound to be up late randomly packing things I’ll never wear, and forgetting things I need.
I have an obsession with packing light. I dream of travelling with carry-on luggage only so I can walk on and off the plane with ease. However I am not a minimalist in any way and my beauty bag alone is half the weight limit for carry on so I’m forced to take a massive bag.
The best packing advice I received was to pack in outfits and only wear three colours so everything works together. After a trip where I took three skirts, two pairs of pants and only one top I realized this was great advice.
I started this thinking unpacking was worse but I perhaps I worry about the packing more?
Or maybe it’s because I never unpack. I leave my suitcase on the floor for days, only taking items out if I really need them. Unpacking signals the end of the holiday, and means piles of washing. Nobody likes that.
Mr R hates that I never unpack, and still blames me for a toe-stubbing incident years ago from a still full suitcase I left on the floor. I think he should watch where he’s walking.
All this packing talk makes me want to book a holiday!
Mr Romance: “My toe still hurts, by the way!”
