If you’re in the US, we hope you had a wonderful July 4, and are enjoying the day off. I’ve just come back from visiting my Dad in the Netherlands, so packing for a trip is once again top of mind. I stayed the usual eight days, and packed a casual-for-me Summer travel capsule which was all about pretty dresses, skirts, linen shirts, white jeans, denim jackets, pearls, Furla crossbody bags, and polished fashion sneakers. The capsule was in my signature happy bright colours with lots of blue, blush and white. It worked perfectly. I felt pulled together, attractive, practical, and comfortable all day. I had ample variety and was prepared for both rain and shine.
You are on Team Pack if you prefer prepping and packing before a trip, as opposed to Team Unpack if you prefer unpacking when you’re back at home.
I’m a good packer because I’ve had lots of experience and have learned from past mistakes. But I do not enjoy packing at all. I procrastinate and dread it every single time, despite my organization and having everything in place to make the process easy and relatively fast. I find it awfully tedious and boring. I dislike unpacking even more. It takes longer, is even more tedious, and the big pile of post-trip laundry is off-putting. I also feel compelled to unpack as soon as I arrive back home. I’m usually tired and in need of a shower, which makes the unpacking process even worse.
I bat for Team Pack as the lesser of two evils, because at least there is some enjoyment in putting my mix-and-match capsule together. Over to you. Do you prefer packing before a trip, or unpacking when you get back home? Tell us why, and no batting for both teams. If you can’t pick a side, there’s a vegan feast on the bench. Peanut broccoli, saag paneer, cauliflower rice with quinoa, pickled veg, and sambal. Mangoes for dessert.
