Confessions of an Overpacker*

I’m an over-packer. Big time. Not just in the ‘I think I’ll be close to the limit’ way; in the ‘I hope I’m not more than 5kg over’ way. It is accepted I will exceed the airline limit, always have the biggest bag being squashed into the boot of the car and be the recipient of the most (needless) quips from bellboys and cab drivers. And yes, people give me knowing looks when I check my luggage in, yes I break into a sweat when it’s weigh in time, and most often have to check in with my more responsibly packed friend, and yes, more than once, I have had that humiliating fluorescent orange sticker slapped unceremoniously on my suitcase – ‘heavy’. That sticker has prompted numerous body image issues for my suitcase, which isn’t fat, simply big boned and reliable.

See, I happen to think a two week road trip requires four pairs of shoes, five if you count the pair I might just happen to purchase on said road trip. And when I say ‘might just happen’, I do mean ‘absolutely will’, and you may have to wrestle the second pair from my grasp. I also think you’re mad to take anything less than three perfumes away with you, wherever you’re going and however long for. Perfume lifts spirits when you’ve been in transit for fifty hours and can’t remember what fresh air smells like. Perfume helps you forget about the squatter you just exited in Malaysia, or the fact the Greek island bar you’re drinking in doesn’t flush toilet paper, instead makes use of perpetually overflowing bins. Perfume masks the scent of your hostel bunk-mate’s brush with food poisoning. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity.

And before you all roll your eyes and assume I have only ever travelled by way of hotels and resorts that require excessive amounts of fragrance to propel me to the hotel restaurant, pool-bar and back to my freshly turned down bed, let me tell you, I pack the same way for every type of trip: a six month around-the-world hostel/hotel/staying with friends extravaganza, a two month stint working on a Greek island, a two week road trip around New Zealand, a week’s getaway up the coast or a weekend in the country.

My mentality, wrong or right, is simply, ‘I need options’. The thought of putting together an outfit for any occasion and only having one pair of shoes to choose from, makes me nervous. I need to know that whatever the occasion, I will have the right outfit for it – one that I love, one that will contribute to the overall feeling and tone of the occasion. Or the moment, even just the moment.

Before you point out the obvious and ask me the Sensible Susan question of ‘do you use all of what you pack’, no, no I don’t. On my last trip, for which I packed four pairs of heels, I wore two of them. Ditto for the trip before that – a pair of beautiful blue and cream canvas wedges served as installation art in my room, they never actually saw the light of day. I may have popped them on every now and then to sashay around my tiny room in, but that’s between you and me. When I was travelling around Europe and the USA a couple of years ago, I think I started off with something like ten sundresses, and came home with fifteen. Considering I threw out about six in various cities throughout the world, you can see my over-packing issue might be part of a larger complex into which all types of extreme behaviour fit (namely shopping at H&M sales).

I have tried to re-examine the way I pack, after getting slapped with the Heavy tag one too many times, and it seems I am simply too set in my ways to go and try changing such a big part of who I am – an excessive hoarder. I am just not one of those sensible, no nonsense, roll it all up and put it in a 10kg backpack girls. I have never and will never be able to fully embrace the alleged convenience of a backpack, nor smugly gad about the globe carrying one pair of chinos and two tee shirts. I cannot bring myself to wear sneakers and sing their praises as the only shoe you need to take away with you; please don’t scoff, I, too, don’t quite know why. You see, I need clothes to contribute to my overall experience, and I say that loudly and proudly, knowing it seems frivolous, but also knowing that it really isn’t (well not as frivolous as you might initially think). Some people need the 10kg backpack and one cargo short thing going on, to contribute to their overall feeling of freedom – I need the 25kg bag stuffed with ten sundresses and five pairs of shoes. Same objective, different way of going about it.

However, in a compromise with myself, or more accurately, an action that makes me feel less indulgent and more streamlined chic, interview-me-for-a-travel-magazine-and-emulate-my-packing-style, I have come up with some ways to maximize my packing so I have the best of both worlds; plenty to choose from and a little room left over for unexpected (read: totally planned) occasions I find myself in a trance in a changing room.

LAYER – singlets, tank tops, vests, long lightweight knit cardigans, simple cotton tee shirts. Pack these garments in neutrals like black, white and grey, so you can wear them with anything at any time. They don’t take up much space and you can layer them in cooler weather. I cannot recommend Country Road basic singlets highly enough – durable, high quality and eminently wearable.

DOUBLE UP – pashminas make great scarves and blankets on long flights; sarongs multi-task as a beach towel, skirt and dress in one; big tee shirts work as pajamas and swimmer cover-ups. Pack items of clothes that work hard to earn their spot in your suitcase. It leaves a little extra room for lazy items of clothing – you know, frivolous one-wear-only dresses that take up more room than 100 pairs of underpants.

AU NATUREL – leave the make up behind, or at least lighten up your load by being selective about what you take. Make up is heavy and it breaks and leaks. If you’re backpacking, all you really need is a lick of mascara to make yourself feel a million dollars. If it’s a relaxing holiday you’re taking, then going fresh faced is all part of it.

SHOES – thongs (flip flops, jandals, whatever you want to call them) are your best friend. They don’t take up any room, are super comfortable and go with anything. They’re also absolutely imperative for communal bathrooms. If it’s cold weather you’re headed for, choose a flat boot that can go from day to night with ease. And always, always pack a heel, you never know when the occasion might call for it.

However, all this do-gooder packing aside, I still think you’d be mad to go anywhere with anything less than three fragrances. You’ll be thanking me when your room mate slyly exits the bathroom at 6am, the contents of a 24 hour cheap cocktail bender creeping into your slumbering nasal passages.

Can’t Travel Without

• A seriously good moisturizer/oil – Trilogy Rosehip Oil or a Clarins moisturiser
• A book – would be foolish to be without one
• Travel sewing kit – you laugh now … until the button falls off your warmest coat and it’s 5 degrees outside
• Camera
• Notebook
• An assortment of 30ml perfumes (I’m lying when I say 30ml, I take any size, but for argument’s sake, 30mls are small enough to take on a plane and are more convenient than a hefty 100ml)

Giant suitcase in Paris image by Gobbo1000 on Flickr.

Other images by Olivia Hambrett, except image of Maybe Baby fragrance by Benefit.