You’d think, wouldn’t you, that by this time in my life I would have figured out some fast, easy organizational tools and habits to use when traveling. We usually take one big trip a year and often do some shorter ones. What has seemed to happen in the past is that the trips are spaced out just enough that I forget how much of a pain it is not to have a system and end up digging around in my suitcase every morning to find what I need. Also, I start out with all these nice clean clothes neatly folded up, but then as I wear them they become dirty clothes, and what is one to do with those? So as the trip wears on there’s a tangle of clothes and a tangle of items, and every morning is just a real hassle.It occurred to me before we took this last trip that maybe I could think the process through a little better. I’ve always sorted toiletries into bags, but my categories weren’t very clear. So at least every little thing wasn’t loose in the suitcase, but I was still rooting through the bags, looking for what I needed, And my supposed categories always broke down since they weren’t really working. Our trip to Seattle was going to be our first long trip without Gideon since he’d been born in 1994, so maybe I was thinking in terms of making the trip special. I don’t know. But I just thought, “Maybe I should take five minutes and figure out what really works” instead of just throwing everything in the suitcase at the last minute. And you know what? I was so happy to use my system. It was nice to pick up the gallon-size bag with all my hair paraphernalia and know I could get myself looking presentable without a hassle. My hairdryer was separate, but everything else was in the bag. (I’m one of the very few people left in the world who uses hair rollers.) My four medications were in one bag. Items to be used first thing in the morning were in one bag–you can see it in the picture, the one with the contacts case. I had put together a makeup bag, and to be honest I never dipped into that one during the trip. Every trip includes something left behind, and my one loss was the charger base for my Sonicare toothbrush. I had everything else for brushing my teeth in a bag but thought that the base was too big to fit; it would have been much better to use a bigger bag. No big deal, but very irritating. I stood in the motel room door that morning, debating with myself about whether or not to do one more sweep, decided against it (taking as much time as the sweep would have), and left the base behind. So now I have to share with Jim. Not so bad.
As for the clean vs. dirty clothes, I just did something very simple: the items I’d worn twice were considered dirty, I turned them inside out, and I folded the underwear inside the tee shirts. (Hope that’s not TMI.) I put those items on the bottom of the stack of clothes in the suitcase, so everything stayed neat, but it was clear what was what. No wadded-up clothes stuffed into the corners. Jim used to have one of those garment bags with all the pockets and he would keep track of his own clothes and also Gideon’s, but he’s finally joined the rolling-bag population. And he didn’t need to manage everyone’s clothes. I was pleased with the state of my suitcase when I unpacked it, which was the first evening we were home. I’ve had a terrible habit in the past of leaving my partially-unpacked suitcase sitting in the bedroom for days.
Just taking a few minutes in advance and asking, ‘What would work best here?’ makes such a difference. Two weeks from yesterday I’ll be facing my first big event of the Cherry Creek Chorale season: the member picnic, held at our house, which last year included about 75 attendees. I have a feeling that it’s going to be bigger this year, as the last one was such a success. There was a fair amount of buzz. So–probably about 100. Instead of thinking vaguely, ‘Oh, we’re going to have so-and-so, and I’ll do such-and-such ahead of time,’ I need to think it through. Even draw a chart, a timetable. What will I do when? Last year’s picnic went pretty smoothly, but I was having my usual panic attack right before it. I’d like to enjoy it a little more this year. Today the task is to send out the e-vites. I’ve been mulling menu options over, but now I need to make some firm decisions.
When the Bible says, “Take no thought for tomorrow” in Matthew 6:34, is it talking about the sort of thing I’m saying I should do? In other words, by planning ahead for tomorrow, or the next day, or the next week, am I violating this Scripture? Actually no. The “take no thought” wording is from the old King James version, and while I was raised on that version, and love it, and can quote it easily, I will have to admit that it’s sometimes very misleading. Other, newer versions make it clear that this verse is actually talking about worrying over the future. We worry about possible events over which we have no control, which is wrong, and we worry about events for which we have failed to plan, which is also wrong. If I want to be a blessing to people in our home, but I’m eaten up with last-minute nerves, then I can’t fulfill my larger purpose. At some point, though, after all the planning and the shopping and the housecleaning and the table-setting, I have to let it go and trust.
Quite a few ideas stemming from the lowly ziploc bag! What continuing irritant could you re-think and improve in your own life?