Packing

How long before a trip do you pack your bags? I’ve had people asking me for the last couple of weeks if I’m packed for my trip to India.

Do people really have their suitcase full and ready to go 2 weeks out from a flight? I know that I have a propensity for leaving things until the last minute but I can’t imagine having clothes and other bits and pieces sitting in a suitcase for a fortnight before I leave. I’d forget what I had in there and would have to pull it all out again just to find out.

I guess there must be some kind of happy medium between the eager packers who have their bags zipped up weeks ahead and those of us who feel that the night before the flight is the way to go.

As for me, I know that no matter whether I pack a month or an hour before I head off, I’ll still have that moment of revelation 2 minutes into the flight that I’ve left something important at home.

Posted by Rodney Olsen



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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7 Comments

  • The night before is the way to go, absolutely! I simply don’t have enough clothes to be able to pack any earlier. I have my favourite couple of shirts and shorts, and they are what I wear . . . in rotation . . . over and over . . . time and again . . . until they wear out . . . and then I buy new favourite clothes, and do the same.

  • I know exactly what you mean. I wonder just how many clothes some of these very organised packers have.

    I don’t think I could wear my non-favourite clothes for a fortnight while my favourites were crying out to me from a closed case.

  • hey Rodney …

    Peddle on!!! i’ll keep praying that you all have a wonderful trip, that the Lord will Bless it!!! i love pictures and i hope you have lots to share afterwards …

    and about the packing … when i went to Finland 2 years ago, i left my (small) suitcase on the bed in the guestroom and just threw things into it as they came to mind …

    BLESSINGS!!!

  • When I was 13, I went on my first overseas trip to OZ. I packed 3 weeks in a advance cause I was so excited. Course, I had to keep unpacking to get the stuff I wanted to wear lol.

  • Oh come on now. YOu’re just bragging cause YOU get to go on a trip while I’m stuck here forever and a day. (I even have a 2 for 1 cruise certificate if I could only come up with the cash within 2 years.) Oh well, don’t worry about me. You just go and have a good time. I’ll be fine…no really…just…fine.

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