The Struggles Every Female Goes Through When Packing

There are a few things I hate in life.

1. Oysters
2. M. Night Shyamalan’s most recent movie
3. The worst of the worst....packing.

I hate packing so much I'd rather be forced to sit through that horrible Shyamalan movie Old while being force fed oysters.

A 2019 study done by Nordstrom Trunk Club found that 65% of Americans think packing is the worst part of the trip and 62% believe they overpack.

GUILTY! I always overpack. It doesn’t matter if I’m going on a week-long trip to another state, a quick weekend visit back to my hometown, or even an overnight stay at a booty call’s house. It’s always a struggle.

It’s a struggle to get started and once you do you’re overwhelmed by what to pack. You grab a few items and think to yourself “I got this” but before you know it you’ve got 3 pairs of jeans that are all eerily similar, 3 pairs of shorts, 6 tank tops, 6 different T-shirts, and a ridiculous amount of underwear and socks because “just in case.”

You come up with every excuse as to why you need to pack what you’re packing.

You go through weather denial. The forecast says sunny and hot but it might get chilly. Let me grab a coat just in case.

Is there a pool at the hotel? Well don’t forget a swimsuit… just in case! What if we end up at a really nice dinner? Just in case, let me pack a dress.

Damn, I still haven’t packed my shoes. And if you’re anything like me, and have a closet full of shoes that could feed an island of people, you’re screwed.

Oh but the fun doesn’t stop there. You have makeup to pack, hair products, toiletries, and accessorizing your outfits is a must.

Do I really need all of these things? “Yes” you tell yourself until you realize your suitcase is overstuffed and barely zipping. Time for the elimination process… Okay, maybe I don’t need THAT many shirts and I could probably forego a shoe or two. It is only a four-day trip.

And it never fails, even after you’ve got everything zipped and ready to go there’s those moments of self-doubt where you SWEAR you forgot something. Oh no, my slippers. How am I going to walk around the hotel now?

You know what the worst part of this entire saga is? You somehow come back home with even more stuff than you left with. And this is how the vicious cycle of packing continues.

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It's Labor Day weekend and lots of people will be traveling such as myself. If you too understand the struggle and pain of packing, I wish I had advice, but after 33 years I still haven't figured it out. So all I can say is good luck!