After many years – five to be precise – I have to share something that I’m not proud of. As a loud mouth, arrogant light packer, I’ve relapsed. Yes, this fall as I head on vacations, I’m packing heavier than I ever have before.

For a girlfriend’s destination wedding trip, I’ve gone absolutely bananas. I’m a person who needs nearly binary boundaries – set for myself - as I can easily slide into indulgent territory and stay there with all the glitter and champagne and fairy dust. While it’s fun, it never lasts. Cleaning up the glitter is a bit messy, too. When I offered to take some of her wedding tchotchkes and gown in my luggage, I opened up my own heavy packing floodgates.

I’ve got dresses, I’ve got workout gear, I’ve got beach gear, and I think four frisbees. Oh and that’s just my stuff. It seems that by taking on some of my friends’ things,  it gave me the idea that I, too, should bring more. I have five pairs of shoes for eight days. That’s simply not necessary, yeah?

Part of me is like, “Silly Sarah, it’s a beach, what do you really need?” and the other part of me is all like, “Don’t think twice. Take whatever you want. You have so many clothes that don’t get to see a lot of summer. Take more, even!” I can quiet down the duelling voices a bit by knowing that it doesn’t matter. It’s just stuff and that’s what checked baggage is for. I do wonder, however, that our packing preferences may say more about us that we think we know. 

The easy connection could be light packers choose to live a simpler life: less stuff, less muss. Perhaps by not lugging along a tonne of paraphernalia, the trip is spent enjoying and not keeping tabs on all your junk. I’d like to think they are confident, calm people that get more out of life by stressing less. They are simply more thoughtful when choosing every item that gets zipped inside. At the airport baggage claim, they whiz right by as there is no reason to stop. That’s cool. Like, Marie Kondo skating on ice in Iceland cool.

The opposite of that – we heavy packers – are more extra. Extra clothes, extra shoes, extra personality. As part of team #FOMO we get extra #YOLO with vacation packing. Need a steamer or blow dryer? Heavy packers have one. Need a bathing suit because yours ripped? I bet a heavy packer can spare one of theirs. These folks are like a walking storage room: you need it, they’ve got it. But they also have a bunch of stuff they’ll never use on the trip. I once heard of a stapler included in a duffle bag for a weekend trip in the city. Joking aside, the actual and emotional baggage is super heavy.

What’s a gal like me to do? Get back on the light packing wagon and try and stay in line with a less is more (because it’s all you really need)? Or will I keep it wild and nasty for the next couple trips lugging more unnecessary things like jewelry with me as if ’m opening up my own Claires.

Lucky for me, I’m already on vacation. Too late to go back for this trip at least. That also means I don’t have to make any future decisions just yet.

What’s that? Oh just the icy drinks calling my name.