Today is Canada Day. I have the day off. Technically, my vacation starts tomorrow. Which means—time to pack.
Thankfully, after years of practice, I’ve tightened up my packing process quite a bit. I’ve created bags within bags within bags. I’ve labeled and branded my items with signature pink tape. And I’ve even got a pouch with a bit of paper inside—just for tracking and notes.
Every time I pack—whether I’m heading out or coming home—I reflect.
What did I actually use? What did I wish I’d brought? Which bags nested well into others? And how could I make it better next time?
This time is no different. I’m looking at my stuff. Looking at my lists. Thinking through it all.
The only real difference?
This time, I’m writing about it. So here’s a peek into how I pack.
Bag of bags
Most of my content fits into an old Timbuk2 backpack we bought years ago. I don’t know the model. You’ll see it in the photo below.
Inside it? Bags of bags of bags.
The first set contains electronics. Three pouches, each wrapped in my signature pink tape—with extra tape on the zippers for visibility and ease.
- Power accessories
- Tech accessories
- Power and charging items
Inside each of those pouches: Ziploc bags.
For tech accessories, there are four:
- Audio cables
- HDMI
- USB cables + charging
- USB hubs + adapters
All labeled. All compartmentalized. All intentional.
Looking through just one of these bags gives you a sense of how thoroughly I think about my gear.
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Sidenote: Before you feel intimidated—this didn’t happen overnight. It took years. But in being surgically intentional about these things, I’ve developed a deeper understanding of myself, my stuff, and how I think about objects in relation to one another. In other words: packing helped me develop taste. Back to the post.
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Thanks, past me!
While reviewing my items, I opened my stationery bag.
Inside it, I found… a list. Not just any list—a full manifest, with every item and quantity noted. Apparently, I wrote it on February 8th, 2025.
Thanks, past me!
Hopefully I help future me out just as much with whatever the heck I’m doing today.
Supply check
Reviewing items isn’t just about whether they’re present—it’s about whether they’re ready.
This is very much a “me” problem. I write a lot when I travel. Like… a lot. Enough to burn through pen cartridges. So when I’m prepping to leave, I check every pen in my stationery bag.
Today, three out of four were nearly empty. I must’ve been on a tear in February.
Swapped them out with fresh Pentel Energel 0.7mm refills.
Locked and loaded.
Packing list
Okay. The list. Let’s talk about the packing list.
It’s evolved a lot over the years. It started as a simple Obsidian note. I’d print it out each time. It worked… sort of. The problem wasn’t that it got out of date (which happens with most docs—even those "living docs"). It was that it was inefficient. I had too much stuff, and not enough real estate on 8.5 x 11 paper.
Time for an upgrade.
I tried Notion next. Columns, checkboxes, decent formatting. Looked nice.
But when I went to print?
Nope. Too messy. So—back to basics. Google Sheets.
I’ve made so many printable templates in Sheets. I know how to tweak margins, cell sizes, fonts… enough to make it do what I need. It’s flexible. It’s structured. And it prints well.
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Sidenote: I get that some of you might be thinking: Why Sheets? Why poke at grid cells when apps like Notion are purpose-built for this?
Here’s the thing: Notion isn’t actually more ergonomic when it comes to layout. Sheets gives me the kind of structure-flexibility I need. It’s like writing on paper—but digital. And with best-in-class keyboard shortcuts.
So yeah. Google Sheets. It works. And it’s free.
Back to the post.
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Check… check
There it was. Version 1 of my new packing list. I printed it. Looked good. But time to test.
I opened my bags, laid everything out, and took inventory—how I got the photos for this blog post. Using red and blue pens, I marked up the printout. What was missing? What didn’t feel right? Where could I improve layout and categorization?
That’s when it clicked: The real struggle wasn’t Google Sheets. The real struggle was that I didn’t actually know how to categorize my stuff. Not yet anyway.
Breakthrough
Like I said, I’ve been doing this for years. And even then, I still couldn’t see my stuff clearly—not in a way that felt truly intuitive.
At first, I categorized by product type: clothing, health, electronics, stationery.
But that doesn’t work for me. Why? Because those categories don’t map to how the items are actually (physically) packed.
I don’t have a single bag for “electronics”—they’re split across four. I have intentional duplicates of certain items, split between bags.
How do you represent that? Do I remove the duplicates for the sake of a cleaner "source of truth" doc? Heck no. That’d be ridiculous.
This list isn’t about looking tidy. It’s about confidence. The goal is to feel fully prepared for travel—with minimal effort.
This list isn’t just an item log. It’s a digital map of my physical setup, organized in a way that makes sense to me.
Refinement
This took a while today—but that’s okay. I enjoy it.
For me, this isn’t just packing. It’s a way to sharpen my understanding of organization and design. To develop stronger opinions. To express those opinions in clear, printable form.
It’s also a gift to my future self.
Everything I’m doing today—reviewing, refining, mapping—I’m only able to do because of the compounded effort of past me.
This practice of continuous improvement has changed how I travel.
It’s why I can get home, take a quick shower, and be fully unpacked in under 10 minutes. (Yes, I’ve timed it. Multiple times.)
It’s unbelievably freeing.
And it’s all thanks to my lists of lists, my bags of bags, and my ongoing practice with tinkering and refinement.
As I wrap this up, I can’t help but wonder: How will my packing evolve next? I guess we’ll find out.
Takeaways
In reflecting on this (pre) packing adventure today, here are some takeaways:
Don’t just document what you own. Understand how you use it.
Organize based on function, not form.
Your systems should reflect your behavior, not fight it.
If your list format doesn’t match your process, change the format—not yourself. (That’s not carelessness. That’s design.)
Iteration isn’t a failure of the first attempt—it’s a gift from the last one.
“Thanks, past me!” isn’t a joke. It’s a principle.
Rigor can be joyful.
There’s no guilt, no grind here—just play, curiosity, and attention to detail.
Prep is identity work.
You’re not just packing socks. You’re deciding what matters.
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Sure. Packing is about bags. And pens. And index cards. (Hah).
But really? It’s about clarity. And the quiet rigor of knowing exactly what you need, why it’s there, and who you’re becoming by choosing to carry it.
Download
Oh right! For anyone who's interested. Here's a link to my packing list on Google Sheets.
Feel free to make a copy to tinker and refine it for yourself!
Happy packing.
