To ask for your most unhinged packing lists?

[badhabitsleadtolate]

Trying to cover all bases.

I’m not talking the “oh yeah I whack a teabag in my baggage”, i’m talking the type of stuff most people would never dream of taking.

In the 70s for package trips to Benidorm etc my mother always took various sauces, cereal and jam/marmalade. I remember being mortified even then.

I remember as a child playing at a friend's house, we were maybe 8 or 9, and it was the day before they went on holiday so her mum had lists and was packing. They were going to France by ferry so packing the car to self cater at maybe a Eurocamp or similar. I remember seeing 'lettuce spinner' on the list and even at 9 I thought that was a bit batshit. I barely knew what a lettuce spinner was, let alone how anybody could find one do vital they couldn't do without it on a camping holiday! It was the era of catalogues and petrol station tokens and game shows so kitchen gadgets were big, but still!

As an adult, I still think that was batshit.

Yes 🙌 one place I had to go and buy tea towels !
it had none ..and I decided I wasn’t going to use the oven because I searched for an oven mitt and no oven mitt

Many years ago I travelled abroad frequently for work. Another woman would have a case full of Asda tinned new potatoes, peas, carrots and beef curry! Apparently you couldn't get anything like it abroad!!

Other countries don't have vegetables - or curry?!

I do this, but it's too make sure my husband's CPAP machine is close to him instead of some random chair a meter away.

People who take a whole suitcase full of English food, because they don't like what's on offer there - a specific flavour of Monster Munch is one I remember, but tins of Heinz Baked Beans, sealed packets of bacon to Turkey. I recognise this is sometimes related to mental health issues, but it still amuses me greatly - you wonder why some people actually leave the UK.

I was on a group walking holiday

Our bags were transported to each B&B every day

We carried our own small day rucksack

One person brought
2 boxes of hard boiled eggs still in shell (enough to feed everyone)
Blocks of marzipan
(enough to feed everyone)
Stove top coffee perculator

It was a legendary holiday !

Took a wedding cake to Bali

Here's mine when I go to the US -

• I pack a small lunch box with drinks and snacks just in case. This after I was stuck in traffic for six hours after landing. The journey should have taken two hours and it was the kind of traffic that if I had left the freeway it would take 30+ minutes to get back on.
• A US hot pot and long life milk packets when traveling with in laws. Much faster than a travel kettle.
• not weird, but a spare outfit and PJs. Lesson learned after a long delay and no spares in hand luggage.

For any journey, enough pain killers and Imodium (IBS) for the duration. I've had too many random dental issues while traveling and I won't risk not being prepared.

I travel pretty light and prefer to shop locally but the one thing I always take when SC anywhere in the world is my Sea salt with garlic

Lol my partner always took ( and never used) that. Ended up being taken from him at security in a station in luang prabang because of the blade in it. Never missed it since

Why would you have one when you are camping?

I know! She was very specific with the brand too!!

Exactly! Things like my parents’ decaf coffee and tea - as expensive.

But things because you don’t like the local food of the place you are staying.

My full non-clothing packing list, it gets edited depending on destination and type of holiday but most of it will be packed for travel by plane self catering in France:

Mac/laptop
Cat 5 cable and router
Measure
Knife for lime
Tupperware etc
Cool bag for night market
Tablecloth for night market
Hats
Uno
Cards
Monopoly Deal
Pass the pigs
Taco, cat, goat, cheese, pizza
Masks
Hi vis
sports watch
Salt and Pepper
Travel speaker
Tongs
BBQ gloves
BBQ Thermometer
Chimney starter
Wire wool/brillo
Sponge
Cloth
BBQ mats
Dishwasher cleaner
Knives
Corkscrew
Bag clips
First aid kit
Oven gloves
Antibac
Antibac gel
Handsoap
Shower gel
Washing up liquid
Handwashing liquid (non-bio)
Hand towels
4 way adaptor
Goggles
Pool hats
Beach bag
Towel pegs
Sunglasses
Contact lenses
Power converters
Ipad, chargers etc
Scrabble
Kindle - charge and download anything
Plasters
Tea bags
Sharpie
Multi tool
Shopping bags
Tea towel
Pac-a-macs
Phrase book
Sun cream
Insect repellent
Books
Headphones
Earbuds
Pipettes
Ear drops
Cotton buds
Cotton wool pads
Dishwasher tablets
Washing pods
Dressing gowns
Water bottles
Reusuable cups

Sure, that'ssensible in those circumstances. I was responding to OP whose partner has used his torch once in 22 years!

I don't even have half of this stuff in my own house! 😊. I am obviously not with the program at all.

Very entertaining (bonkers) thread though, am enjoying reading about all the mad stuff that people feel is essential, and it is to them I suppose.

I'm very boring and ordinary on hols. Once I have my prescription meds, emergency paracetemol, 3meter multi way charging cable for phone, hearing aids (!), power bank, kindle I'll survive. Maybe I can be included if I tell you I bring a ziploc bag of mixed wheat/oat bran, milled chia and flax, and protein powder that I put in my yogurt at brekkie. No, that's just boring.

I need to start bringing the kitchen sink from now on.

I can understand perhaps if you are staying in a gite in the middle of nowhere - but, as I have said many, many times - Spain, France and Italy are not third world countries, you can get 90% of what you want in their supermarkets, and if you can't do without a suitcase full of stuff from home because you don't like Spanish, French or Italian food, why are you going there?

i took the tumble dryer to Haven once . It was during Covid and they were only offering very expensive service wash on site!

When we went to Disneyland Paris, I took a Ziploc bag of snacks for each child for each day of the trip. It was a bit of work and took up a fair amount of space but it meant that, each day in the park, if one of the children said they were hungry, they were handed their Ziploc bag to choose something to eat. It meant no squabbling over who got which snack and saved a fortune on buying snacks in the park.

You win the thread!

Love this thread, thank you OP! I'm reading it on my first holiday in 10 years and my lists were off the charts (not helped by a chronic illness and many meds to bring for management). I definitely feel less of an overthinker reading some of these!

Foldable draining rack for plates etc when self-catering.