Travel Tip #3a: Rolling

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I’m sitting here in the Atlanta airport still agog over what I learned last night. We had a bunch of folks over for a little farewell soirée, and as the evening grew late I started packing away all the necessities for my 3-week sojourn. As my backpack started to fill up, with lots of stuff still to be packed, my buddy Stinky stepped in. Obviously disgusted by my ineptitude, he took charge of the job. He removed all my clothes from the bag and methodically rolled each one, Fruit Roll-Up style, before repacking them. Within minutes, he had everything back in the bag with lots of room to spare!

I was in shock. Not only does rolling compress the clothes, it makes it much easier to see and find what you need in the bag — and prevents wrinkles! Plus it makes it possible to literally fill every corner of the bag, making the packing process much more efficient.

How could I, a veteran of so much backpacking adventures — not to mention numerous moves — have been ignorant of this brilliant stratagem? I feel like I’ve just had a religious experience. Thank you, Stinky, for opening my eyes.

0 thoughts on “Travel Tip #3a: Rolling

  1. ROTFL!!
    I learned the rolling clothes trick in high school. 😉
    I’ve never been backpacking, but I’ve been obsessive about wearing a different outfit every time I left to go do something when on vacation. 😀

    1. Re: ROTFL!!
      It turns out that everyone in the world — except Sari & me — knows the rolling trick, and has been keeping it a secret from us.
      p.s. I just went online to learn what ROTFL means. Thanks for increasing my ‘net vocabulary.

  2. Yes, the rolling trick.
    Also I have:
    Sawed off the handle of a hair brush.
    Cut out from a book chapters that I’ve already read.
    Trimmed the boarders off of maps.
    Because I didn’t want to carry them.
    Also, I purge keys from my key ring, or leave my house key behind. remove metrocard, library card, etc. from Wallet.
    Have a great trip.
    (Reply to this

  3. I never new the rolling trick. I would have figured that it would not work, because of the spaces left in between the rolls. The compression thing is smart. Damn, I’ll have to try this….

    1. Re: Rolling trick
      I would! i am highly embarrassed (tho’ i have to say in my own defense that this new information doesn’t directly contradict any of my previous “travel tips”!).

  4. Vicarious SPX
    Thanks for the con report! I can’t imagine an SPX without Dean (shirtless, as usual, at the softball game). And Scott McCloud talking to a group of followers at the picnic. Do they still have a picnic?
    I went to SPX about two years ago, and while there were nice things about it, mostly it was disorienting for me. It was so much STUFF all crammed into a room that didn’t seem big enough for it. And I was not hawking anything, so I just wandered around. Didn’t recognize most of the people there. I felt a bit like I didn’t belong. (I honestly felt uncomfortable.) New kids had taken over the clubhouse. But that’s not a bad thing. Some day I’ll have a book to hawk and will go back to SPX and all the other conventions I’ve been avoiding. I ran out of energy for them, and I ran out of money too. But it means a lot to hear that SPX is alive and well.
    Glad to hear the A.D. express is making its rounds. Hope to encounter you, and it, at some point.

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