Do you make a checklist of what you need to pack for your next trip, check it, and check it again—or do you fly by the seat of your pants?
How often do you forget something? How essential was the thing you’d forgotten?
Minimus.biz took a survey of what kinds of items travelers forget, and how often.
It should not come as a surprise that the most forgotten items are toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Those between the ages of 18 and 24 never forget their shampoo. (Are they relying on free hotel bottles, or just hair-centric?)
The most forgetful age group are those between 35 and 44.
And, according to the survey, men are less forgetful than women… but maybe they just forgot what they’d forgotten.
Elliot Advocacy writes about ways people remember their essential items when traveling:
“Larry Waight developed two techniques to prevent a loss of travel documents. ‘When I’m at an airport, I check every 10 minutes to make sure I have my passport with me,” he says. He also uses a smartphone app called Evernote to store reminders and to-do lists. “I write down everything I will need for my trip to not forget it,’ he adds.”
In contrast, Jennifer Aspinwall, who writes “World on a Whim: The Perfectionist’s Guide to Spontaneous Travel,” says “the best way to remember is to forget. ‘On my first long-haul flight to Europe, I left my computer glasses wrapped in a blanket in the open middle seat. I was so mad at myself for forgetting something critical so early on in my travels, but it ended up being the best thing for me because I constantly checked and rechecked for my belongings every stage of the way for the rest of the trip.'”
Maybe we’re better off forgetting an item or two when we travel. We can usually find a replacement at our destination—and after all, we’re told it’s about the journey, not the stuff we remember for our destination.
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