While The Missus was out yesterday afternoon, I took advantage of the absence of distraction (ha) to do my final-cut packing of clothes. Objective: aim to take no more than one large hardsided suitcase (with the zippered expandable option) and one good sized backpack. (Camera gear is already stowed separately.)

I think I can still get there, although I think the backpack may be too ambitious. Instead, at the moment I’ve got it down to the big suitcase, the smaller version of the same thing, and a small tote.

The basic problem: failing to make really hard choices, even allowing for the six-month cross-country climate. I made much of my original intentions: I figured I’d be able to get by on a couple pairs of jeans and a decent pair of slacks; maybe three pairs of socks; four sets of underwear; a couple T-shirts; two-three long-sleeved T-shirts — like that. And two pairs of shoes. My thinking has been that it’s no problem to look — especially to strangers — as though you’re decently dressed, even for two or three days running; you just have to do some judicious juggling of wardrobe, wearing everything a couple-three times, in different mix-and-match combinations, between laundry cycles. (Pandemic lesson #1!)

Surprise, surprise: it seems I have grown much more fond of a variety of clothing than I ever thought possible.

So at the moment I’ve got four pairs of jeans (Jeans, for gods’ sake!) Also four pairs of shoes,. The socks-and-underwear situation: ridiculous. Shirts and T-shirts are the worst offenders, through no fault of their own: “How can I leave THIS one unworn for six months to a year? And, oh, wait, THIS T-shirt and THIS overshirt look just right together…!”

It really is like the title of this post says — I’ve got to make myself think in terms of the emergency cliche: “The air-raid sirens are warbling. What must you absolutely grab before running out the door?” At least I have the luxury of stopping to select items only by considering their versatility, and just letting the rest go to storage.

And now, of course, the situation grows desperate, because there’s so much stuff still to do other than Taking Care of My Wardrobe.

P.S. Remind me to tell you about the time I wasted yesterday simply getting a couple of duplicate keys made. And I did manage to (a) get boxes for a big-screen TV and a medium-sized one, and (b) drop off a couple bags of Goodwill donations, while failing to take care of the key situation. So, not a total loss.

Packing clothes for a five- to six-month (or longer) road trip involves waaaaay more hair-splitting and decision-making than I’m comfortable with. While I was working I might have, say, 15-20 “business shirts” hanging in the closet — not counting the dozen or so which might be in the laundry basket after a couple weeks. So now, suddenly, I’ve gotta think, Let’s see: say I want to get everything into no more than one big suitcase for extended stays and one “go bag” for overnight stays… Suppose I want to pack for 2-3 weeks between laundry cycles, averaging 2-3 days per shirt (keeping them in rotation so no strangers would ever see the same ones twice… So I should be able to get by on maybe five shirts? In varying combinations with different undershirts, and of course socks and such? It’s hard to think in these terms. (Aside: yes, I know — this is very much a First World problem!)

You better believe the anguish is not confined to my own wardrobe. (You should see The Missus practically weeping as she packs away pairs of shoes for storage while we’re gone.)

It’s kinda funny to think about those old Hollywood movies in which people board a train for a two-week trip to California, say, and a porter follows along behind them, pulling a dolly piled high with trunks, suitcases, duffel bags, hatboxes, maybe a potted plant…

The problem of course: our “closet space” en route — the interior of the car — is so constricted. Besides clothes, shoes, and toiletries, we also need room for:

• the “car emergency” stuff I mentioned a couple days ago, and the “passenger emergency” stuff I haven’t said anything at all about;
• a cooler;
• my camera-gear backpack;
• a couple full-size pillows, maybe a blanket or two, and a “travel pillow” (I think that’s the technical term for the little thing The Missus likes to have on long trips);
• various electronic devices (laptops, phones, Kindles, and the cords we might need to charge them all);
• entertainment for the stays of more than 1-2 nights (cards, board games, Nintendo Switch, and the Roku and Chromecast devices which will let us watch all our regular TV)…

…and that’s just the stuff I remember off the top of my head.

Anyhow, we spent today boxing up (or holding for donation, or throwing away) the clothes we definitely will not be taking along with us in a couple weeks. All of this stuff (plus much else, of course) will end up in storage for however long we’re gone. I can’t speak for The Missus, but I can’t help wondering why I bothered accumulating it all in the first place.