I’m travelling to Estonia today and it reminded me how many people have said lately that they hate packing. We need to talk about this, because many people are wrong and need to realize that packing is, in fact, great.

The thing with life is that it’s impossible to get all of it right, it’s just too big and messy. I like planning and structure and I can be extremely organized in bursts, but I cannot sustain it – it’s impossible for me to be constantly disciplined in every sector of my life. But a trip? A trip is a manageable slice of time that can totally be planned and mastered. Well, at least the packing part of it: packing is the one bit that you have absolute control over.

There are several different genres of travels and this is also reflected in the packing. I’d say may favourite is a 3-4 day business trip. Business trips are easier than vacations, because you usually know exactly what you’ll be doing and you have no crazy fantasies about things you think you will be doing but never actually do. You are less dependent on weather and can easily plan your every outfit in advance. One or two days is a bit too easy, however – I can do an overnight business trip with my handbag only, if pressed. So from the packing perspective, I prefer something longer, but still manageable with a small carry-on.

The most important precondition for successful packing is not having any illusions about yourself. I don’t have many. I know that when I’m travelling for work, I’ll be too tired to go out in the evening, so I can leave my glitter eye shadow and strappy sandals at home. I’ll also be too lazy to wash my hair in the morning, so instead of 874 styling products, I just need a mini dry shampoo. And I have learned that I usually cannot focus on serious fiction at a hotel, so the Karamazov brothers are not coming with me (the book dilemmas have become moot anyway by now, see below).

But you need to pack something, so what is helpful? Dresses. They take little room, constitute a whole outfit and work both day and night. For a work-related trip, I often take one sheath dress per day, one back-up outfit, one casual outfit (usually the one I travel in) and two pairs of classic shoes. You can more-or-less fit this into a clutch.

Possible even more useful than dresses are samples. First rule of travelling: never, ever miss a chance to get a sample of your favourite products. Whenever you buy something, ASK FOR A SAMPLE. That might actually be the first rule of living, come to think of it. Travel sizes are good, too, but for short trips, small samples are ideal. You can also take samples of products you don’t know, but there is always a risk they might turn your head into a red balloon, so I generally advise caution.

And finally, Kindle (or an iPad, in my case). The one thing that has improved my packing and travelling experience the most is the invention of e-books. I get physically restless if I don’t have a book nearby and while you can carry a book with you, my problem is that I’m also fickle and read many of them in parallel. And when I’m in the mood for classic SF, I don’t want to know anything about Persian history and vice versa. So to be prepared for all eventualities, I would have to have to bring at least 5 books with me for even a short trip. With the iPad, I can have most of my books with me at all times. This is what I call progress.

The only problem I have with packing is that while I know exactly what I want to pack, I may not be able to find it. Because as I said, I can be organized only occasionally.