After taking a few trips recently and discovering too late that I'd forgotten to pack some things, I decided to build a packing list. However, I didn't just want it to be a simple single-table, single-view checklist. I wanted some encouragement to think more carefully about each trip before I actually began to pack for it, and wanted some more advanced features to make the list more flexible and streamlined.
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Oddly enough, I took the time to build most of this on the day that I needed to pack for another trip. 🤣
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NOTE: Even though the term "trip" appears a lot in the description below, this base can be used for more than just out-of-town trips. Use it for any situation where you're hauling stuff around and want to make sure you have it all before you head out: presenting at a meeting, delivering a keynote speech, running a booth at a convention, taking/teaching a class, etc.
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The problem that I often run into is that I'm trying to figure out what I need to pack at the very moment I need to pack it. If I'm in a hurry, this sometimes means that things get overlooked. That's one of the reasons that I made this a two-step process.
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The first step is planning, which occurs in the Plan view of the Items to Pack table. Add items you'll need for your next trip as they come to mind, and begin doing this as far in advance as possible. This will minimize the likelihood of forgetting something.
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This master list is meant to be used for multiple trips, so don't think that you have to delete everything once the trip ends. Just leave it there and use it for any other trip that you plan.
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Once you have your list build, there are two ways to use it when it comes to packing:
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Do you pack different things for each trip? Check the "Do/Pack?" field next to each item as needed for the next trip. Switch to the Pack view when you're ready to begin packing, and only those checked items will appear.
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Do you make the same kind of trip frequently? Skip the manual checking of items and consider using the Presets feature. Mark certain items with a preset tag of your choosing in the "Preset" field, then use the filter in the Preset view to only show those tagged items when packing.
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If you need to pack a specific number of a certain item, check the "# ?" field for that item. By default, the base will assume that you need to pack one for each day of your trip, with the trip length being set in the "Notes" field of the "Trip Duration (days)" record at the very top of the list. You can override this one-per-day assumption for each record in two ways:
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The final total will appear in the "#" field for each record where "# ?" has been checked.
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The Clear view allows you to quickly reset between trips. Select the three field headers, press the Delete/Backspace key to remove all the field data, and you're ready to plan the next trip.
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Customize the records in the Locations table, then keep track of where you're packing things by setting the value of the Location field for each item on either the Pack or Preset view.
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Want to have a photo backup of certain documents? Or perhaps store a photo of your luggage in case it goes missing? Both the Items to Pack and Locations tables have Attachments fields for just such purposes.
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