Learning to Unpack

Let us begin my personal packing debacle with "The Dreaded Snorkel Gear".  It never fails - when I pack it, I don't snorkel.  I COULD just pack the mask and snorkel and skip the giant fins, but the girl scout in me wants to be prepared.
This, my friends, is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

It all starts with an invention designed for people like me.  Use of these items helps me to rationalize the packing of too many items under the guise of circumventing high humidity or bedbugs.  
These things are called... 

Space Bags.

Oh, I've had my turn with a suitcase full of clothes that have become damp and funny smelling liabilities without even seeing the light of day.  It just feels travel-tragic having to wash things I haven't even worn yet.

Beside that, and more importantly to me at either departure or arrival time, is the weight and bulk I have unnecessarily heaped upon myself. 
Who needs this added stress during travel?
So I once again examine the series of events that have left me breathless and pissed off in a hot, tropical airport terminal...

Each time I begin the packing, my intentions are to fill three space bags with 
1 pants, 2 shorts,  4 shirts,  1 dress,  2 bathing suits

Now do the math.  Oh, I'm alright with the dresses and the pants, but have a bit of an excess in the shorts and bathing suit department while shirts have multiplied exponentially...

So there I am with the bags.  I rationalize that I will be away for a whole month.  I'll probably NEED all those clothes,  but I try to just remove bag one from the pile.  

I'm feeling pretty good until I see that 

there's something in THAT bag that I NEED.  

The project now requires a complete re-shuffle, and in the end, I find that I still have three bags...
So I pack an empty duffel so that I can relocate all those clothes to make room for the stuff I have purchased on my trip.

 I think you know where I'm going with this....

Over the years, I have stopped biting my nails, lost weight, and quit smoking.  

SO WHY CAN'T I LET GO OF THAT THIRD BAG??

I'm thinking that next time, I'll pack all three like usual and then ask my husband to remove one right before we walk out the door to the airport.