Preparation or How a Procrastinator Packs

Christmas letter written.
Check.

Tree up.
Check.

Packed for cruise.
Ummmm, not yet.

Hey, but at least I won't have to put the tree up when I get back. Or worry about those Christmas cards (the cards are easy – it's writing the letter that's time consuming). That in itself is a MAJOR accomplishment. The last time we took vacation around our anniversary (14 days to Hawaii & California), I scrambled to get my Christmas shopping completed upon return, as well as put up the decorations. So what happens? The biggest snowstorm of the year, that's all. I had a nightmare (an actual, honest to goodness nightmare) that Christmas morning came and there were no presents under the tree. I will not go through THAT again.

But packing for vacation? I'm a last minute packer. I do have a list of things I don't want to forget, but doesn't include what clothes to bring. There, I have a vague idea of what I want to wear, but I haven't pulled anything out – yet. That will be saved for the night before. So far the worst mistake I ever made packing that way was forgetting to pack socks (so I had to buy them, big deal) or a belt for my husband (hey – he has to take some responsibility for his own clothes!).

I have picked out which books to bring. While I plan on doing some writing on this cruise, I also expect to have a lot of reading time, too (sometimes I can only write so much and then my brain shuts down). Especially if I finish the first draft (fingers crossed). The books I plan on taking along (one of which I may start during lunch today) are shown below (And boy, did I have a time trying to get the pictures to line up decently. All I wanted to do was make two rows of three. Blogger doesn't do things easy, do they?).

I don't expect to read them all – I just like to be prepared. I took four books on my last cruise (Sookie Stackhouse series) and ended up buying a fifth. I'd rather read from my TBR pile than sort through the small selection offered on the ship.

I know, I know. If I had an e-reader, I wouldn't have to do that. Still ain't buying one, though.

So how far in advance do you pack for your vacation? And if it's more than a day, do you actually pack or just create a pile of what you'll be taking? I've never understood how some people pack in advance, probably because I can't imagine putting the clothes in the suitcase a week ahead of time. Do you really have that much underwear you don't have to wash for over a week? Don't the clothes get extra wrinkly? It's not like I'll have an iron. Just saying…