Packing Rubric's Cube

No, I do not mean Rubik. Words are a huge part of my life, so I like to play with them. Get used to it.

So how much does it cost to go to Italy on holiday?  Well, there are the necessary things like airfare and housing. Then there's what to take. Even though I have loads of stuff I don't need, never wear, etc, I've been stimulating the economy by buying new stuff to take along. A smaller camera with more pixels; an earbud/microphone so I can Skype using my iPod Touch, underwear (though one of the best suggestions I've read is to take tatty underwear and toss it out as the trip goes on), moleskin, small containers of OTC meds,

My goal is to carry on my (new) backpack at no more than 20 lbs. The test-pack..... 17 lbs! How did that happen? There's a terrific site called One Bag: The Art and Science of Packing Light. The most useful bits of advice for me:  1) a packing list 2) the 'bundle' style of packing and 3) the resource links. Great, great, great info; check it out. And if you happen to see this, Doug, (he's the One Bag guru) -- thank you!

Now I'm going to take my pack and walk around the block. My neighbors might think I'm running away from home.

Hm...