The Essentials

I’m packing to go out of town on a retreat this weekend. And for me packing is tremendously hard.
Whenever I’m in town and go to find something to wear, it feels like I have nothing in my closet, but then when I go out of town… I want to take my entire closet with me.
I’m going to be gone for less than 48 hours, so all I really need to pack are some clothes and the essentials.

What are the essentials you ask? Good Question.

I think everyone has a different set of things that they need to make them feel equally prepared and adventurous. You might find my essentials list odd (sorry I’m not sorry), but I have used everything on this list almost every time I go out of town.
packing
Here’s my top ten ESSENTIALS list:
1) A head lamp – you never know when you’re going to need a flashlight, but also two hands free. (Like if you’re fighting a bear at night, you want to be able to see it, but you’ll probably need both hands if you want any chance of surviving)
2) A Fanny Pack – again with the hands free deal (Like if the bear is humanized, from a pixar movie, and wants a stick of gum)
3) Mixed CD – this soundtrack of awesomeness needs at least one song from a 90s boy band, hopefully more
4) FLANNEL – multiple (I’m packing 3 flannel shirts and a flannel vest… you can never have too much flannel)
5) Clothes – because in some places, nudity is a no-no
6) Sleeping Gear – preferably with cartoon characters plastered all over
7) Duct Tape – it must have a tacky print (mine has mustaches)
8) Ear Plugs – in case one of your companions snores… and trust me someone always snores (usually someone who makes it a point to say that they don’t snore)
9) Camera – to document all of your shenanigans
10) Band Aids – has to have superheroes or princesses (toy story characters will also be excepted); battle wounds just heal faster if your band aid has a cartoon character on it

And that my list! What is your most essential item for going out of town?