The Art of Packing

Finding ways to squeeze 150+ pounds of items into a 55 gallon barrel isn't an easy task. So yes, packing is an art.

Techniques I learned tonight:

• Anything in a box or container gets pulled out and put into a Ziploc bag. This includes puzzles, aluminum foil, Clorox wipes, oatmeal, etc.

• If you're packing things like pots/pans, be sure to pack as many other things into those pots/pans as possible. This includes tubes of tooth paste, car toys, measuring cups/spoons, etc.

• A memory foam mattress is too large to try to pack in a barrel. So are pillows. These must be vacuum sealed and put into a suit case.

• Packing is just like a puzzle, you have to find ways to maneuver everything to fit together.

• Food items such as shake and bake, brownie mix, cake mix, Lipton onion soup mix, etc gets put into zip lock bags with the instruction section of the box cut out and included.

• You must pack, then think/observe. Then unpack, repack and think/observe again. By the third round of unpacking and repack, you should be able to cram all of your items into the barrel thinking as creatively as possible to use up every crevice. This includes shoving as many things into pot holders as humanly possible to save space.

There you have it folks, the art of packing; you know, for the time in life when you need to pack a 55 gallon barrel to the absolute max. You're welcome.

Just for kicks and giggles...things included in the barrel: 4 big bottles of shampoo, 12 boxes of oatmeal, 6 boxes of brownie mix, a big bag of duplo legos, PJ's beach/pool toys (kick board, floaties, beach ball, bucket and shovel, etc), 3 boxes of cake mix, a nonstick pot and pan, a poker set, 1 gallon of vegetable oil, a collapsible 5 gallon water jug, 5 boxes of tampons, 3 cartons of Clorox wipes, 2 big bags of sugar, 4 packages of Windex wipes, measuring cups and spoons, 2 mixing bowls, 3 boxes of aluminum foil, collapsible laundry basket, 15 taco seasoning packets, 10 of PJ's favorite books, PJ's cars and two (big) transformers, 3 bottles of Veet, 4 bottles of suntan lotion, 3 bottles of bug spray, 4 puzzles, 4 boxes of lipton onion soup mix, 6 boxes of shake and bake, pot holders, a knife set, cooking utensils, 8 venus razor replacements, 4 boxes of face wash, 8 bars of soap, 3 sticks of deodorant, 4 bottles of vitamins, 6 toothbrushes, Apples to Apples, 1 big bag of flour, 3 bottles of Pam cooking spray.... I'm sure there's more but I'm drawing a blank.

Now I've got to figure out how to pack two suit cases  (70 lb max each) for the rest of my stuff. What would you bring to live on a tropical island ? Keep in mind there are no such things as Wal-marts there.