The story of most expeditions, if written honestly, would be less about gorgeous views and more about constant unzipping and zipping gear and clothing in search of stuff. The little bits, like bandaids and chapstick, seem to be reliably elusive. I know that there is very much advice on effective packing – here is mine:
Stick to just one bag – the backpack. No additional day packs or hand bag or fanny pack. I find that it is much easier to keep all my stuff if I have only one object to remember to pick up. I regularly lose my hat because it is not in my one piece of luggage (just lost the latest one).
Make your bed before packing. Before I learned to do this I would routinely lose and leave things in folds of linens.
When you get up in the morning and unplug your ‘phone, pull the charger plug out of the socket and pack it. I have salted the earth with “post breakfast out of sight rush to leave the room” accessories. If you do lose your charger, be sure to ask for one at the next hotel. Chances are that they have a box of previously left items.
Like with like – clothes all go in one packing sack, electronics in another. Toiletries and miscellaneous small stuff in the Dopp kit. Dirty and wet things go in a really light plastic bag.
If you do carry lotions like sunscreen, always keep them in a ziplock bag.
No loose individual items in the main part of the backpack. Packing sacks and shoes only.
Small objects that may be needed during the day (charger, cable, bottle opener) in the top small compartment for easy access and tight control.
Always pack things in exactly the same place, every time. I carry one, very light karabiner, and there are two beautiful attachment points on my Osprey bag. After looking for the ‘biner in the wrong spot a statistically predictable 50% of the time, I picked and stick with one point.
Documents and money are always inside something (envelope, pouch) inside something else – so that they do not display or blow away if a compartment is unzipped.
When there is a slightly rare situation – such as shoe insoles drying on a window ledge – I put ByGeorge, The Travel Duck, on the floor inside the hotel door, reminding me that there is something that must be retrieved. Deploy The Duck if you ever hang clothes in a closed wardrobe. Recently disregarded my injunction in Prague, and left behind two of my favorite pieces of clothing. Godspeed.
Last thing packed is any damp laundry, held onto backpack with the two external compression straps.
After putting on my pack (because I have even left behind stuff that was under my bag – Verona, iPad) I do a final ‘idiot sweep’ of the rooms, scanning for any stray stuff.