I am hopeless at packing.  I admit that.  But I never really worked out why until now.  I always thought that it was due to impatience and disorganisation, but a thought struck me today as I pack up for the 3rd time this trip.  It is because I never fully unpack in the first place. I believe naively that if I leave half the stuff in my case that is 50% less to pack.  Wrong!  The only real way of doing it is to take everything out:   forget about what was neat last time and start from scratch.  A few variables have always changed:  like the ratio of clean (and flat) to dirty (and bulky) clothes and things acquired and things disposed of.

Start from scratch and it is faster and easier to make a passable job of it. Start half packed and it is always a mess.

This is bit like work really.  We often (and I certainly have) imagined that just trying to fix half the process is actually easier than starting again from scratch.  It invariably isn't.  By taking, what appears an easier option, creates bigger burdens and harder tasks in the long run.