How Do I Not Leave Stuff Behind on the Road?

SUPPORT DATAMUSICATA HERE BY DOWNLOADING A SONG

Bringing It All Back Home

In all the years that I have been touring, I have rarely left anything behind. When you consider that I have done between 100 and 250 dates a year for over thirty years that is a pretty good average. That isn’t to say I haven’t done it. I have left two precious notebooks filled with ideas, songs, phone numbers and other irreplaceable stuff on a plane last year. I was being rushed by some impatient passengers who wanted to deplane, so I didn’t do my usual “idiot check” and beneath the blanket and pillow on my seat were the two notebooks. But the fault was mine, no one elses.

So rule number 1. is don’t let anyone hurry you thru your idiot check. And for the uninitiated, an idiot check is what you do after you are certain that you have everything you brought with you all packed up and loaded. Invariably, there is something else that you left behind,   and  you find  it  during  the idiot check.

Let’s start with the basics. Keep all your belongings in consolidated packages, like your toiletry bag, your equipment bag, your guitar case and your suitcase. Now it’s true that I unpack my shirts and pants and hang them up in every hotel, but other than that, everything stays in the suitcase. When I finish brushing my teeth, the toothpaste and the toothbrush go back into the toiletry bag. After the shower, before I even dry off, everything goes out of the shower and onto the table or shelf or something visible (even the top of the toilet tank); the razor, the shampoo, the conditioner, even the soap that I bring along. Then I dry that stuff off right after I dry me off, and put everything back.

That’s really the key. Put everything back after you use it. If you are changing a string backstage, after you’ve done it, put the crank and the pliers back in your bag. Just always put stuff back as soon as you use it. Get into this habit and you won’t be leaving much behind I can promise you.

I also use small packages of everything. My toiletry kit came with some plastic containers into which I put the shampoo and conditioner and soap. They are smaller than the commercial containers and take up less room and weight.

When you are packing up. First pack up your suitcase. Everything that should be in there goes in there; then the guitar; and then the equipment bag. Now put it all by the door, so you have actually consolidated your belongings before you take them out to the car or have them picked up by the bellman. Now do your idiot check. Get your hat and coat from the rack. Look in the bathroom, behind the shower curtain, behind the door, even on top of the towels on the shelf, and when the room is clear, close the door. This lets you know you needn’t look there any more.

Shake the covers of the bed and get them all off the floor so that you can see around the bed and on the floor. I know this sounds lame, but so many people leave so much stuff. Its so easy if you don’t have a routine.

Lastly, your travel bag: Check to see that you have your phone, your book, your notebook; everything that you take on the road and need to access on the plane or wherever. And I travel with a bag that has many little pockets. Each one always has the same things in it. My writing cassette, batteries and cassettes in one pocket. My emergency sewing kit, breath mints, aspirin, moist towelettes, Rolaids, matches, etc in the opposite pocket. All my travel papers in the middle pocket. My wallet and phone in the front pocket along with pens, and loose change. My book, notebook, water, fruit and spare toothbrush, hairbrush in the big pocket. I know it sounds anal, but when you’re on the road, you don’t want to have to look every where for every thing every time.

Put all these bags by the door and count them. How many bags did you come in with? How many are you leaving with? And don’t load the car or call the bellman until everything is consolidated in a pile you can look at. Call the bellman or load the car and then come back when the room is empty and look one more time.

Once you get into the routine, it doesn’t take long at all because you’re putting everything back as you use it and because it’s a routine, it goes along smoothly. There’s no reason to add a bunch of stress to the road. The anal probe at security at the airport does enough of that. Stay consolidated and stay loose. No stress and no worries mate. Tho I do sometimes get a Felix Unger vibe from myself, I don’t leave anything behind and I bring it all back home.

One more little tip. When you are going anywhere and you are carrying more than your car keys, use the car keys as the sand trap. If you came in with a notebook or book or magazine or whatever, put your car keys with that thing (s). That way when you go to leave, you find your keys and whatever it was you brought in with you. <!--more-->

Don’t thank me…