Why yes, I do love being over-organized

[hrj]

I love my iPhone packing list app. I think I've finally gotten the hang of how to bend it to my own personal quirks. (It wasn't originally designed for intensive camping gear organization or packing for gourmet cooking or for handling costuming issues ... but it can learn.) They key seems to be applying the principle of modularity to the list templates. So, for example, the template for packing for an SCA campout includes a single item "clothing module", but then there are separate list templates for all the standard time/place/gender outfits I wear. Similarly, the main packing list includes the item "pavilion module", where the separate "pavilion module" template includes everything necessary for setting up the pavilion. (Because there are times when I might want to include the pavilion module in a day-trip packing list without including all the other standard weekend-event items, such as the camp kitchen.) This may mean that a specific trip may include half a dozen packing list modules, but each module involves minimal customization for any particular event. The true usage test will come when I use it for an event when I'm not still setting up the templates and modules. As usual, the process is almost more fun than the actual functionality.

Comments

[johno.livejournal.com]

Which app are you using?

[onalark.livejournal.com]

I had the same question. Please tell me it is not named "iPack", or I may have to defenestrate something.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

It seems to be called simply "Packing", although it's confusing because the logo says "I [heart] Travel", so my brain keeps switching to that as my mental label for it. Like many iPhone apps, it could stand to be better documented (like: at all). It took me quite a while to figure out exactly how to drag the list items around to a new order -- all the documentation told me was that it was theoretically possible. (Answer: you click on "edit" and then drag them by the right-hand end of the line. Trying to drag any other part of the line does nothing.)

[kareina.livejournal.com]

The more I read your journal, the more I look forward to finishing my degree, landing a job, and being able to afford toys like these. I love organizing stuff, but keeping track of such things on the computer just isn't as handy as something I could stuff into a pocket would be.

[etaine-pommier.livejournal.com]

Ooooh - organization! I totally want to see it at sewing night :-)