MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Let's go back to a big story from last week - that CrowdStrike global software outage. It left people stuck in airports by flight delays and cancellations.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Which raises an eternal question - how do you make sure that you have everything you might need in your carry-on bag?
MARTIN: One extremely organized TikTok user uses a spreadsheet for this.
LUKE SCARPINO: Prior to having this method, I'd sort of keep this, like, amorphous cloud of items in my head that I knew that I would need to pack for a trip.
MARTIN: Meet Luke Scarpino.
SCARPINO: And then I'd always, like, second guess myself on if I packed that item, or I'd have to go and like, recheck to see, like, did I actually put that in my backpack?
MARTIN: This stressed Scarpino out. Fortunately, for him, he's a data scientist.
INSKEEP: Which would explain the use of that spreadsheet.
SCARPINO: The spreadsheet was sort of a way for me to regain my sanity around packing.
MARTIN: Here's how it works.
SCARPINO: I go through and I list out each bag that I'm bringing, and then I assign the associated items that I'm going to put in that bag.
MARTIN: So when he starts packing, the spreadsheet shows him exactly which items he planned to put in a specific bag.
SCARPINO: And as I do that, I check off these check boxes that are also in the spreadsheet. And I have this little calculation going on the side that shows me the percentage packed both by bag and in total. And that isn't super helpful. That's more just for fun because I like to - if someone asked me if I finished packing for a trip, I like to say, well, not really, but I'm like 87% of the way packed, and that actually be true.
MARTIN: And if this all sounds way too extra for you...
INSKEEP: (Laughter) I've never been this organized about anything in my life, Michel.
MARTIN: Wow.
INSKEEP: Yes, it is too much.
MARTIN: It is too much. OK. But there are thousands of TikTok users who disagree. Scarpino spreadsheet went viral a few months ago, so he put it on his website for other people to download. Now he suggests it could be a great way to prepare for travel mishaps like losing a bag.
SCARPINO: Whenever I put in an item to be packed, I also include the value of that item. What this does is it creates an itemized list because you have all the items that you packed and their associated values that you can easily just, you know, screenshot or convert to a PDF and send to either the airline or your credit card company.
MARTIN: OK, Steve, you're on a trip right now. Be honest, do you have everything you need? Or did you have to call in?
INSKEEP: No, no, no, I did just fine. Sometimes I forget things, but I try to make sure to pack light and carry on everything. Only carry-on bags, and then I just don't have to worry about losing stuff or having the wrong thing at the wrong time.
MARTIN: Well, what's wrong with the Heidi Klum method? Just try everything on before you put it in your bag. I mean, it works. No spreadsheet needed. She should have asked us.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) Good luck to her. Good luck to her. I'm sure she's doing better than me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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