Quirky packing essentials

How to feel at home in any house

Some rough calculating on my finger abacus tells me that, in the past two years since my pandemic travel hiatus ended, I’ve taken care of 15 different homes. That’s 15 different kitchens to navigate, which adds up to about 760 million drawers and 3 billion cupboards, and I still don’t know where to find the cheese grater.

Actually, the collander is the one that usually messes me up because I never think to look for it until the spaghetti is already al dente, and it’s going to be pasta pudding for supper if I don’t find a strainer in the next 90 seconds.

Can you spot the strainer in this olden-time Cypriot kitchen?

Because I’ve done a bunch of repeat sits, 15 different homes in the past two years translates to about 25 moves. I keep a few—let’s call them tools—in my luggage to smooth out the rough edges of adjusting to a new living space every month or two. Here’s a rundown of my essential items, plus a few honourable mentions from a fellow housesitter.