I keep a list of things to take on the road. It's easier than trying to remember everything you need each time. If I'm on the road and I think something would be useful next time around I just add it to my list.
Some things are obvious - clothes, wash bag, passport, etc. Other things I don't think you'd think about on your first tour.
For example, some hotels we stay in are great - no complaints. Others have little things that are annoying. One thing that winds me up is hotel curtains that don't close - especially when you don't get to the hotel until 3am and you know the sun is going to wake you up earlier than you'd like. Either you pull the curtains together and end up with gaps by the walls, or they don't meet properly in the middle. Often they're long enough but have been scrunched up - maybe they meet at the top but you end up with a triangle shaped gap as they separate towards the floor.
This happened at one of the recent gigs in France. I REALLY wanted a good night's sleep and figured there must be something I could use to keep these curtains shut. I hit the jackpot with a new pair of drum sticks I happened to have in my bag. They come in a cardboard holder and they were perfect for closing the gap.
My tour list now includes the item pegs/bulldog clips for closing curtains.
J
