Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to have what you think you need
Speaker 1: plus one extra of anything critical for good luck. You'll
Speaker 1: find yourself feeling really lucky if you do indeed need
Speaker 1: an extra and you have it on hand. Today's tip
Speaker 1: is inspired by Katherine Newman's book How to Be a
Speaker 1: Person Hugely Useful, super important Skills to learn before You're
Speaker 1: grown up. This resource book for tweens and teens has
Speaker 1: guidance on a range of topics, such as cheering up
Speaker 1: a person who's sick, falling asleep, house cleaning, and packing
Speaker 1: for a trip. It's the info on packing for a
Speaker 1: trip that gives us today's tip. Newman gives guidance on
Speaker 1: choosing the right number of tops, bottoms, and pajamas to take.
Speaker 1: For underwear, she advises packing a pair for each day,
Speaker 1: plus one for good luck. This made me laugh, of course.
Speaker 1: It's a good idea for anyone to pack an extra
Speaker 1: pair of underwear in case you have a flight delay
Speaker 1: or end up extending your trip by a day or more,
Speaker 1: and it's especially prudent for younger packers who may sometimes
Speaker 1: have an accident or run through a sprinkler and get soaked,
Speaker 1: or fall in the mud, or need extra clothes for
Speaker 1: some other reason. What I love is Newman's tone and
Speaker 1: suggesting packing and extra pair of underwear for good luck.
Speaker 1: She's not saying pack double the amount of clothes you need.
Speaker 1: She's not even suggesting packing extras of something large, like
Speaker 1: shoes that probably won't get worn, an extra pair of underwear.
Speaker 1: It takes almost no base at all. And instead of
Speaker 1: framing the strategic packing as being a defense against something
Speaker 1: going wrong, she's framing it as good luck. It's just
Speaker 1: a more whimsical way of looking at this. And if
Speaker 1: you need an extra pair of underwear for some reason
Speaker 1: and you have one, well, you will indeed feel lucky.
Speaker 1: Adding one more of something critical is wise in a
Speaker 1: lot of cases. Thinking ahead, lets us make our own
Speaker 1: good luck for when we'll really need something. When you
Speaker 1: are buying holiday gifts, for instance, pick up something universally
Speaker 1: appealing to have on hand, just in case you mistakenly
Speaker 1: left someone off your list. If you're having a big
Speaker 1: group over for dinner, get a little extra food. Having
Speaker 1: your dogs steal a steak you're just about to put
Speaker 1: on the grill is enough to make you get an
Speaker 1: extra stake or two every time you cook out in
Speaker 1: the future. Avoid tears at a birthday party by getting
Speaker 1: more cupcakes than you'll have people, so a dropped cupcake
Speaker 1: can be easily replaced with an extra. If you've got
Speaker 1: a long plane flight, pack an extra book, you can
Speaker 1: do this as an e book and not use any
Speaker 1: more physical space. Flight delays are much less annoying if
Speaker 1: you don't find yourself halfway over the Pacific with hours
Speaker 1: to go on your flight and nothing but the in
Speaker 1: flight magazine to read. Download your extra e book beforehand,
Speaker 1: and you will be feeling lucky. In general, I don't
Speaker 1: like to own an excess of stuff, but certain everyday
Speaker 1: items can benefit from your not being too minimalists. Bring
Speaker 1: an extra mask in your bag, put an extra sunscreen
Speaker 1: in your car. You will feel lucky if you're out
Speaker 1: somewhere sunny for hours and you don't get burned. I
Speaker 1: always have an extra podcast episode of two ready just
Speaker 1: in case it's really so I have them if something
Speaker 1: goes wrong. But I love the idea that having extras
Speaker 1: is for good luck. It is good luck to have
Speaker 1: them if I need them. So think about what one
Speaker 1: extra of something you might need for good luck. Sometimes
Speaker 1: a little extra is the best policy. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.