A packing list app you already have: a simple notes app

A packing list app is one of those things you search for the night before a trip, install, set up, and never open again. The dedicated ones come with categories, weather integrations and suggestions for things you will not bring. For most people a checklist in a simple notes app does the job better, because it is already on your phone and you already know how it works.

What a packing list actually needs

Strip away the extras and a packing list needs very little:

• Items you can tick off. So you can see at a glance what is left.
• Easy to change. Add the thing you forgot last time in two seconds.
• Reusable. The same core list works for nearly every trip.
• Always with you. On your phone, next to the suitcase.

A note with a checklist covers all four. That is why a notes app makes a good packing list app without trying.

Start with one master packing list

Create a single note called something like "Packing list: master". This is the list you never tick off. It holds everything you might bring on a normal trip, grouped with short headings:

• Documents: passport, cards, tickets, insurance details.
• Clothes: the basics, counted per day if you like.
• Toiletries: the small bag, medication, glasses or lenses.
• Tech: phone charger, adapter, headphones.
• Last out the door: keys, wallet, water off, windows shut.

Write each item as a checklist line. Keep headings plain. The point is that you can scan it quickly, not that it looks like a brochure.

Copy it for each trip

When a trip is coming up, make a new note and copy the text of the master list into it. Title it with where and when: "Packing Lisbon May 2026". Now you have a trip list you can edit freely without touching the master.

Then trim and add. Remove the ski socks for a beach weekend. Add the wedding shoes. Because it is just a note, there is no setting to change; you edit the text.

Untick for the next trip

Some people prefer a single list they reuse instead of copies. That works too. Pack, tick everything off, and when you are home, untick the lot so it is ready for next time. It is a few taps, and you never have to remember where the master is.

Pick one approach and stick with it. Copies are better if your trips vary a lot. One reused list is better if they are mostly the same.

Fix the list when you get home

The most useful moment for a packing list is the evening you unpack. You know exactly what you forgot and what you carried around for nothing. Open the master list and change it right then:

• Add what you missed.
• Remove what you never used, twice in a row.
• Move items that belong in a different group.

After a few trips the list becomes genuinely yours. That is something a generic packing list app cannot give you.

What to put in the title

Titles are how you find notes again, so make them searchable:

• The master: "Packing list: master". One of them, starred.
• Trip copies: "Packing" plus the place and the month.
• Special kinds of trip: "Packing list: camping" or "Packing list: work trip" if they differ a lot.

Star the master so it sits at the top. Archive trip copies when you are back; they stay searchable if you want to check what you took to Lisbon last year.

Extra notes that travel well

While you are at it, a few other trip notes are worth keeping next to the packing list: addresses and booking references, a short list of things to do before leaving the house, and a note of what to buy when you arrive. One note per thing, each with a clear title, all findable with search.

This is the same thinking as minimalist note taking in general: a plain checklist beats a specialised tool when the plain checklist is the one you actually open.

If an agent helps you pack

If you use an AI agent, it can do the fiddly part. Ask it to copy your master list into a new note for the trip and add what the destination calls for. It edits a note you can read and tick off like any other.

Keep it where you already look

The best packing list app is the one you open without thinking. For most people that is the notes app they already use for everything else.

Very Simple Notes is a simple notes app that works well for exactly this: checklists from one floating bar, a star for the master list, archive for past trips, and search to find them again, synced wherever you sign in. It costs $0.99 a month, and the first month is free.