How to Pack a Suitcase: Lessons From My Late Father

Learning to order my life around versatility and care

Collared shirts and dress pants should be folded; softer garments should be rolled. Place the soft rolled items on the bottom and around the sides so they absorb external shocks. Lay folded items in the centre, with your most frequently worn outfit on top. Flatten the socks, in pairs, and snake the belts in between folds and crevices.

Packing a suitcase was one of the first skills I learned from my father. He was an account executive who spent more time at airports and hotels than at our home, a two-storey loft that overlooked the Taiwan Strait. He was always busy, burning the midnight oil at his desk and working late nights at the office, or wining and dining with clients in foreign, faraway lands. Nevertheless, he was an excellent provider and a father who loved unconditionally.

Professionally, he was a manager, and his leadership ran deep through his character and the course of his every action. Personally, he was a very tidy man, and organization was second nature to him, including …