It is just as well we did not go abroad on holiday. Whittling down my hand luggage to three or four items in a small plastic bag would have been near impossible.

I can't go anywhere without my essentials - which take up the best part of a wheelie bin.

Then there's the suitcase itself. "What have you got in there?" my husband asked as we packed to go away.

He would happily leave the house for a five-week expedition across Asia with only his wallet, toothbrush and razor (although it's unlikely that that would survive the airport check-in), but that does not mean I have to live by the same rules.

Clothes, towels, sheets, duvet covers - unfortunately, the seaside cottage we rent does not supply bed linen - waterproofs, toiletries, children's games...the list goes on. If in doubt, pack it, that's my philosophy, although I occasionally leave the defibrillator at home.

My husband thinks I take too much, and I would accept criticism on the chin if some of our luggage had proved unnecessary.

But, in the course of the week, everything came into its own.

Even the antihistamine sting cream - a late addition to the toiletries bag - found a niche on the first day of our break after my daughter twice stepped on a bee.

And the puncture repair kit proved as vital as a sun hat in Death Valley after both inflatables sprung a leak.

My husband may moan, but I must have saved my family a fortune over the years. Holidaymakers waste around £425million every year by forgetting to pack simple essentials such as toothbrushes, sunglasses or swimming costumes, says a survey by an online travel service.

I don't go so far as to make lists for months before departure, but I do go around the house stuffing things into bags, so nothing is forgotten. "Where's the toothpaste?" "Where's the hairbrush?" the children ask. "Packed," I tell them.

I was given a ticking off for packing food, but my husband ate his words as we enjoyed a lovely, uninterrupted evening on the beach rather than a sweaty drive to the supermarket.