Editorial principles
How items get on a list, how they get ordered, and what stops a page from publishing.
How checklist items are selected
An item earns a place if forgetting it has a real cost that is hard to reverse on arrival. That is the whole test. Items that are merely common to pack do not qualify.
Items are written into a shared library and reused across scenarios, so a power bank means the same thing on a hotel list as on a road-trip list. What changes between scenarios is the reason, because the reason is situational.
How lists are ordered
Every item sits in one of four consequence levels:
- 4 — Do not leave without. Cannot be replaced after you arrive.
- 3 — Commonly forgotten. Recoverable, but it costs money or sleep.
- 2 — Situational. Depends on the property, the route or who is travelling.
- 1 — Nice to have. Comfort. No consequence if skipped.
Facts, advice and recommendations are kept apart
Each item records what kind of claim it is making: a common-sense reminder, an editorial recommendation, a safety-related recommendation, or an externally sourced fact. This keeps an opinion from being presented as an established fact.
Where a recommendation has limits, the limit appears next to it. A portable door lock is a second barrier, not a guarantee, and the page says so in the same sentence.
When sources are required
Claims touching safety, health, security-device limitations, official rules, product standards or emergency procedure require a citation. Reminders like “bring your glasses” do not.
Preference runs from government and regulatory sources, through standards bodies and manufacturer documentation, to specialist publications. Retailers are never cited as the authority for a safety claim.
A question that needs a source and does not have one stays unpublished. This is enforced at build time, not by memory.
Review cadence
Each checklist carries a published date and a last-reviewed date. The reviewed date moves only after a real review, and the change is recorded in version control. It is not refreshed to look current.
How products are selected
Written up separately, at affiliate disclosure. The short version: the checklist is written first, and nothing joins a list because it can be sold.