Are you a "checklist" person?

   Don't you hate that feeling that you are forgetting something? I'm making a checklist for our camping trip this weekend at Lake Hartwell as I do for most trips or adventures, and I can't help but thinking I am going to get there and realize I have forgotten something. I know I'm ridiculous ... I should just relax. I guess it's my meticulous nature or my OCD, but I am a "checklist" person.  I get physically anxious thinking about things not being perfect. I walked around REI yesterday for an hour wondering what do I need, what do I have - getting more and more frustrated.
   The biggest problem I have with organizing my camping gear is it's all spread out between our apartment, my parents house, and my friends house so it is difficult for me to assess what I have and what I need to buy. Man how I want a house so I can keep all my stuff in one location. This disorganization is very frightening. Not to mention my boat which is sitting in my uncle's garage.
   I like things to be perfect. I like to have a plan. I like things to be neat and clean. So where did I get my need for perfection? My anal-retentiveness? I would have to say I get a lot of it from my father. When I was growing up my dad put a lot of planning into things. I remember when we use to go to the lake we would spend all morning checking out the boat and getting things together. He would get so frustrated if we got there and things weren't perfect, and I am the same way.  He pays close attention to details so everything goes smoothly without a hitch. Although this can be annoying to some, I think this mentality has helped me in my professional life as well as personally. "Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it again."
   I grew up in a very clean, organized home. Now-a-days, if things aren't clean and tidy around me I have a hard time thinking and getting organized. My mother kept things so clean growing up, and I took that for granite. It took getting married and getting out on my own to realize that. Just ask my wife ... I am always cleaning and picking up to the point of annoyance.
   So between my need for a well thought out plan and perfection, and my need for cleanliness, I consider myself a "checklist" kind of person. Are you a "checklist person? What does being a "checklist" person mean to you?