Less is more.

The old axiom “less is more” applies to many facets of life.

Sure, there are a few notable exceptions. I think we all agree that when it comes to money, more is more. It’s pretty rare that individuals, corporations, or the government demand less money. The phrase “Give me my salary reduction!” is quite uncommon.

All of which makes for a nice segue into our topic du jour: towels.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy taught us that towels are among the most important objects in the universe. “A towel,” it says, “is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.”

If memory serves, there are two primary rules for the savvy intergalactic traveler:

1. DON’T PANIC.

2. Bring your towel.

These rules certainly apply to RV travel. One should never panic, unless of course you pull open your blackwater tank without attaching the sewer hose; in that case, panic is justified.

But what about towels, you ask? Gather ’round the campfire kids, and consider our tale…

When we first got our Airstream, I was still naively pursuing the philosophy of “more is more” — at least with regard to towels. Determined that we “spoil ourselves” while camping, we invested in a set of ultra thick Turkish/Egyptian (or were they Uzbekistani?) towels.

Nay, these were not mere “towels.” They were BATH SHEETS. Many an innocent cotton plant made the ultimate sacrifice in their creation. They were hand woven by a team of talented towel artisans who worked tirelessly over a period of about seven years. They were the kind of towels you just want to wrap around your body and wear all day long. So I did just that, which led to a few strange looks at Walmart.

Anyway, we brought these super thick towels with us in our Airstream. What did we learn? You guessed it. Less is more. Yes, the timeless wisdom applies to bath linens as well as bacon calories.

The bath sheets were just too long, and too thick. When towels are too thick, and they are placed in a small cubic space with limited air circulation, they take too long to dry. When they take too long to dry, they “sour” and emanate an a odor similar to that of an Egyptian/Turkish armpit.

Proper towel selection is yet another department where you gotta think like Goldilocks. Not too long, not too short. Not too thick, not too thin. You need a towel that’s … just right.

So we “downgraded” towels. Kristy says that our current towels are “still a little too thick.” But they are a vast improvement over the original bath sheets. They are garden variety, normal, run-of-the-mill, satisfyingly soft, cotton bath towels. They are reasonably absorbent, and they dry with reasonable speed. They are slow to sour.

A more high tech option would be to invest in “quick dry towels,” which apply the latest microfiber technology to drying your wet booty. Quick dry towels are ultra thin and light. They are also expensive. One of these days we’ll plunk down the cash for some fancy astronaut towels. I love the idea. But since money is the one exception to “less is more” axiom, we’ve been satisfied with our current arrangement.

So when it’s time to pack your RV for that big road trip, remember… less is more.