Clothing:

In general, be prepared for temperatures from 20 degrees to 100 degrees, with effectively constant sunshine.  Also, bear in mind that wind can gust up to 50 or 60 mph with barely a moment's notice, sending playa dust everywhere and reducing visibility below arm's length.  Within these constraints, be creative; one of the most distinctive elements of burning man is the reorientation of fashion, in which the most garish and skimpy clothing becomes high fashion.  Go wild.

Here are some basic items:

• Sweatshirt, windbreaker, inter al., for when it gets cold
• Clean underwear and socks, in ziplock bags to keep them clean.
• Skirts, linen things, and anything light that covers most of your skin for the daytime
• Jeans and other durable clothes that won't be ruined by the dust
  
• Good walking shoes and socks- uncomfortable sandals/heels led to blisters that ended several people's week early.  Even if you bring a bicycle, you will be walking several (5?) miles each day.
• Garish and brilliant costumes for the evening
• Sunglasses and/or goggles for the sandstorms.
• A shade hat, particularly if you are fair, with a chinstrap to hold it on in the wind
• Lots of bright and flashy things (glowsticks, etc.) so that you can be seen at night-- this is a major safety issue, so don't forget this one.
• Something to keep your mouth free of dust (scarf, white work mask, etc)
  

Housing

• TENTS--All the tents you have.  Any that you don't use personally we can use for storage of things we don't want to get too dusty.
• Shade Structures--Not a strict necessity, but, if you have one, you should bring it, since it makes lounging around camp in the day that much easier after a long night.
• Sleeping Bag--Should be rated for temperatures as low as 20 degrees
• Air Mattress / Mattress Pad--Again, not a strict necessity, but it will make sleeping much more comfortable, as the playa does not make the best bedding.
• Be sure to bring sufficient tent stakes / rebars for all the structures you bring
• Storage--Tupperware and ziplocks have proven to be a good way to keep clothes and other valuables dust-free, and are a geatu way of improving one's quality of life on the playa.
• Bungee cords
• Work gloves - will make putting rebars in much easier, and will be useful for any help you provide to another camp's project/bar/sound system/whatever
• Anything easy to lounge in (hammocks, chairs, etc.)--will make life much more pleasant for the lazy hours.
• Other useful items to make your life better are: a spray bottle of water, a cooking stove with propane.
  

Perishables

In general, you won't need as much food as you think, but here are some general principles.  Bring 1-1.5 gallons of water per person per day, and more if you want to shower.  Bring this water with you everywhere.  Dried foods are excellent for the trip (e.g. granola) as are foods you can reconstitute (e.g. miso soup). Other such snacks are nuts, chocolate, rice cakes, etc. You get the idea.

Some things you may want to consider are emergen-c, as a vitamin supplement, something salty to help your water retention and prevent diarrhea. Gatorade powder (or any powdered drink) could be a good way of integrating nutrition with your constant hydration. Last year we centrally coordinated a lot of the food buying, and as we get closer this year we should have a general plan. 

Either way, you do not need to worry about this until you land wherever you land (reno, sf, etc.).  Just keep in mind that reheating is about the most cooking you can do, that keeping things cold is a nuisance at best, and that you need to fulfill your basic nutritional requirements (salt, vitamins, water, etc.)


Skin/Health Care

• Suntan lotion is an absolute must; even if you are dark-skinned, it's silly to risk skin cancer, and you're going to be in the sun for a week straight.  If you're fair skinned and don't like turning into a plum, be warned.
• Aloe, likewise.
• Moisturizer (for hands, feet, face, and body)
• LIP BALM; the humidity is very low at all times, so even if you keep hydrating, the surface of your body is going to get dry and chapped, and it's nowhere worse than your lips.
• EAR PLUGS; if you are a light sleeper, they are a must
• Similarly, a face mask can help you sleep in the day
• Contact Solution, if you wear contacts.
• Aspirin, a bandaid or two, perscriptions, tampons; basically anything you know that you will need for a week of (moderately) healthy living
• Mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrush: I think replacing toothpaste with mouthwash is a good idea for the week, but other people feel differently
• Deodorant
• Eye Drops for dry eyes
• Pain medication (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen)
• Hand Sanitizer is very useful, and probably will reduce your risk greatly
• Wet wipes are likewise quite useful for quick cleans of any dusty body part
• Dream on if you want to shave

Other Items:

• A flashlight and batteries
• Lots of bright glowy things (strobes, glow sticks, glow tube); this is important for your safety as it is very dark at night and the only way vehicles and bicycles can see you is by an abundance of these things. Plus they're cool.
• A nalgene for water, preferably with some sort of identifying mark so that you can find it among 40,000 nalgenes on the playa
• knife
• towels
• garbage bags for cleanup
• GIFTS GIFTS GIFTS: Burning Man runs on a gift culture; there is no money there. Nothing will make you more satisfied than giving away random things (candy, liquor and beer, tea, knick-knacks of all sorts) to people at Burning Man. One of the best times we had last year was walking around handing out free shots of our extra whiskey.