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Other people seem to be able to pack much more efficiently than us. We bring tons of cr@p and I'm trying to figure out how to pare it down. Its my aunt's house so we have laundry and dont need to bring linens etc. The dogs are going so we much have all their stuff too.
We pack really light. After taking one trip with 4 kids and letting them all have a carryon suitcase, plus carseats, and lots of other bags I changed to packing really light all the time. We have never had an issue. I have 5 kids and 2 large dogs so when we travel we do in small things. We have gone to Europe for 3 plus weeks and each kid packed in a small school sized backpack and they didn't even fill it 50%. Or we do carry on rolling suitcases and each kid gets 1/2 of it. Works for us. Dh and I do it too. We normally stay at places that have laundry like an airbnb. Oh and my kids are little to bigger than me so it works for all ages. We have been doing this since my youngest was 3 months old. Even when we had to bring pullups and diapers.
We normally bring about 2 or 3 days worth of clothes per person. Then we just do a load a day or something along those lines. Swimsuit or Coat if those things are needed and maybe a pair of sandals depending on where we go. Personal supplies, but normally we don't pack shampoo and stuff because either the place has it or we shop anyway for food and just pick some up there. Not worth a possible spill to me. We don't pack pjs. We sleep in things we can easily wear the next day or something like a tee shirt and shorts.
I was feeling proud of how well I pared things for our beach trip. Then people kept adding to my pile. As we were loading the car I wished I could have repacked and edited. I would have taken fewer board games and outdoor fun. Instead of 2 bags, I could have gotten it down to 1. We usually do:
A bag of games
A bag for the beach
A bag for outdoor toys
A cooler bag that does double duty- useful on the trip and I pack must have spices, foods and kitchen gadgets (I hate the quality of things they have at rental houses)
Clothes for 5 days with plans to do laundry there
1 set each of pants and long sleeves/hoodies
Sneakers and sandals
Everyone packs a backpack with their chargers and electronics
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When I go places with laundry we pack 2 sets of pajamas and 3-4 changes of clothes per person (plus what we are wearing). And 2 swimsuits per person if going to beach or somewhere I expect us to swim a lot. Because I am not putting on a wet swimsuit. The shoes we are wearing plus 1 other pair per person. And the kids can take whatever books/toys/electronics they can fit in their backpacks.
The clothes, shoes, and toiletries for myself and 2 kids (ages 3 and 7) easily fit in one 25 inch suitcase. I could probably get them in a carryon sized suitcase if I tried.
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I pack in outfits. This time of year for my kids, I would roll a pair of shorts, t shirt and undies together. It's not unusual for kids to sleep in their clean clothes after a shower so they are set for the next day. For something like Disney, where our days are planned ahead, I include socks. This really helps cut down on packing random clothing you might need or want. Make sure you take a laundry bag.
A jacket or hoodie can be worn repeatedly.
Two pairs of shoes per person - sneakers and something for pools, lakes, beach.
Two bathing suits
Toiletries - DH packs his own, I pack for the rest of us in a hanging toiletry bag (will get harder as kids require more ie shaving)
Car or plane - each kid takes a backpack with their electronics, chargers, books or whatever they choose. I provide a bag of snacks at the beginning and they are responsible for rationing and gathering trash back into that bag.
Suitcase combo really depends on the trip. I like to do small individual suitcases for each person (not sure on measurements but really small) because it's organized. But sometimes two larger ones fit the purpose better. DH loves to throw last-minute things into the car loose on roadtrips. I take a few extra reusable grocery bags to collect junk like that so it's not rolling around. We travel a ton for sports so we need quick healthy snacks. I have a clear bin for food and necessities like utensils, detergent, sunscreen etc. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't go and it's not a huge bin. I frequently consolidate at the end to move all dirty clothes into a suitcase or two. It sound like you could get away with half the clothes you need since washing will be convenient.
When we don’t have access to laundry, I do pack by outfit. Usually for the kids I put their daily outfits in ziplocks so it’s easy to know what’s clean (clean neatly packed in ziplock; dirty if not in bags). For just me I do my stuff in stacks (undies, top, bottom; undies, top, bottom...). It really helps me stay organized. I plan my outfits at home instead of assembling on the trip.
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Our two week list is pretty much identical to the one week with laundry in the middle. Echoing previous posters we usually do 2 pajamas per kid, then 4-5ish outfits per person, 2 swimsuits, 2 sets of shoes. Extra undies, especially if we're swimming and may be changing in and out of dry clothes. It's sometimes more if we need an entirely different set of dressy attire for something like a wedding. I pack the kids clothes as outfits with underpants and put in packing cubes, one color per person. For a beach vacation we'd also have sunhat, suits/rash guards, swim goggles etc.
I also have a standard family packing list for toiletries and pre-pandemic mostly kept them packed.
It depends on the kind of trip we take but this is generally what I do too. I plan everything out ahead of time at home. I used to use ziploc bags for keeping outfits together but if we are traveling carry-on, I’ll use packing cubes. If we have a lot of gear we are traveling with (like for skiing), I’ll roll clothes up and pack them in our Llbean duffle bags. Thinking everything out ahead of time helps tI keep things to a minimum.Quote:
Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles