Last week I started a new blog series on How to BE Organized by sharing with you a printable packing list that you can use when preparing for a family vacation. Today I am going to take it a step further and share with you some of my best packing tips to help you BE organized, even while on vacation!
Duffel or Suitcase?
When heading out for a family vacation, I prefer packing our clothes and gear in duffel bags over suitcases because I find that they are easier to fill up and fill out! I find that you can more easily find nooks and crannies to stash underwear and socks in a duffel than in a suitcase, and they are also easier to stack on top of each other in the back of our car. Fortunately all of our large duffel bags have wheels- a feature that I consider to be “a must”!
Pack Bags “By Person” or “By Day”?
Well, it depends. Generally I like to pack our bags so that they contain everything needed for one, two or even three people (depending on the length of the trip, and size of the bag!). However, if we are going to be spending just one night in a hotel perhaps on the way to our final destination, then I pack a bag just for that one night. If we are going to head to just one destination for the entire trip- I pack by person. But I do have a few exceptions to that rule…. swim suits I always pack in a swim bag for quick and easy access. And shoes go into one shoe bag- again for the ease of finding what we need once we arrive!
Pack by Outfit or By Category of Item?
When we are headed to a place where I will be able to unpack all of our items, then I like to pack by category- all tees shirts in a pile (for one person), all shorts in a stack , all underwear, etc. But if we won’t be able to unpack when we arrive and will be pulling things out of suitcases for the entire trip, then I pack by outfit, actually thinking through the order of outfits so that I can properly stack and pack them in order of use.
While on Vacation… Plan to Do Laundry or Not?
Oh hell no. This is vacation, right? (Okay, unless we are traveling for multiple weeks, and then I really have no choice do I?)
So Then…. What To Do With the Dirty Clothes?
Well if you are able to unpack everything into dresser drawers and closets- then by all means, unpack when you arrive and then throw your dirty clothes back into your empty suitcases as you wear them. This will certainly make packing up to return home a quick task!
But if you are unable to unpack then I suggest taking along a pop-up hamper.
You can throw everyone’s dirty clothes into the hamper as you along, and once it is filled, then it is time to empty out one of the duffel bags (shifting its contents into your other less-full duffels at this point), and empty the contents of the pop-up hamper into the duffel. You an continue in this manner for the entire trip- filling / emptying / shifting, and again, when it is time to pack up and return home- it should be a fairly quick task!
I would love to hear any tips that you have for packing for a family vacation! Please share them with us in the comments!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m probably an odd one, because I’d rather do laundry than try to pack for a trip that’s going to be longer than a week. Well, maybe what makes it so odd, is that I actually LIKE to do laundry on vacation. It’s soothing to me…I enjoy the time alone!
As a side note, Sharon, our family has started your “High, Low, Hope” game at dinnertime and we all love it! It’s a great way to share about our days without using that cliche question: “So, how was YOUR day?” Thanks for the tip!
Twitter: sharonmomof6
March 4, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Kris- Sometimes when we take the dog with us on vacation, I volunteer to be the one to walk him just so I can squeeze in some alone time. But laundry to me still feels like too much of a chore to do while on vacation! And I LOVE hearing that you guys started doing “High/Low/Hope” at dinner time. It’s funny, when we don’t do it for a few nights- one of my kids always asks if we can do start doing it again. They really like sharing their days this way!
I actually prefer to do laundry while on vacation because I HATE having a mountain of it to do when I get home (it just un-does all the relaxing I feel from having had a vacation). If I have an option of doing laundry before we head back home without it drastically interfering with our vacationing then I do it (e.g. at a timeshare unit that has laundry in the unit then I just do it throughout the last day and pack clean clothes to take back home).
Hilda @ From Overwhelmed To Organized recently posted..Organizing Ideas For The Weekend #15
Twitter: sharonmomof6
March 4, 2013 at 1:30 pm
So funny…. and I just hate using that last vacation day to do anything… even packing I dread. I just want to eek out every last drop of “off-time”!
I avoid laundry on vacation like the plague. When we get home I don’t even take the duffel bags out of the car because I head to the laundromat the very next day (it is the best way to wash a ton of laundry for 8 people and I usually grab our blankets to wash too).
I fold my younger kids laundry (pre-vacation) and sort it by day. I fold the shirt, underwear, and socks into the shorts/pants to make it easy. Even if we unpack at motel, their outfits are nice, tidy, and easily grabable in the drawers.
Twitter: sharonmomof6
March 13, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Great idea to head to the laundromat to wash all of the loads quickly after vacation vs having the laundry stretch on and on all day!
When going on a flight, we always make sure that we have some clothes for everybody in each suitcase just incase one goes missing and doesn’t get back to us in time.
Twitter: sharonmomof6
May 5, 2013 at 9:27 pm
A great tip Georgina! Back when we used to fly- we did the same thing…. one outfit for everyone was in the carryon bag with us. Not only in case luggage was lost, but also in the event that there is a mishap in flight (someone spills a drink all over themselves, someone gets sick, etc).
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