I hope you enjoyed, and are able to use, my last packing tip…managing the items your kids need on a trip.
In this post, I will tell how I pack clothes for Sweetums, the older kids and me.
I will start by saying that this takes a little more investment than a bag of ziplock bags. I use, and highly recommend, Eagle Creek’s Packing System. You can find this system at luggage stores, but I usually get mine at The Container Store. Although the timing of this post is way late or way early, depending on how you look at it, The Container Store has a travel organization sale every May and June. I have just invested in one set of the Pack System each year until I had a set for everyone in the family. I use the Medium Pack-It Folder, the Pack-It Cube, and the Pack-It Tube Cube. I just include the cost of this purchase in my vacation budget for the year.
I will show you how it works and why I love it so much!
1. I pick out all the clothes I need for the trip, sorting them by outfits, and placing them around the edge of my bed, like this:
2. I arrange the clothes in the order I plan on wearing them. This takes some thought, but makes unpacking every day so much easier.
3. I start with the last item I plan on wearing, and I place it in the Pack-It Folder first.
4. Then I fold and place all the other outfits in the folder from what I will wear last to what I will wear first.
5. I close up the folder with all my clothes inside. When folded correctly, the Folder really does minimize wrinkling.
6. I place all my undies, pjs and swimsuit in the Pack-It Cube and my socks and extras in the Pack-It Tube Cube.
7. Now I am ready to place everything in my carry-on suitcase. I tried several different arrangements to fit everything in the most efficiently (this changes from time to time depending on what I am bringing).
I put my shoes on the sides of the bottom of the suitcase with the Pack-It Cubes in the middle. I folded my jacket on top of those items and placed the Pack-It Folder on top.
8. Here is a list of what I fit in a carry-on rolling suitcase:
1 Dress
2 Pairs of Capris
1 Pair of Jeans
1 Skirt
3 Pairs of Shorts
7 Tops
1 Jacket
Undies for 7 days
PJs
Swimsuit
Tennis Shoes
Sandals
Wow!! It always amazes me! It also helps me to avoid overpacking…something I have a tendency to do…..
On our vacation this summer, Sweetums and I shared a large suitcase and, with our Pack-It System, fit everything for a 9 day vacation with room to spare!
Now for the benefits of a system like this:
1. You can take the Pack-It System pieces out of your suitcase and place them in drawers in your hotel room. Your clothes stay clean and organized this way:
Then, each morning, you just grab the outfit on top and close the folder.
2. Last year, we rented an RV (it was a blast). We put our emptied suitcases in the storage area of the RV and each of us placed our Pack-It System in a separate cabinet inside the RV. Everything stayed clean and organized and we knew exactly where everyone’s clothes were at all times.
3. The Pack-It Cubes are great to put one day’s clothes in to take to the showers if you are camping or if your child is at camp. The Cube has a handle on it that can be hung up in the shower area.
Now I’m all packed a ready to go!! In my next post, I’ll discuss tips that we use to actually manage the luggage on the trip and all those dirty clothes that accumulate.
What have I missed, when it comes to packing, that would help you?
