One thing that drives me crazy on a trip is forgetting something.  I know, when you travel domestically, that there is a Target or Walmart almost everywhere where you can purchase forgotten items, but I don’t want to spend money on something I already have at home.

We have traveled many times but I just came up with this very simple, but extremely effective, chart system for our vacation we took this June.  I don’t know why it took me so long.

I wanted a way to remember everything I needed to pack for each of us, so I created this chart in my vacation notes….

As you can see from the list, I have a row for every category needed for each of us.  As I packed, I had everyone’s suitcase in my room.  When I was certain each item was packed in the suitcase, I would check it off.  After everything for a particular person was packed, I circled their name.  My older kids, who can pack their own suitcases, could compare what they packed with my master list.  I was confident when we left that we all had what we needed.  That is a great feeling!

Emily liked the concept so much that she made her own check list when she and JoeJack went to church camp….

I like her addition of a smiley face when the packing was complete!  🙂

I did make an excel spreadsheet that I will customize for future use.  Here is the file if you want to use it too.  Packing List  The first sheet is the packing list for clothing and shoes.  The second is for other items you don’t want to forget.  You could also include toiletries, and actually, I will add that next time too!  🙂

How do you make sure you remember everything you need for your trips?

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