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?