If you follow me on Instagram, you will see that we headed off on a trip last week. We flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we enjoyed a few days before we boarded a seven day cruise on the Disney Wonder with my parents! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! We're so excited!!! Dave and I booked this cruise back in October 2018 so we've been looking forward to this for 476 days (or thereabouts!).
Today we're stopping in Antigua so I'm pretty excited!!!
So anyways, I've been packing for about the last two weeks, and in the summer, some bloggers I read shared about "how we pack." I thought it was interesting to read other people's posts on this, and since we travel quite a bit, I spend a lot of time packing (and unpacking). So I thought I'd share my process with you, in case you're like me and also find this interesting.
About two weeks ahead of time, I started gathering odds and ends in a laundry basket.
Then I started laying out piles on the guest room bed, sorted by person.
I had a separate spot for “day of” travel clothes, if that makes sense. We each needed only one “warmer outfit.”
The piles are getting bigger, We added in shoes, and miscellaneous items are on a different table. This was a more involved packing job because of the number of different things required (fancier clothes for dinners, princess and pirate costumes, etc).
The travel day outfits, and pjs and first day outfits for carry on, are more complete. (This was two days before we left.)
I always give a warning for about two days before that I am doing the last loads of laundry. We pick out outfits we’re not going to wear on our trip to wear for the last couple of days at home. When I fold, I then put the travel items in a separate laundry basket.
Dave added dress shirts to the laundry basket as well.
We try to pack the night before we leave. I also have a laundry basket to clear away items we decide not to take with us.
Everything fits in the suitcase. (Not pictured: two small carryons with pjs and clothes for a couple of days and some miscellaneous gifts.) Also, I pack the suitcase in outfits by day. So at the top are outfits for each of us and hopefully nobody’s clothes end up all at the bottom!
Once we’re pretty packed, I make lists of last minute items — stuffed animals and blankets for the kids’ small carryons and anything I need to make sure Dave has packed (chargers, kids’ toothpaste and toothbrushes, etc).
Once everything is checked off the lists, we’re ready to go! Whooo hooo!!!
What we took for our trip — one checked bag,
two larger carryons, and four smaller carryons.
For shorter trips, or trips where we are wearing our travel clothes every day I only pack about two days before we leave and put everything on our bed upstairs. This trip was different because we are wearing winter clothes but took only summer clothes so there was more organization required.
I have to say, while I love traveling, packing (although somewhat exciting) is more stressful for me. I am hoping to get some packing cubes in the near future because I’ve heard good things about them.
So organized! I always feel like it takes me forever to pack for myself and then to throw in two kids, and a husband, who can pack for himself but who wants to talk through his wardrobe. We always say most of the time, if you have your credit card, passport, phone and phone charger, you can do anything! But if you're at an all inclusive or cruise, then your options are limited to pick up what you're missing (unless you want to spend a fortune).
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty organized. I like the laundry basket idea.
ReplyDeleteDrives me nuts - my hubs packs like 5 minutes before we leave ---- men
I'm so impressed with your advanced packing. I dedicate the day prior to a massive packing event, complete with a check-off spreadsheet because I'm a huge #nerd but nothing gets forgotten! Once I start packing, I feel like I HAVE TO FINISH IT so I don't like doing it more than a day in advance.
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