I am joining up with Shay & Erika to share another month of Let’s Look…this time in the inside of your suitcase! I’m looking forward to reading through everyone else’s posts today for all the tips & tricks when it comes to packing, especially for babies & kids since that is all new for me.
I like to think that Ron & I are quite good at packing. The college we attended had a schedule in which we went to school for 3 months and then worked in full time co-op jobs the next 3 months, switching back & forth between the two for 4+ years. That also meant we moved every 3 months to either be on campus or wherever our jobs took us. So yeah we figured out how to pack or rather it taught us how to be more conscious of what we really needed and what we didn’t because packing & moving 4 times year was A LOT!
When I am packing for a trip I always first start out with a list. I will list out the days that I’ll need outfits and then a quick note about the weather for that day or what we’ll be doing and what I might want to wear, i.e. shorts & tank or jeans & sweater, etc. I list out all the toiletries and anything else I’ll need too – typically I think about everything I touched/used that day so I know what to put on my list for what I need.
Then I’l start laying out some options for clothes and putting together outfits. I try to keep things somewhat similar so that I can pack less jewelry that matches everything or fewer shoe options that work with all my outfits too. This is where it gets really easy to want to pack extra and have multiple options for every day but DON’T! Just pick one outfit for each day. For me, I usually can re-wear some things too, like shorts or jeans. Plus if you’re traveling somewhere that you can do laundry keep this in mind too and you can cut how much you need to pack that way too! I *MIGHT* pack ONE extra option for the entire trip depending how long we’re going or what we’ll be doing or if the weather is really up in the air, but usually if we’re going somewhere for 6 days then I only take 6 outfits, or less!
Then pack it all up in packing cubes! You can pack separate packing cubes for each person or group similar things together, like underwear, tops, bottoms, etc. Whatever works best for you. I like to keep outfits for each person together and in order based on the day we’ll use them so we’re essentially always just grabbing from the top and not rifling through everything.
I always throw in a plastic grocery bag or two to keep dirty clothes separate too. You could use a packing cube but I find we don’t empty one until a day or two in to our trip so dirty clothes are just floating around until then.
I use travel size versions as much as possible or pour some from my full size things into travel size containers if I can. I have little pouches for my toiletries and will put nighttime stuff in one and day time things in another so that I only have to pull out what I need when I need it.
AND probably the biggest tip is I refrain from packing things just in case! Sounds crazy right!? What if I end up needing something!? Well, there is typically a store anywhere I travel and can buy whatever it is I may need. You probably won’t end up needing anything and it saves you more space for souvenirs 😉 Seriously, my husband and I always say as we’re headed out the door: Well if we forgot anything we’ll just buy it! Speaking of forgetting….
The very last thing I do when packing is check that list I made at the very beginning to see if I forgot anything OR if I packed things that weren’t on the list and I don’t actually need!
So funny…I always pack too much and don’t wear half of it- love that meme- hysterical!
LOL! It took some practice but I finally learned to just pack what I need 😉
I’m about to need to pack for a trip and maybe I should write a blog post about it even though I’ll miss the link up! I don’t consider myself good at it and there was a time that I would always forget something important!
Yes write a post, I always love seeing other people’s methods!
You’re a pro at packing! Your college program sounds like it was fun. You don’t get settled or bored since you change curriculum every 3 months. Although the moving can be a chore. I’m an over packer. My last trip was a girls spa trip – needed a morning hiking outfit, midday workout clothes, swimwear, and casual dinner attire. And underwear, shoes, accessories etc! I love the packing cubes concept. wait until you need to pack for baby Ronald!