1. Plan each person’s wardrobe on paper first, one page per person. Write specifics and list each outfit separately including socks, shoes and underwear.
2. Gather one person’s clothes at a time and check off each piece as you pack it.
3. Roll clothes instead of folding them. Rolled clothes wrinkle less and take up less room in the suitcase.
4. Minimize the toiletries, share shampoo, toothpaste etc.
5. Pack gallon size zipper bags for wet swimsuits etc.
6. Pack a large garbage bag for dirty clothes.
7. Divide your valuables. If something happens to one suitcase, you won’t lose all of your valuables. Also only pack necessary valuables.
8. If you are flying remember you can only carry-on one small suitcase and your personal item (tote/purse etc) so plan appropriately.
9. If you are driving and need to stop for a night before reaching your final destination-pack one bag with everyone’s next day clothes. This way you don’t have to lug every suitcase into the hotel and rifle through them to find your travel clothes.
10. Don’t forget your medicines, sunscreen, sunglasses, cellphones and all of your necessary chargers.

I hope these tips help make packing for your summer vacation a bit easier for you. Do you have a tip I didn’t list? Leave it in the comments so we can all learn from your expertise!

The post Tuesday Tips-Packing for a Family Vacation appeared first on The Mom Maven.

This trip is different from any we’ve ever taken because the kids are going to be staying at different places while we are gone and this adds on more to the organizational end of the trip preparation. Saturday and Sunday the boys will be staying with Nana & PopPop. They will ferry them to all of their Sunday church activities. Monday morning when Nana takes the boys to homeschool bowling, Jordan will have all of his things with him because he is spending Monday-Thursday at his best friend’s house. Aaron will leave from bowling as he does every Monday and got to SCF for his dual enrollment classes. On Monday & Wednesday his best friend drives him to and from classes but Nana or PopPop will be playing taxi on Tuesday and Thursday. Aaron will be spending the entire week with Nana & PopPop. Add to this the fact that both boys have an Economics class at church on Tuesday and rehearsals at church on Wednesday night, it is getting busy. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Jordan takes the PSAT Wednesday morning too-I hope he remembers his #2 pencils! Thankfully the boys are each packing for themselves and each will have a key to the house in case they need anything.

Ok, now that the kids are taken care of I need to organize clothes for daytime, shore excursions and dressy evening clothes for my husband and I. We also need to pack all of the toiletries, make-up and medicine e may need. I have learned that it is best to pack in outfits so I have a list with each outfit, accesories, undergarments and shoes all listed so that nothing will be forgotten. Once this list is comlpete then I go over it to see where some things can be condensed. Do I really need 3 pr of Crocs, 1 pr black heels, 1 pr Teva and 1 pr brown flats? Umm, yes. Ok that was a bad example but you get the idea.

Packing for my husband is a whole ordeal in itself so he gets his own list. I create the list and then I have him approve/edit the list and then we work together to get his stuff packed.

Whew! All that work just to go and relax! Yes, but it is worth it. I know how expensive things are on a cruise so I don’t want to be caught mising an important part of an outfit and having to purchase something on board.

I am so excited to have this opportunity to get away with my husband and relax. I will try to post a few times from the ship but Internest access is expensive so I’ll do what I can.

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