Tuesday Tips-Packing for a Family Vacation

Summer time here and families are heading out on vacation. One of the most stressful parts of any family vacation is packing. Today I’ll share some tips on how to organize and maximize your packing regimen.

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!