It's Tuesday, and around here, Tuesday's are devoted to us girl mom's!
If you haven't been around before, you need to know that I have three little honey pie's! My oldest is 6, my middle turned 3 in May, and my youngest will be 1 on Saturday, and I'm in total denial!
We left on Saturday for an almost three week vacation, and that meant a lot of packing!
Today, on "girl mom", I'm sharing my very best packing tips!
To see my other "Girl Mom" posts go here.
My hubby and I have been taking three week vacations every summer since we've been married! Because we live far from family, we usually take our time off in the summer and visit each of our families. As our own little family has grown, I've had to really re-invent our packing. We always, drive, so that means that we all need to fit comfortably in our car and I need to have all of the supplies that we'll need for our three girls over our trip.
Since our family has grown, buying a larger car has helped, and my husband has purchased a roof top carrier for our car, and while those two things that he has done has helped, I still have to do my part!
I start by washing all of our laundry. In the few days before we leave, we won't wear anything that we want to take on our trip. But, I also try to have the house clean and all of the laundry done before we head out of town, because who wants to do that when you get home?
I start with a clean bed, and I count how many days we'll be gone. If we don't have a laundry facility, then I take one outfit per day. If we do have laundry, then I try to skip a few days, but let's be honest, that doesn't always happen! My girls have too many cute clothes that we save for vacation every year!
After I get out outfits, I start picking out hair bows.
Because we are hair bow fanatics!
I lay out the bows with their outfits.
I try to find outfits that can all be worn with the same bow, because that's a few less bows that I have to keep up with!
All of the above outfits match the one yellow bow.
I also try to pack shoes that can be dressed up or down.
These white sandals are perfect for church and perfect for every day outfits!
We have to take bathing suits because one, it's vacation, two, my parents have a pool, and three, DJ's dad lives on a lake. I do pack lots of swimsuits, because sometimes they just don't dry over night.
Once I have all of the outfits and bows together, I get out gallon size ziploc bags, sharpies, and index cards.
I started packing with ziploc bags about two years ago, and I save them in our suitcase and re-use them.
Then I put pieces that go together together. So, if it has shorts, they get folded up inside the shirt. The same for other matching pieces too. Matching socks get rolled up, or matching bloomers, or hats.
Then, I roll the outfit and stick it in a ziploc bag.
Once it's in the ziploc bag, I write the name of who the outfit belongs to on an index card and the on the other side, I write the details of the outfit- I write what color bow goes with it, which shoes, and if the outfit is "play, dressy, pj's, swimsuit, etc."
Once everything is labeled and in the bag (including pull ups), I throw the bags in one pile, and then separate them by girl.
I put hair bows in a make up bag, and I clip pony tail holders on to a clippy. This way, they don't get lost in the bottom of the bag, and I don't have to dig.
In another make up bag, I put their toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, brush, comb, and tangle spray.
Finally, I start putting the bags in the suitcases.
I try to make three rows in the large suitcase- one row for each girl.
They had a few dresses that needed to stay on hangers, and I just layed them on top of the bags. Megan's shoes went in the shoe pouch on the top, and Gretchen's shoes went in the next shoe pouch. Adalyn's shoes were small enough to fit in her ziploc bags.
Make up bags with toiletries also go on top.
And, that's how I fit 2 1/2 weeks of clothes in a suitcase!
Because Adalyn is still eating a variety of foods, I packed one bag of a few baby spoons, bibs, a sippy cup, a bottle with bottle liners, baby food pouches, and baby appropriate snacks. I also packed a thermometer, tylenol, and other medicines that we many need.
Here are a few other packing tips:
- I use a large wet bag for dirty clothes.
- I do laundry when I'm able! Thankfully, we're always at a parents house, and we have the facilities to wash and dry.
- I let the girls pack one bag full of toys. The grandparents have toys, but it's nice for the girls to have a few of their own!
- Always remember lovies! If your child has a favorite stuffed animal or pillow they sleep with, bring it!
- My parents have a pac-n-play, so we don't have to pack one!
- We did have to take our pac-n-play to DJ's dad's house for Father's day weekend, and we left it there, knowing that we'd be back in a few weeks.
- If you're able to do laundry, put the clothes back in the bags the same way they were originally packed. Or, at least do the best you can!
- If you're at a hotel, unpack! Put each child's clothes (in their bags) in the drawers. Assign one drawer to each child and put their bags of clothes in the drawer.
- You may want to put all pajamas in one drawer, or all swimsuits in one drawer.
- Think about the activities you'll be doing each day, and pack appropriately. Check the weather before you leave.
- Have your kids travel in comfortable clothes! Let them stay in their pj's, or at least wear leggings. Put them in shoes that can easily be kicked off and on.
- We let each of the big girls choose 2 movies a piece for the DVD player in the car.
- Pack snacks and drinks and have them readily available in the car.
- Pack as few clothes as possible, take shoes that can go with multiple outfits, and take hair bows that will match multiple outfits!
I know many of you were looking forward to this post, and I promised that it would be up today! Hope you enjoy your summer vacations!!!
Have any packing tips? Share them in the comments below!
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