Packing and traveling

Summer is here and we will be traveling a lot.  Traveling with my kids is a pleasure.  They are good travelers.  However, my Baby Girl is messy.  Everything about her is messy.  I love that about her, but when we have very limited space, we have to work extra hard to keep her (and her things) contained.

I have found several suggestions on how to keep organized while traveling.  The way we pack, is the way we have been packing for years.  I did find it on Pinterest :)

I like this method for multiple reasons.

1)  It is so simple that anyone, even Dad can help get the kids ready in the morning.

2)  I know what is still clean and what is dirty at the end of the trip (clean ones are still in the bag, dirty ones are out of the bag)

3) all parts of the outfit are together so there is not a shortage of panties or socks.

4) For the girls, if we bring any accessories (belt, jewelry) they are included in the bag

5) The bags are labeled with the days of the week.  This is so that if we have a specific outfit for a specific day it will not be worn on the wrong day.

6)  There is a bag for everything - 1 bag for each day we are gone, one for night clothes, one for swimsuits and even a bag with just extra socks and panties (just in case)

7)  Nothing is forgotten.  Little things go back into the bag.  Sometimes we put the dirty clothes in the bag, just to keep them contained.  Then I just wash everything when we get back.

For Big Boy and myself, we use the 2 1/2 gallon sized bags.  Jeans are so thick when folded that they won't fit into anything smaller.  For the girls, we use gallon sized bags.  You can see on the left  - in the suitcase - there is a bag with pjs, extra socks and panties (quart sized bag) and a swimsuit .   On the right there are 4 complete outfits.  The bottom right is church clothes.  We know they wont be worn on the wrong day :)  

The sharpie has been rubbed off after all the uses these bags have been through, but Baby Girl is now 10 and that's a minor detail at this point.  When she was younger we made sure the days of the week were clearly visible.