How to Pack for a Family Trip
Let’s face it, the work involved to get ready for a trip can be overwhelming. In this post, we’d like to unpack our family packing strategy and share our top tips for how to pack for a family adventure.
Stay organized with a master packing list. Packing for a family can be complex, but it follows a predictable pattern. In other words, you may need to pack a lot of items, but they tend to be roughly the same items each time.
The next time you pack, make a list of every item and save it for future reference. We use our master packing list regularly as a guide to make sure we pack the right items and remember those pesky items we tend to forget. Some categories may include: Adult Clothing & Shoes, Kid Clothing & Shoes, Other Kid Items (e.g., toys, sleeping, transit), Other Baby Items (e.g., diapers, bottles), Technology, and Food & Snacks.
Use packing cubes. Packing for a family has many moving parts, so packing cubes offer much needed structure. There are several strategies for how to use the packing cubes, such as organizing by person, clothing type, activity type, or day. Be sure to throw in one extra packing cube or drawstring bag for dirty laundry!
Choose a color scheme. Make it easy to pull together outfits (for yourself and your kids) while traveling by picking clothes of two or three tones that all work together. For instance, for my boys, I may pack a few pairs of solid blue and grey shorts/pants and some matching striped/printed shirts in various shades of blue and white/grey. It’s ideal if any top will match any bottom - this isn’t necessary, but it makes it easy for kids to assemble outfits themselves while traveling.
If you have the time, another approach is to preselect the outfits for each day of travel. I find this to be challenging, as weather and other factors can make it hard to predict the right outfit. That said, if it works for you, go for it!
Start early. There’s nothing worse than being hours away from taking off for a trip and not having anything packed. Start packing early - two to three days prior to departure is ideal. Break it up into discrete and manageable tasks. For example, pack the kids’ clothes into their respective packing cubes. Take a break. Select shoes and pull together toiletries. Take another break. Pack your own clothes and assess any laundry that needs to be done prior to the trip. Use your master packing list as a guide, tackling one category at a time. You may get into a flow of pulling everything together in one stretch, or it may be helpful to get small parts done throughout a day or two.
Pack it all into one duffel bag. It’s common to see a family traveling with one suitcase per person. We recommend traveling with fewer but bigger bags! If the trip is less than a week, one large duffel bag can accommodate the whole family. This is our favorite rolling duffel bag that we’ve used for years and this is another similar option. There is already so much to schlep when traveling as a family, keeping track of fewer bags makes a big difference.
Make your toiletries grab and go. Packing and unpacking toiletries can be a bit tedious, so assemble a pre-packed toiletry bag for each member of the family and restock when needed after trips. Store your toiletry bags with your packing cubes so they are always ready to go!
Minimize what the kids carry… or make it fun. Let’s be real, kids aren’t the best at hauling their own luggage. Carrying one (or two) large suitcases for the full family certainly helps (see tip #5), but kids may need a few items easily accessible, such as snacks or entertainment. (Check out the post on kids travel kits for more ideas.) Pack those items in a small backpack and have your child practice wearing it around the house. Or, consider a fun alternative, like a ride-on scooter suitcase. We’ll be testing these out this summer and will report back!
When it comes to packing, less can be more!
Consider using a family duffel bag, instead of one suitcase per person.
Packing may not be fun, but with these tips, it can be a predictable process. Stay tuned for a future post on the best strategy for traveling with car seats and strollers.
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