Packing Tips for Your Travels

Are you traveling for the holidays? We are. We are traveling quite far for a family of 5 packed into a Pacifica. We are leaving from Georgia to Colorado on December 21st. My husband’s immediate family is coming from all over, even as far as Albania, to celebrate Christmas together. It has been over 3 years since most of us have all been together and longer than that that the whole family has been together. He has 1 sister and 2 brothers who have 9 kids between them, plus our 3 kids, so this is going to be an amazing Christmas!

Now if only we can get there in one piece! I like to travel and our kids are pretty good travelers. What I despise most about traveling though is the packing part. It stresses me out a little because I am so afraid I am going to forget something. My husband tries to remind me that as long as we remember all the kids, we’re doing good.

When I am trying to pack for a big trip I have one major list that I keep track of things to bring. As I think of something else that I don’t want to forget, I write is down. I’ve already started my list for this trip and I’m thinking we are going to have to rent an RV. Wow, now that would be nice!

If you are traveling for Christmas and you need some packing tips, there is a fantastic article entitled, “The Art of Packing: 44 Tips to Save Space, Time and Keep You Organized”. Here’s an excerpt of a couple of their tips:

1. Match up outfits before you start packing. Lay out the clothes you want to pack before setting them in your suitcases. Organizing your clothes by day and occasion will prevent you from forgetting certain items, realizing you brought nothing that matches another clothing item, and forgetting to bring enough appropriate outfits. Evaluating each outfit ahead of time will also save you time once you’re on vacation, since you’ll already have an idea of what you plan to wear each day and night.

2. Put the heaviest items in first. Heavier items like wool, corduroy, and denim should be place in your suitcase before other items. They are more wrinkle resistant, so piling the rest of your clothes on top of them won’t matter as much. Jeans, khakis, and heavy tunics are also harder to stuff into your suitcase if you’ve already got it mostly full, unlike tank tops and slinky dresses which can be easily stashed in corners or laid out on the very top layer.

There are 42 more great tips that Travelhacker has to share. Go take a peek and make your packing go a little easier this year. I know I’ll be using a lot of their tips!