Travel Packing!

We all love to travel but the logistics of it all are sometimes overwhelming! Packing is probably the least favorite part of the travel experience especially on a longer trip where we need to pack as lightly as possible. Most of us dread packing especially if you have to do it for your kids and sometimes your partner. I’ve traveled to over 110 countries and 30 with my 2 sets of twin boys. Whether it’s packing for a weekend trip to the beach or a 6 month rtw expedition, below are some of my tips for traveling.  

Storage Bags:  Packing lightly for a family of 6 isn’t easy especially for winter trips. The key to reducing the number of bags you bring is storage bags for your clothes. Clothes take up the most space in your luggage so use vacuum storage bags to lighten your load and save lots of space for other essentials.  I usually use a mix of small, medium and large vacuum bags. You’ll be able to reduce the size of your clothes by at least half especially if it’s bulkier clothes like winter jackets. For longer trips, the large size ones fit perfectly in the largest suitcase size – 29 inches and I can fit lots of coats or thicker items. The vacuum storage bag sets usually come with a manual pump in case you don’t have access to a vacuum cleaner on your travels. I like using the small size for my boys backpacks so I stuff them with a pair of PJ’s, 1 underwear, 1 pair of socks and an outfit for the next day. This is just in case there is any delay in getting our checked in bags and you also don’t want to be rummaging through your suitcase looking for their PJ’s after an exhausting day of travel.  

        

Clothes Cubes:  A great way to organize your clothes is to place them into clothing cubes. I usually have a cube each for my kids and or the type of clothing like winter accessories or PJs. So when we go to the beach, I just need to find the swim cube which has bathers, rashies, swim goggles, etc. I also like the ones that have an extra zipper so that you can squeeze a bit more air out of them for easier storage in your suitcase.