8 Tips To Pack Efficiently For A Trip

8 Tips To Pack Efficiently For A Trip

With our recent 11 day trip to Texas I knew that I would need to start the planning for how to pack the Tahoe well in advance.  Don’t tell my husband I ever admitted this but I tend to get a little carried away when it comes to packing for anything.  Why of course I may need 6 pairs of shoes for a 2 day weekend trip, when of course if you know me you know I will only wear my Danskos or flip flops truly.  The other shoes just take up a lot of extra space.

I vowed this trip I was not going to get carried away, or perhaps Cory threatened me that I was not to get carried away.  Who’s keeping track of how the story went though?

Roll Your Clothes

Rolling your clothes truly does take up less space.  I never would have believed this the first time I heard it but it does.  This allows the 4 of us to get packed into 2 suitcases.

 Not Everyone Needs Their Own Suitcase

As stated above I roll our clothing and not everyone gets their own suitcase.  Every trip we took I used to have a suitcase for each of us as the boys could carry their own but have since changed that way of thinking.  Cory and I cram into one large one and the boys share one the size of a normal carry on.  This thought process has been a huge sanity saver for us.

 Laundry Bags

We pack laundry bags for our dirty clothes.  This keeps the dirty clothes away from our clean ones and because I didn’t pack the back of the Tahoe with suitcases we have room to keep our dirty clothes in the car until either I wash them at the hotel or we get home.

 Snack Box Contained

I pack a snack box when we go on trips these days to bypass the feeling that we must stop at convenience stores to use the restroom and get a snack.  We now have the ability to use those really nice rest areas that are along side the road.  This also means the boys can get out and run and yell some to get rid of their pent up energy.  Total win for everyone.

 Swimming Bag/Suitcase

We keep all of our swimming items in a separate bag.  If we know we won’t be doing any swimming at the hotel this is one less thing we have to worry about carrying in.  This also keeps all our wet suits and towels away from our clean clothes and we don’t have to worry about remembering to have separate grocery bags to pack them in to keep everything dry.  I generally try to pack a couple of our own towels for swimming because let’s face it, those little pool towels they give you just don’t cut it when your traipsing through a hotel.

 Toy Bag Containment

I snagged one of those large utility bags from 31 during a special sometime ago for $5 and it’s been sitting in the closet ever since.  It’s now become the perfect travel bag because it fits perfectly between the seats and fits just enough toys, Innotabs and books to keep the boys happy during the trip.

Laundry Soap & Quarters

We like the Choice hotels (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn and Sleep Inn) and the majority of them have laundry facilities available.  While packing I find a space to keep a jug of laundry detergent because I know I will be doing laundry along the way.  Laundry takes about an hour total using the hotels washer and dryer and can be done with bath time and bedtime rituals are happening.  This really helps keep the packing to a minimum for obvious reasons.  The $3.00 – $4.00 a load it takes to do laundry on the road is worth it for us.  It’s amazing how much you can cram into a washer when it’s not your own.

 Trash Can/Puke Bucket

The boys get extremely car sick (thanks to their mother’s genes) and it’s been a hard lesson learned to have something available for those emergencies at all times.  A Tupperware container with a lid is a must and then a small trashcan to keep the car tidy as well.  This fits nicely between the boys’ seats as well and is in a central location that we can all access.  Having the trashcan available makes cleaning up the car a breeze.

By using the tips above I was able to pack our Tahoe for this 11 day, 3,000 mile, trip without a large of hassle and still plenty of room to “move” around the Tahoe.  An added bonus was that I still had plenty of room to add my shopping bags  in the back as well, what can I say it’s hard to pass up a quilt shop and not buy anything.

 What tips or techniques do you use for efficient packing?  Do you do laundry along the way on a long trip?