As I was packing my kids for our upcoming vacation, I realized you might be interested in a few tricks I’ve come up with to make the job super easy and done in less than 30 minutes!
First of all let me preface, yes I have daughters so this may vary slightly if you have sons or a mix of both…but I’ll let you decide what to do with it! Either way it’s a quick read!
Here’s my secret to vacation packing:
- I do ALL of the laundry in my house (yes I know this seems impossible – but I promise it helps!) Just devote a day one week before your trip to washing/drying/folding…but don’t put away yet!).
- Pull out the suitcases.
- Now gather your kids for help! Easier if they’re at least 2-3yrs old otherwise your little one might ‘unpack’ every item you pack (we’ve all been there!)…flashback to every single drawer emptied in my daughter’s room spread across the floor.
- Okay now, assign jobs! Have each child pick out ‘X’ number of underwear, pajamas, socks and swimsuits (depending on your vacation length)
- This is where you use the clean laundry! Before you put everything away – save yourself a step and have them go through that pile first. One of our regular chores for the kids is to sort laundry when it comes out of the dryer. They go through and look at the sizes and then each bring their size to their room. This will make the ‘find and pack’ scenario easier as well!
- Then my BIGGEST trick is to always have my kids match on vacation! I know some of you may be shaking your head – but from my personal experience this alleviates fighting and makes the morning outfit situation a lot easier! Over the past year, I’ve picked up enough matching outfits to last a good two weeks and you can always mix and match colors if it feels too ‘matchy matchy’ to you! *Disclaimer – I know if you have sons or a mix of both I might have lost you…but hang in there…I have more.
- Okay so you have the clothes, underwear and pajamas. Now just let them know which shoes they’ll need for the trip and in the suitcase they go!
- I assemble the toiletries and keep with my stuff.
- And lastly, to keep this task under 30 minutes, set a timer! My kid’s LIVE for the stopwatch. For some reason it works and they are always trying to ‘beat the clock.’ Sweeten the deal by throwing on the soundtrack from their favorite movie (Trolls!), and you’ve made a game of the normally dreaded packing task.
- p.s. You probably already know this but ROLL your clothes when packing in the suitcase – saves a ton of room! I also keep the matching rolled clothes next to each other so they’re easy to find every morning and one kid’s not left digging in the suitcase.
I’d like to thank my friends at Sew Chill for these darling checkered dresses that can easily be worn year round. My kid’s added Sock It To Me knee socks for the chilly fall mornings and of course paired with our favorite adidas NEO Baseline sneakers.
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To inspire your next vacation packing – Sew Chill has offered a $30 store credit to one Obsessed by Portia reader! Enter via the rafflecopter below!
Cheers!
XoXo Portia
*Photos by Jasmine Klein Photography
Disclosure: Sew Chill & Sock It To Me graciously provided product. The opinions expressed here represent my own, which I take great pride in providing pure honesty…because I’m OBSESSED with sharing the Good!