When we moved in, I had visions of creating this beautiful, bright and girly room for myself (or guests, if we ever have any). It would be a sanctuary for me to go and read, plus my closet is in this room so I am in there all the time anyways. Since I have never finished decorating it, it basically serves as a dumping ground. Ironing piles. Filing piles. Random stuff left over from our remodel. When I am packing, this space comes in handy.
Usually about 2 weeks (or earlier) before a trip, I start with a list of everything we need (swimsuits, sunscreen, phone chargers, passports, etc.) and keep it in the kitchen so I can add to it easily.
Tip - Don't lose this list. I have been known to lose a list or two. Most often my grocery list, I have lost 75% of the grocery lists I make.
Then I start dumping stuff ahead of time in extra bedroom. I usually start with my stuff, since it is all about me. I try stuff on and find what needs to ironed, etc. Then I pull a bunch of stuff out for Kevin and let him pick what he wants.
My Mom has given me a number of these embroidered cotton bags over the years. They are great to keep all the little things like socks, bathing suits, etc. together in your suitcase. Thanks Mom!
Then I move onto the kids. The biggest thing when traveling with kids is to plan ahead. Obviously. Since we are typically going somewhere off season, I usually need to try the clothes on the kids and sometimes buy them new things. For this trip, Gracie needed new sandals and Andrew needed a new hat. I try to get my shopping done a week in advance. I don't want to be running out the night before a vacation to get travel benadryl (yes, we drug our children when we fly) or quart size bags.
Keep your kids away from this stuff. Usually Grace will come in and start taking things away or putting extra things in the piles. This is beyond annoying.
For entertainment, I try to get a few new things (the Target $1 section or the dollar store are great for this) like coloring books, stickers, or a random toy to keep the kids entertained. Since Grace's birthday is this month, she has a number of new things. A good tip is to keep some things for the plane ride home, as that is usually the real tortuous part of the vacation. Also, candy is great too, suckers, Pez, Tootsie rolls (for me). Then again, I cannot think of a situation where candy is not great.
When I have everything laid out, I get out the bags and try to fit everything in. Then I weigh the bags to ensure they meet the weight limit.
Here are our suitcases, picture taken 4 days before we left for Mexico. I leave usually leave one open so I can throw in last minute items.
Before each vacation, I have the same nightmare. I need to pack and get out of the house in 10 minutes. Sounds easy. Not with kids. I. Just. Cannot. Get. Out. The. Door. TORTURE!!!!! Then I wake up and think, "Phew! I packed last week for this trip and we leave on next month. I am so glad I plan ahead."
Now you understand why Bridget is sometimes crabby on vacations, especially short ones. Because it is SOOOO much work to get everyone and the house ready. (I didn't even mention the house. I refuse to come home from vacation to anything other than a clean house. That means laundry done, beds made, house clean, dishwasher run. No excuses like, "Our plane leaves at 6am." will be accepted).
For this trip, we are driving to O'Hare. So I figured I would need to clean the car too. I forced myself to stop when I was literally WINDEXING the license plate. Pathetic.
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