Packing ??'s, Vacuum Bags

[tkd lisa]

I did use the wrinkle release for a few things, and it worked great.

I didn't put nice dress shirts in there or anything. Basically it's the kids play clothes. As long as the clothes are pretty flat when they go in the bags, they don't really get wrinkled.

As to why we use them, it takes up MUCH less space. Our first cruise, I had packed the kids clothes before I thought of the zip locks. Their clothes filled up one kids suitcase and most of a small rolling carry on bag. When I put them into the ziplocks, everything fit into the carry on, so we brought one less bag!

Since I'm the kind of parent who lays out the kids clothes at night for the next day, putting the outfits into a zip lock let them just grab a set out of the drawer, saving space on the counters for other things.

 

[tkd lisa]

jdm, you can also find the over the door hangar at the dollar stores.

I had a bit of trouble finding the two gallon ones. I eventually found them at Wal Mart, but they don't always have them.

The one gallons work fine for my kids clothes, unless they are really bulky. I used the 2 gallons when my DD went to a horse riding camp and had to wear long pants every day.

Good luck! And see you on the 19th!

 

[Cinderellamommy]

Thanks tdk lisa What a GREAT idea. I'll have to try this on our Cruise (Not for a while)

Have a great trip!

 

[cathy59]

I just got back from our Walmart and they had Ziploc Freezer bags in the 2 gallon size, 10 to a box for $3.37.

They didn't have any other brand or variety in the 2 gallon size, but I see that jdm_dkm found some made by Hefty at Target.

Also, we found clear, over-the-door shoe hangers at Target, on sale for $5!

I also found a soft-sided cooler at our Walmart, holds "12 cans plus ice," and folds up pretty small for $6.33.

Thanks for the reminder about wrinkle release! I didn't have that on my packing list!

 

[hydster]

I actually folded the clothes like I would at home and put them in the bag, then I rolled the ziploc up really tight and then sealed it and unrolled it. The clothes to my knowledge (I am not super fussy about wrinkles...we are on vacation and all) but I didnt notice anything so wrinkled that I had to do much about it. We did use Wrinkle Releaser on a few things and other times we hung the "garment" in the bathroom while we showered and it got "steamed" but we didnt do much to them. I packed my 7 year old's nice clothes (as well as the 3 year olds) in the ziploc method and didnt notice much wrong with them. In fact hubby and I commented on how much less wrinkled the clothes were for the kids coming out of the ziplocs than when we just packed them regularly (since we arent the most complulsive packers) but it was SOOOOO worth it to have all the kids stuff together and not have to worry about where that pair of socks went or where is their underwear! Our kids liked it too because they had their own freedom of picking what THEY wanted to wear that day (I made sure all the items were coordinated in the bag) and they got to choose!

Heidi

 

[kimruth]

What are the over the door hangars used for? Couldn't find it when I went through all the postings? Ziploc bags? Great idea! Actually, DD was told to do that for a girl scout camping weekend and it worked great!

 

[cathy59]

kimruth - I, too, wondered how people could be taking so many shoes that they needed a door organizer! I finally realized people were hanging them on the bathroom door instead of the cabin door, and they suddenly made so much more sense!

Use the door hanger for toiletries, cosmetics, hair brushes, kids toys, shoes, room keys or walkie talkies when not in use, etc. Any small items that could be kept in a central place to make them easy to find!