Another Packing spin off

[jaiminee krikit]

DH has always packed for himself. DD18 and I share some toiletries so I'll take care of those, but everything else I have here put in a bag (and double check it) and put it in with my stuff. She's been picking out her own clothes/shoes for years.

 

[Darcy03231]

Everyone packs for themselves at our house. I did the packing for the kids when they were young, but once they got older they did it themselves (around 12).

 

[Nennie]

I pack for myself and the kids, and my husband packs for himself + everyone's toiletries. Although my husband does lay out his clothes for my approval, even though I tell him he can pick out his own clothes! LOL!! He just likes a 2nd opinion!

 

[Uncle Coaster]

My Mom always packed my Dad’s stuff…still does, but when I was a kid I remember it being a family thing for Mom, bro and I. When my Mom would take us clothes shopping I can remember saying “that can go on vacation” as we shopped so there wasn’t much choice to make when packing day came.
When that day came Mom would tell us to get our vacation clothes (they were used other days, too) and then she’d go through and tell us what we still needed or what we forgot. Then she’d pack everybody’s together in order to reduce the number of bags we had to take with us.

 

[tasha99]

DH always packs for himself and always forgets stuff. Like underwear, or socks, or T-shirts. We usually end up getting an Amazon delivery to our hotel.

 

[John VN]

I usually have to pack for my husband cause he doesn’t have a clue what to wear. It always annoys me that I have to do everything involved with going on vacation from where, when, how, packing, planning, unpacking, laundry, you name it. He just wakes up and goes.

DW has always packed for me for the out and about time because she knows what's best. I decide on my "chilling out/personal" stuff. House cleaning and laundry before and after is my job and always has been. Planning/Booking can be a shared situation.

DW PAYS THE BILL$ for everything. From the time we married 48 years ago it has been that the money she earned was HER'S, my money I earned was HER'S and she pays the bills then can do whatever she wants with what is remaining.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

He packs the car for me when we go places together, if I've already packed it, he will unpack it and do it over.

Never ever show him a dishwasher!

 

[shawthorne44]

As I'm reading, it seems that some/maybe many are packing for their big kids and even spouses. In some cases it seems to be so that the packer can be sure everyone has everything they need.

Do you do this? If so, why? No judgement just curious as it was something I was so happy to give up when my kids were old enough to take over. I never have for DH.

Do you care what others pack or wear on vacation?

I do not do this but I also don't care what others wear on vacation. When my kids were first packing by themselves (and my DS on into his teens,) I would make sure that they knew of any activity that might require specific clothes. As in, "don't forget, we're going to a wedding so bring slacks and a nicer shirt." Otherwise they can all wear what they want.

DH does his own. Although he doesn't actually put his stuff into a bag because he has a delusion that he doesn't pack much and I can just add his stuff to mine. In reality, when you add his sleep machine, he fills the duffle that is the maximum dimensions allowed as carry-on. Wherever he goes. I do about the same, although I don't have a sleep machine.

DD is 11 now and I'm training her. There was that time we visited my parents for Christmas when she was a baby/toddler. DH and I are unpacking our stuff and we ask each other, "Where did you put her underwear?" So, for awhile, one of us packed for DD and the other added stuff we thought was missing. Except for one miserable round-trip flight, we always drive. Now, DD packs and I ask her if she remembered This and That, and she never has.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I pack for everyone, I have tried to get others to help out .... just easier if I do it.

 

[NotUrsula]

I pack for everyone, but I don't gather. The rule is that you give me your laundry basket of stuff and I put it in the suitcases. I am very good at spatial tasks, so I can get the most into a bag without going overweight. (Our checked bags pretty much always weigh between 47-49 lbs., and I generally don't need to use a scale.) DH will always need 4 bags for what I can fit into 1, so he has ceded the job to me.

We had a few incidents that led to this, mostly involving an insane number of duplicate items being packed (DH once packed 11 rolls of dental floss for a 3 day trip), but also occasionally someone forgetting to pack an entire category of something important (like the time DS failed to pack any underwear at all for an 8-day trip.)

We use laundry baskets for initial gathering because we have neurotic cats; they go nuts for days if the luggage comes out of the closet ahead of time. Toiletries for travel are all duplicate items; they stay packed and in the suitcases at all times.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

DW has always packed for me for the out and about time because she knows what's best. I decide on my "chilling out/personal" stuff. House cleaning and laundry before and after is my job and always has been. Planning/Booking can be a shared situation.

DW PAYS THE BILL$ for everything. From the time we married 48 years ago it has been that the money she earned was HER'S, my money I earned was HER'S and she pays the bills then can do whatever she wants with what is remaining.

That’s nice that you share responsibilities. We’ve been married almost 40 years. My husband doesn’t do any house cleaning or laundry nor does he pay the bills. He works and I do everything else.

 

[Moliphino]

Yes, lol!!!!! My DH is a wonderful father, and loves our daughters more than life itself, but no way would I have let him pack for them when they were little! First off, he's color blind. He also doesn't always know which separates go together. Then there's the proper amount of socks and underwear, not to mention hair accessories.

It's just the two of us traveling these days, and I still do all the packing, you know... so he doesn't screw it up! I get out all his clothes, pj's, swim trunks, etc. and just tell him how many days he needs socks and underwear for. I can happily say he hasn't screwed that up in 39 years, lol!

My dad is colorblind, too

I pack for myself and the things that both DH & I need. I enjoy it and I'm a touch OCD about it. Most of the time I'll have the stuff I know DH will bring laid out and he can add whatever else he wants. He gets his own toiletries together. But I'm the one actually folding and putting things in suitcases.

I'm also the one who gets the dog ready for boarding too, if that counts!

Basically I'm the planner, travel booker, scheduler, packer, and the "for the love of god make sure you have your passport" person in DH & I's relationship. He's more of the "just tell me when we're going and I'll be there" person. It's all about balance.

My mom handled the most of the packing and most of the home arrangements (scheduling dog boarding, cleaning the house), but my dad always did all of the trip planning. I don't think my mom has booked a hotel or flight in her life. Even before she married my dad she went along with friends or relatives.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I usually have to pack for DW. She makes a 6 foot high by one foot wide pile in the suitcase and expects it to close.

She prefers travel by car, so that she can bring along a giant tote with all 78 bottles, jars, and tubes of her various lotions, creams, and other crap.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I usually have to pack for DW. She makes a 6 foot high by one foot wide pile in the suitcase and expects it to close.

She prefers travel by car, so that she can bring along a giant tote with all 78 bottles, jars, and tubes of her various lotions, creams, and other crap.

Somewhere deep in our psyche we believe that other countries or states don’t have supermarkets, pharmacies etc.

 

[wenrob]

Somewhere deep in our psyche we believe that other countries or states don’t have supermarkets, pharmacies etc.

For me I don’t want to be hunting down and traipsing through a Walmart on my vacation because someone failed to pack their toothbrush or underpants.

 

[NotUrsula]

Somewhere deep in our psyche we believe that other countries or states don’t have supermarkets, pharmacies etc.

True, but it's more than that for Americans, because we get so little holiday time. Even if you know it exists, how long will it take to figure out how it's organized?

You can zoom through a familiar pharmacy in half the time it takes to track down items in a store you've never been in before. Not to mention the little things like needing to know that in the UK and certain other parts of the world, what Americans call acetaminophen is called paracetamol. Even within the US, states can differ about what items must be sold from behind the counter.

 

[monarchsfan16]

My MIL was kind enough to make sure my husband was an independent packer by the time he was 10. We vacationed many times together before marriage and I'm pretty sure having to pack for him would have been a marriage deal breaker. He is slowly learning (married almost 4 years, traveling together almost 10 years) to check with me to make sure he has what he needs for clothing for, say, formal night on a cruise. But we each pack for ourselves. We don't have kids, so I don't have to worry about packing for anyone but me.

 

[disykat]

Everyone packs for themselves. When my kids were little, they both LOVED suitcases and the whole packing process. They would play "going on a trip" and pack stuff as a game when they were preschoolers. (This was despite the fact that at that age the only trips they'd ever been on were road trips to visit the same place every time to visit grandparents, plus maybe a few overnights at the beach!) They would have been devastated to be excluded from the process. I did give specific direction, though as in how many pairs of underwear, shorts, shirts, etc. they needed to pack.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

True, but it's more than that for Americans, because we get so little holiday time. Even if you know it exists, how long will it take to figure out how it's organized?

You can zoom through a familiar pharmacy in half the time it takes to track down items in a store you've never been in before. Not to mention the little things like needing to know that in the UK and certain other parts of the world, what Americans call acetaminophen is called paracetamol. Even within the US, states can differ about what items must be sold from behind the counter.

You should have seen the trouble I had in England trying to locate Scotch tape in the pre-smartphone days when I couldn’t just look up what it was called over there!

 

[neverlandsky]

I'm a speedy 5 minute mimimalist packer. How it works in our household. I get all the laundry done where there's no dirty clothes. I micromanage the packing. For example, Family we're going to be gone 3 nights/3 days. DH, Kids, pick out your 3 day outfits , 1-2 pair of pjs, 4 socks, & 4 underwear and put into pile. I double check, fold and pack it in. For DH's travel, I tend to pack him because it's a timing issue with him working. Plus it gives us more time together before he leaves.