Anyone else HATE packing as much as me?

[opus_00]

We leave Saturday at 3 am for WDW, and I've been trying to pack for days now. I keep finding other things to do to avoid packing (like being on this board right now!). I always have the best of intentions to pack a little bit over several days, but instead the suitcases sit there for days and I stay up all night packing the night before we leave. But this time I'm determined to stay up all night tonight (2 NIGHTS before we leave) and get some sleep tomorrow night!

I'm an overpacker, and I know it. I just can't seem to do it right. Since I'm expecting the weather to be chilly in the mornings and evenings, but warm during the day, I feel I need to pack 7 pairs of pants, 7 long-sleeved shirts, and 7 short-sleeved shirts per person for our trip (6 park days plus the trip home). Then I need to pack some sweatshirts and light jackets for each of us. And I need to throw in some extra outfits for the kids in case of accidents (one is recently potty-trained). Not to mention all of our undergarments and toiletries. I know we won't use all of these clothes, but I want to have enough to get us through whether it's cool or warm all week.

This seems reasonable to me, but we always seem to have so much more luggage than everyone else. What am I doing wrong? What does everyone else do? Do you pack one outfit per person per day? More than that? Less than that?

Also, I feel like I spend too much time just staring at all the clothes laying out on the bed, wondering if I have taken out the right mix of clothes, and if the sets I have chosen will coordinate. Why is this so hard?

Paula

 

[Mom2tmha]

What am I doing wrong? What does everyone else do? Do you pack one outfit per person per day? More than that? Less than that? >>>

We leave Sunday at 3:30 am and I could have written your post LOL!!!! I haven't packed at all yet. Dh is already yelling at me not to overpack, but I can't help it. Good luck. I am hoping to start today with my packing!

 

[newholidayx2]

actually its the unpacking I hate doing
thats why I still have bags from our 2003 cruise and our Oct WDW vaca that havent been completely unpacked!

I find in the summertime I just leave a suitcase out and readjust btwn trips

this aug Im planning on packing clothes for 1 of our vacation wks and doing laundry before our other wk - I try to avoid it

 

[DisneyDW]

I'm with ya, I hate, hate, hate to pack! I have lists for everyone and now even keep the lists in a spreadsheet so I don't have to re-remember all the little things. I pack a lot and try to cover most situations - this, that or the other, just in case. I think my problem is that I try to think of everything we might need and keep worrying that I have forgotten something and can't possibly finish until the last minute because of essentials. I need to learn to just relax and do what my DH does which is pack 20 minutes before we head out the door and if (when) he forgets something, just go to the store!

I hate wasting time and money on vacation shopping for things that I could have brought from home though so I guess I'll suffer through the planning of packing forever. At least, at some point???, the kids will be able to pack themselves. When does that happen, btw?? Mine are only 3 and 5 so we have a long way to go but nice to dream anyway!

 

[Mom to Jordan]

It took me a couple of trips to learn not to over pack. We have always gone in the winter so I feel your pain. The thing that I realized it that it's WDW not the desert. If you run low on clothes its not the end of the world. It really is easy to rinse out a t-shirt in the sink at night. One year DS got a new mickey mouse t-shirt and wanted to wear it everyday!! I just washed it out at night and it dried in the bath room and was ready the next day. Jeans can be worn two days, and a sweat shirt worn over other clothes can be worn several times. One mid weight jacket each that can be layered should be enought. Also don;t forget to allow for a new shirt or two while you are there. If worse comes to worse you can do a load of clothes one night. One thing I have learned not to underpack on is socks. We like to change if we come back to the resort during the day and our feet need a break. Socks do not dry too fast when rinsed out.
Another great thing about WDW is that no one knows you. If your child messes up an outfit and you have to change into a shirt that does not match, no one cares!!!

Guess the point is to try to cut down on your clothes to make to easier. I LOVE to pack however. It just gets me excited. I too however HATE to unpack. Means the trip is over.

Good luck!!!!

Jordans' mom

 

[diznygirl]

We never brought a new outfit for every day - we re-wore things like jeans and certain shirts. Cuts down on what you have to pack.

Now what I always hated was packing to come home - after all the shopping, nothing fit anymore!!!! I actually would have nightmares! I think that is one of the main reasons we moved here......

 

[Deesknee]

I love to pack. I start making my list as soon as I start planning.I pack for the whole family. Me, DH, DS, DS, DD, DD.
I bring 1pr pants (shorts) for ea. 2days, 1 shirt for every day. socks & undergarments for ea. day (I can always do laundry, if neccessary)2 pr foot wear. 1 sweatshirt. For the youngest, I might bring extra.

Dh just read the first sentence, his comment? Are you Sick? lol I love EVERYTHING to do with or WDW vacation.

 

[WDWLVR]

I wouldn't say i love to pack, but I don't hate it. I start weeks ahead making lists of what we want to take. Usually make a spreadsheet out of the day and what we are doing that day and match outfits accordningly (much more on the cruise than a WDW vacation, but you get the idea). Then my DH and I set aside a couple of hours on a weekend day and go through everything and pack it. This sometimes means we're packed a week before we go but doing it on a weekend means we are awake, rested and ready. Much better IMHO than trying to do it after work the night before we go.(since we both work full time).

As for unpacking - that gets done the day we get home and goes into 3 piles: to be washed, to be put away, to be sorted. The wash pile goes in the laundry room, the put away and sorted piles may take a little longer. Some things are specific to vacations like our snorkels, masks and water shoes. They go in a box to wait for the next trip. i like to have the suitcases unpacked and back up in the attic within 3-4 days of getting home.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Count me in!

Love the CONCEPT of packing. Vacation! Yeah!!! HATE the actual packing. Hate unpacking when I get home even more.

We usually stay at DVC or other condos, so I usually wash all the clothes before going home. I just hate putting dirty clothes in the luggage. When we get home, the plastic bag with the few dirty clothes gets thrown in the laundry room and the luggage winds up a corner. I try to get everything taken out of the suitcases within 3 days of getting home and the cases put away, or else the luggage will still be packed a year later! I usually dump the zip lock bags full of clean clothes on the couch in my bedroom. I still have clean vacation clothes in zip locks floating around in my room from our last vacation!

 

[MickeyMouth]

I LOVE packing!!! I print out lists for each bag and check it off as I pack it.
As for unpacking...I hate it!

 

[Kuffam]

I think I'm getting better, but I tend to overpack too. 2-3 days for outside clothes I find works fine. Another thing I found that I like are those pants that unzip into shorts. You get 2 for the space of 1, plus mine are nylon so they dry quickly if they get wet.

I always want to pack too early, I get too anxious to leave.

 

[mrsgus06]

Packing has become a whole lot easier since I bought my camper! Each one of us has 10 pairs of underwear/socks that stay in there all the time. Bathingsuits? I probably have 20 in there between all the kids. We have extra shorts, shirts, toothbrushes, towels, everything is already packed! All I have to do is grocery shop the day before we leave and unload straight into the camper. We hook the camper up the night before and by 6:00 a.m. the next day, we are out of here! I wash all the clothes on the last day there so I really only have pj's to bring in and wash. Any other dirty clothes are thrown into the shower and washed when we get home. I do usually end up pulling groceries out over the next week as I need them at home. I clean the camper before we come home so almost everything is done!

 

[areno79]

I love to pack too...I leave in 79 days and I want to start packing now!
I'm with everyone else though...I LOATHE unpacking, it means the fun's over This time though, we're bring my cousins (9 and 11), so I get to pack for them too! It's probably my favorite part of the whole trip

 

[lovesdumbo]

I too love to pack. To me it's worth the 1-2 hours in the laundry room-a nice quiet break-so that I can pack light. On our last 2 trips with me, DH, DD, DS, DD; I had just 2 checked bags. But I do mail a package of diapers, wipes, a few extra kids clothes to the resort. I wear pants more than once and if the weather is cool enough for a long sleeve shirt then you won't be sweating so much that you need a clean shirt everyday. I also used the zip lock packing method for the kids. That really helped in getting going in the morning-they just chose a bag that already contained shirt, shorts, socks, undies. My DD(5) chose all her outfits at home-she'll be a packer soon! I'm with Jordan's Mom-I do not skimp on socks-always pack an extra bag of those.

 

[ladydancer]

I'm at the other end of the packing issue. We are leaving April 25 and already dil and dd have started packing. I will start very soon myself probably tommorrow.

Now when I get to WDW I totally unpack everything. As we wear our clothes I fold them and put them back in the luggage. So when it is time to leave there is very little to pack. Also it makes for finding certain things easier when it is put in drawers and hung in the closet. Trying to dig in the luggage for things is very time consuming.

 

[Waggy182]

I really like to pack.

I don't mind the unpacking either. Instead of the fun being over, I look it as the beginning of the planning of our next trip.

 

[tasassy]

I hate to pack also, we leave on Sunday, and I need to clean my house and pack yet. Well, so far, I have made the list of what we're taking, and I've thought about cleaning why oh why do my inlaws have to come visit within 4 days of getting back from vacation? That means the house has to almost pass a white glove inspection!

 

[Schweet]

Pack half as many clothes and twice as much money as you originally thought. We plan on packing light on the shirts because I want an excuse to HAVE to buy some. I am also the type of person that panicks when there's extra room in the suitcase when we're about to leave for somewhere and starts shoving stuff in! "I might need this, I might need that..." What I'm hoping to do this time is remember to pack extra space so we have a place to put the stuff we buy.

 

[newyork0068]

I love packing becuz i know the trip is very close i normally pack for any trip like the night before... since this is my first trip to disney i will be super excited to pack!

 

[NotUrsula]

I travel a lot, and I have it down to a science now. I can pack in 30 minutes for a 2-wk trip to Europe; whole family. The time-consuming part is the laundry beforehand, making sure that all of the *must-have* favorite items of clothing are clean when I'm ready to pack.

Start w/ the toiletries. If the concept bothers you this much you probably only pack for family trips, so get a "family trips" toiletries bag, a largish one w/ enough room for multiple items. Go to a beauty supply shop like Sally, and get some 4 oz. bottles. These are better for family trips b/c they hold lots more than a tiny travel size, but are not as heavy as a family-size shampoo bottle that you would keep in the bath. (Also get a couple of small funnels to make the filling easier.) Label the bottles with a Sharpie pen, Woolite, shampoo, conditioner, no-tears shampoo, chlorine shampoo, NT Chlorine shampoo, skin lotion, etc. (The only full-size bottle I bring is sunscreen, b/c we use several bottles on a trip.) Get travel-size shaving cream for your man, along with disposable razors. Also add OTC meds, bandaids, moleskin, and a child's round-tip scissors, plus toenail clippers and emery boards. Pack everything you would need for the trip into the kit: this will stay packed forever, and the only thing you will need to do before each trip is check that the bottles are full, and then add your Rx meds.

With the clothing, pack first into a clear bin or a laundry basket; you will better be able to see how much you are set on bringing. Make sure to color-coordinate and stay away from unnecessary bulk/weight. If you must bring fleece, get space bags to squash it. Once it is all gathered, clear a bed and lay it all out by outfit, overlaying the pieces you will use more than once. At this point, you will notice just how much unnecessary stuff there is, so put half of what is on the bed back in the closet. Now get out the suitcase and transfer the remaining items into it.

BTW, w/ the kids, only duplicate the pieces most likely to get dirty. For a recently-trained child, that means extra underwear and bottoms, but NOT extra tops. If it's a messy eater, extra shirts only. Double-match the colors so that you do not have to change the entire outfit b/c of wet pants.

Note the Woolite in the toiletry kit. Always bring soap for washing clothes if you get caught short. (Woolite is for your undies, really. Fels Naptha bar soap is great for kids clothes that get seriously soiled--backpackers carry it, and so do I, in a ziploc.) I also bring a couple of binder clips and a little rubber clothesline that I got from Magellan's; you can use it to hang clothes in any hotel room. Clothes hung in a bathroom won't dry unless the fan is running; the heat lamp is helpful, too. The best place to dry them is on a balcony or right in front of the AC unit.