Anyone Else Put-off Packing Until The Last Minute?!?

[dreamflight99]

We leave for the 7~night WEST COAST DISNEY CRUISE on the MAGIC tomorrow morning out of Los Angeles! I am SO bad about packing, and have not even cracked a suitcase yet!! I'll do it tonight, (So I keep telling myself) and do not feel a sense of REAL URGENCY when it comes to this (especially since we are driving to the port!). I'll do the same for the following trip to WDW, and figure if I FORGET something, I'll just buy it when I arrive!

I used to be MUCH more "UPTIGHT" about this matter, and pack WAAAAAY in advance of all travel. Now, I open the bags...toss in the necessary items...and I'm OFF!! LOL. Perhaps it's the YEARS of ANNUAL travel/trips which have resulted in this sense of confidence and complete relaxation? Nearly everyone FREAKS when I mention I'm not packed yet? I don't consider this a problem. ANYONE ELSE WAIT TO PACK at the LAST MINUTE?!?!

DF99

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We do the same thing. WE intend to pack earlier. But it is always 9pm before departure and we are making sure that we have underwear and toothbrushes accounted for and then toss in the rest of the clothes.

I remember the days where I started packing a month in advance for things.

 

[*Fantasia*]

I used to pack a month in advance, this is when we first started going to Disney. But now, I only pack the day before and sometimes the night before! I enjoy planning, but I don't enjoy packing! It's such a hassle!!

 

[got2gp]

OK, I admit it!! I always mean well, and say I'm going to start earlier, but I don't think I ever finish, or for that matter even start packing until the day before and it seems that there is always "one last load of laundry" to throw in the dryer late at night. I don't think I have ever closed that last suitcase before midnight, the night before departure. Since we are driving to the port, it will most likely be closer to noon on the day we leave!!

 

[mmouse37]

Ditto here.....I can never get it all done before midnight the night before....then I can never fall asleep so I usually just watch the clock until we need to get up and get going!!!

 

[CM_Mom]

I can't ever sleep the night before we go so I might as well pack. For those of us who have to fly, it's a great reason to go the day before.

However, I DO have a "cruise box" where I put the stuff that I use on the cruise but don't regurlarly use otherwise. The over the door shoe hanger, the lanyards, the suction cup hooks, a short powerstrip, as well as the sunscreen, travel size stuff etc. That makes it easier to pack when I get around to it.

 

[nuke]

I leave tomorrow morning at 9am. I'm working until 2pm today and then I have to pick up my son. We are going out to dinner with some friends tonight. So sometime between coming home from dinner and tomorrow morning I have to pack.

I did make a list!

 

[Aisling]

ANYONE ELSE WAIT TO PACK at the LAST MINUTE?!?!

I always pack way in advance, leaving the suitcases open for last minutes items. When I first booked our Christmas '05 cruise back in Sept '04, I immediately got out the luggage, I felt I had to do SOMETHING, I was so excited!

 

[mommasita]

Wow, I pack WAY in advance...I am much too excited!!!!!!! I pack like 2 weeks in advance...I do tend to shove things in the night before, but I pack way too early.

 

[taeja71]

I am a chronic last minute packer. The worse thing about packing is having a variety of clothes to select from. Thus, I end up doing pretty much all the laundry before packing so I can have a limitless selection of clothes (sick, I know).

 

[MagicalPins]

I also pack last min. The last trip I went on (WDW and Cruise), I started packing about an hour before I had to leave to the airport. Hummm...... Maybe that is last second packing, a min would have given me more time.

 

[pppiglet]

I am starting tomorrow for our 6/11 cruise. Been storing little things all year though since we booked! Typed out the housesitters instructions today! Since my DH wears uniforms to work I can pack his stuff up and do mine last minute. I'll probably be trying things on all weekend to see what fits.

 

[dreamflight99]

We do the same thing. WE intend to pack earlier. But it is always 9pm before departure and we are making sure that we have underwear and toothbrushes accounted for and then toss in the rest of the clothes.

I remember the days where I started packing a month in advance for things.

Thank you ALL for your wonderful COMMENTS!! I feel vindicated by my lack of preparation!! It's currently "7:34 pm" and I STILL have not even opened my suitcase. I DID however, bring them into the bedrooms and open them in preparation!! LOL. DH is washing some clothes, and the animals are preparing to go to the "sitter's" for care. I'm just going to remember the CRITICAL things, like a ROOM FAN for the FLOOR (I LOVE the white noise and air circulation), formal dress for the nice night at sea...and swim suits, (plus the bottles of Kalua, Malibu rum, Corona, cuervo gold and baileys!). We are NOT big drinkers...but LOVE to sit on the private balcony in the suite and SIP a cocktail! Something about the ocean rushing underneath the ship...and the sky filled with stars..moon, etc.

YOU HAVE ALL MADE MY DAY!!! I PLAN TO BE AWAKE (well...on my feet awake...I'll still lie in bed awake, with EXCITEMENT!), until at least 1am! So...I have LOTS of time to PACK!! I work BEST under PRESSURE! That's WHY I LOVE deadlines too! I know folks whom pack a week or more in advance!! NO WAY!! It's the last minute...or not at all!!

TTFN...DF99

OFFICIAL MEMBER of the LMP!!! (LASTMINUTEPACKERS!!).

 

[dreamflight99]

I am starting tomorrow for our 6/11 cruise. Been storing little things all year though since we booked! Typed out the housesitters instructions today! Since my DH wears uniforms to work I can pack his stuff up and do mine last minute. I'll probably be trying things on all weekend to see what fits.

We are ending our cruise, as you begin yours!! I know all my GOOD FORMAL wear fits *(thank heavens), as the last two weeks have been a constant stream of ceremonies associated with my DD's high school graduation. Catholic schools have more events than ANYONE!!! LOL.( ie: Final school senior mass, awards ceremony, final day of school, BBQ for seniors before GRAD NITE @ Disneyland, Baccalaureate Mass, Rehearsal mass and BBQ, GRAD CEREMONY & Senior fling, etc.). I'm sure I've missed a dozen...as part of my brain has been scrambled too!! I'm grabbing two swimsuits and a coverup. The SAFE suit, (one piece), and the tankini! SUMMER is HERE!! Enjoy your cruise too. Your DH is fortunate to have you to help him (packing, etc). Mine is on his own...Poor guy. He only asks for help if he can't find something CRITICAL, otherwise...he's easy.

TTFN...DF99

 

[lbgraves]

I pack the kid's clothes for our winter cruises when I switch out the summer/winter clothes so I don't have to go thru them again in late October. They go in ziplock bags by outfit & go in a big bag...maybe a suitcase until we leave. I am just about finished with our trip next week. Hopefully I will just have to clean up tomorrow & relax on Sunday.

 

[JDSski]

I am also a last minute packer. I, however, pack mentally the week before in order to make sure I have everything. The problem is I always forget something. Not a big deal, it's usually something belonging to my husband.

But that's part of the fun is to find out what you forgot.

 

[lookingforward]

Every time we go on vacation we find ourselves packing until four in the morning the night before we leave. Each time we vow to change our ways. It has not happened yet!

We went on an Alaskan cruise with my parents. My mom, who is organized, was packed a week before she left. She and my Dad went to bed at 9 the night before they left and slept like babies. My husband and I NEVER went to sleep that night and packed for our family of five until 7:30 am. When we met them in Vancouver they were energetic and wanted to go for a "sightseeing" walk. All I wanted to do was collapse at the hotel. It could not have been a pretty sight watching my parents and three kids (who all slept great) briskly walking along the streets while my husband and I crawled our way behind them.

We will never change, I am afraid.

 

[minniemoms]

dreamflight 99, I too am a last minute packer, I always tell myself I will be better this time, and pack earlier, but I never seem to find the time to do it, so this trip, I just threw things in my bag, I can't sleep the night before anyway, but I packed WAY too many clothes, didn't wear half of them.. It was pretty cold on the WEST COAST cruise. I hope it warms up for you guys. It was warm on PV and Maz, but, cold at sea days....

 

[dreamflight99]

Every time we go on vacation we find ourselves packing until four in the morning the night before we leave. Each time we vow to change our ways. It has not happened yet!

Just wished to inform everyone...I have not changed either! We are back from the cruise...and packed until about 3:00 am, and then added things up to the last minute the next AM. Now...I'm unpacked...washing everything, and will have to PACK AGAIN for our 2~month vacation in Florida (PBH...DVB & WDW)!! I believe I'm just a creature of habit, as I also vow to WRAP GIFTS EARLY for Christmas "every year"...but, I'm always awake at midnight the night before, buried in wrap/tape and gift tags! I'm kind of looking forward to it this year...LOL.

JDSski~YUP...it's always something...like meds, or shoes, or undergarments...etc. Bugs the heck out of me for about a minute...and then I just toss the stress into the wind and have fun!! We've always survived, and we've forgotten a LOT of things over the years.

minniemoms~I'll have to do some research...and write "confessions of a last-minute-packer!" I'm sure it would make the NYT best seller list!! LOL, as there seems to be MORE of us than the PREPARED type.
I too...always OVERPACK, and never wear HALF the stuff in my bags. It was FREEZING on the SEA DAYS---especially the last one!! BRRRR...I NEEDED THERMALS on those days, and FROZE just walking on the balcony or up to the top deck!! IT was more of an ALASKAN CRUISE those days! LOL.
We had a great time, and could (WILL) do it all again.

TTFN...DF99