Do You Have Packing Tips/Advice? 9 Days+3 Kids = Packing Overload

[scoker]

We almost always fly everywhere so packing light is a necessity. I agree with PP that I feel "dirtier" after a day of travel than I do at home. I regularly re-wear jeans and sweaters at home but feel like I can do this less when traveling. I always bring more tops than bottoms and try to make everything "mix and match". Our trip is 10 days and split between Beverly Hills (2), DLR (5) and San Diego (3). I'll do a couple loads of laundry at least once. DD5 has to go to bed earlier than the grown ups so I usually put the laundry in when we get back to the hotel for the night. It washes while she is bathing and getting ready for bed. After she is tucked in I switch the laundry to the dryer and 1 hour later I'm ready for bed. For us this allows us to pack light and doesn't really cut into vacation time.

Have a fabulous trip.

 

[SkRiderMom]

If your hotel has a laundry I would definitely plan on doing a load or two. I took the opportunity to do laundry during our afternoon break at the hotel. My husband watched the kids in the pool, while I did the wash and read my book. On our last trip I took the Purex 3in1 laundry sheets and they worked great. No worries about detergent breaking open in your luggage or paying for those overpriced little boxes. I did make sure to try them out at home before we went so I'd know our clothes were getting clean.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

If your hotel has a laundry I would definitely plan on doing a load or two. I took the opportunity to do laundry during our afternoon break at the hotel. My husband watched the kids in the pool, while I did the wash and read my book. On our last trip I took the Purex 3in1 laundry sheets and they worked great. No worries about detergent breaking open in your luggage or paying for those overpriced little boxes. I did make sure to try them out at home before we went so I'd know our clothes were getting clean.

Good tip! I haven't tried those, but I shall check them out!

I take my detergent in a lock and lock and then a bag. I'm paranoid ROFL

 

[Mugglemama]

Great suggestions, everyone! Thanks, again! A lot!

But now I'm torn.

We've done multiple days at DLR before...up to 5 at a time. I've never had the kids re-wear anything on any of those trips (except the long sleeved shirts you see my boys wearing over their t-shirts in the photos below...I'd only brought one for that trip, because it was JULY, and I figured we wouldn't need any more than that...but it ended up being much cooler than even the forecast predicted...so, they had to re-wear those shirts to stay warm for a few hours on most days of that trip).

While I gross-out easily over germs (I'm the one who disinfects my entire hotel room and carries Purell to use after every single ride...), I think I'm OK with my kids re-wearing shorts on this trip.

I may re-think the 10 shirts idea...and just throw in a few extra very thin t-shirts.

Thanks for the rolling-tip....I used to do that before discovering the one-outfit-per-day-in-a-gallon-size-ziploc-bag trick. Maybe I'll try it on this trip.

I don't *mind* doing laundry, for the sake of doing laundry. Here's the bare-bones truth: The idea of putting my laundry into a washer/dryer that strangers use completely grosses me out! I mean...ugh...I don't even want to describe why that is gross to me, that's how gross it is to me! Suffice it to say, that when you really think about it...a washing machine isn't exactly *clean*. Factor in people with staph infections, babies who had diaper explosions, kids who puked on their shirts, etc....I don't really want to put my family's things in the same metal barrel and swish it around with some water, ya know?

@CaliforniaMomOf4Girls - Thanks for that thread link, I will definitely read it!!

 

[limace]

I don't *mind* doing laundry, for the sake of doing laundry. Here's the bare-bones truth: The idea of putting my laundry into a washer/dryer that strangers use completely grosses me out! I mean...ugh...I don't even want to describe why that is gross to me, that's how gross it is to me! Suffice it to say, that when you really think about it...a washing machine isn't exactly *clean*. Factor in people with staph infections, babies who had diaper explosions, kids who puked on their shirts, etc....I don't really want to put my family's things in the same metal barrel and swish it around with some water, ya know?

Wow . Man, on the scale of things to worry about, that's way down the list for me. Of course, I'm completely missing the germaphobe gene (my mother is a public health nurse, and buys into the theory that the heavy use of antibacterial soaps is partly leading to the rise of resistant infections, so that's where I'm coming from). Of course, you wear your own clothes washed in a machine where things with puke or poop have been washed, right?

But regardless, I'm with you in that I'd just as soon not do laundry on vacation, anyway. I definitely think you can reuse shorts, and can wash things in an emergency. I mentioned shampoo above-you can use it to wash in your sink or shower, and then hang things to dry. This won't work on truly filthy things, of course, like if a kiddo spills spaghetti sauce or falls in the mud, but it works fine otherwise. Just like handwashing lingerie, which I never do anymore, but you get the idea, right?

 

[starshine514]

I don't *mind* doing laundry, for the sake of doing laundry. Here's the bare-bones truth: The idea of putting my laundry into a washer/dryer that strangers use completely grosses me out! I mean...ugh...I don't even want to describe why that is gross to me, that's how gross it is to me! Suffice it to say, that when you really think about it...a washing machine isn't exactly *clean*. Factor in people with staph infections, babies who had diaper explosions, kids who puked on their shirts, etc....I don't really want to put my family's things in the same metal barrel and swish it around with some water, ya know?

This sounds like the Mugglemama we know! When I read about re-wearing clothes (I am guilty of wearing jeans twice - they take up so much space!), I wasn't sure if someone else had hijacked your account! Pack enough, pack it tiny and try to make it all fit. I've never been upset at myself for bringing too much, but I have been mad at myself for bringing too little.

Now you have me paranoid about public washing machines!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I'm a germaphobe too...and now I'm totally terrified of public machines ROFL. I've never had to use one and nowww....well I probably never will

Sink washin' it is for me still! LOL

 

[californiamomof4grls]

@CaliforniaMomOf4Girls - Thanks for that thread link, I will definitely read it!!

I'm telling you the ideas they share are amazing! I would have never thought of it! Good luck! Have fun!!

 

[michelleh1]

Here's the bare-bones truth: The idea of putting my laundry into a washer/dryer that strangers use completely grosses me out! I mean...ugh...I don't even want to describe why that is gross to me, that's how gross it is to me! Suffice it to say, that when you really think about it...a washing machine isn't exactly *clean*. Factor in people with staph infections, babies who had diaper explosions, kids who puked on their shirts, etc....I don't really want to put my family's things in the same metal barrel and swish it around with some water, ya know?

I'm with you on this one! I pack a small bottle of vinegar (it's a disinfectant, you could also take ammonia) with our laundry stuff, and I add it to the wash when I do laundry away from home. I don't worry about the dryer so much because of the high temperatures (I'm hoping) it gets to. I would definitely plan on doing laundry as opposed to packing that much stuff!

 

[Jen&Trenton]

I'm the type who would definitely NOT want to do laundry on vacation, especially a Disneyland vacation! Through my travels, packing cubes have saved me time and money on many trips. Yes, it is another thing to spend money on, but it will last you for many years to come. In fact, there have been many times where there was so much extra room, I could have gone way over airline weight limits because I was able to pack everything so tightly with these cubes. In your case, you are driving so you don't even have to worry about that. All the more worth it for you I'd say.

If you don't end up doing laundry, save all your plastic bags for the dirty clothes for the trip home.

Good luck and looking forward to hearing how the trip goes!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I have an idea for the gross-out washing machines... but it won't help with the dryer... hopefully you think the heat on the dryer alone will kill germs. But, you could stake out a machine, run it on hot/hot or sanitize or whatever with bleach and a white towel, or even empty... then you know it is clean and immediately use it for your stuff... I know, it sounds crazy, but I also purell and lysol and clorox wipe, and would be tempted to do this.

We are travelling to Mexico soon, and I know our room has a jetted bathtub... I am trying to figure out the best way to clean that tub before it gets used... jetted tubs are nasty in the pipes... I am considering bringing a little container of dry chlorine that we use for our hottub... filling the jetted tub with full hot water, adding the chlorine and letting it run for a bit... then draining it before 1st use...

 

[Mugglemama]

Wow . Man, on the scale of things to worry about, that's way down the list for me. Of course, I'm completely missing the germaphobe gene (my mother is a public health nurse, and buys into the theory that the heavy use of antibacterial soaps is partly leading to the rise of resistant infections, so that's where I'm coming from). Of course, you wear your own clothes washed in a machine where things with puke or poop have been washed, right?

Fair enough. However, I do have a reason for being leery of things washed in a hotel washing machine. I won't go into it, but I will say that I didn't have an issue with public washing machines until that particular incident occurred. And actually...my kids are older now (no "poop" incidents anymore) and nobody in our house has puked in....7 years?....and since my washer/dryer are newer than that, the answer to your last question is actually "no".

P.S. Aside from when we encounter it in public restrooms, the only time we use antibacterial soap is during our trips to DLR. Additionally, my oldest has only used antibiotics twice in her life (she's 20), my next oldest only once (he's 14) and my two youngest have never taken antibiotics - not trying to sound defensive, but it seems every time I mention trying to be "clean" here on DIS, that a lot of people equate that with being part of the antibiotic-overuse crowd. We're not.

This sounds like the Mugglemama we know! When I read about re-wearing clothes (I am guilty of wearing jeans twice - they take up so much space!), I wasn't sure if someone else had hijacked your account! Pack enough, pack it tiny and try to make it all fit. I've never been upset at myself for bringing too much, but I have been mad at myself for bringing too little.

Now you have me paranoid about public washing machines!

HAHAHA!!! Nope, it's me. I don't know why the idea of the kids re-wearing shorts at Disneyland doesn't bother me (probably because we've been there a hundred times and I constantly find that nothing disgusting ends up on their clothes?). In any case, I find the idea of them wearing a pair of cargo shorts for 2 days a lot less gross than sticking our clothes in a public washing machine, LOL!

I'm a germaphobe too...and now I'm totally terrified of public machines ROFL. I've never had to use one and nowww....well I probably never will

Sink washin' it is for me still! LOL

.

I find as my kids get older that my germaphobe-iness is fading (in fairness, I never worried about that kind of stuff until my oldest son got deathly sick - literally - from some virus he caught when he was 3 in a disgusting hospital emergency room we had to sit in for hours when he hurt his arm...) Before that, I never worried about germs.

I never really stressed it at Disneyland, either, until I realized we were getting sick each and every single time we went there. Now, I just take certain measures - like disinfecting the hotel room - in an attempt to avoid coming down with something every time we want to go to Disneyland (okay, well I also Clorox the room because I've read far too much about MRSA - my husband's sister died from it a few years ago). It hasn't actually worked to keep us from catching something every time we go yet, lol!!! I know we're going to get sick now and then, and that doesn't bother me...I would just love to avoid it upon returning from Disneyland because..like..I've got five loads of laundry to catch up on when I get home, and I'd love to not ALSO have to be taking care of a bunch of sick people at the same time.

I'm telling you the ideas they share are amazing! I would have never thought of it! Good luck! Have fun!!

Holy Cow!! I'm only on page 4 and I already have a great list going! LOVE the idea of bringing those collapsible mesh hampers from the dollar store for dirty laundry! Usually, we put all the dirty clothes into a trash bag that I bring along solely for that purpose, but it's still this huge glob taking up floorspace. This time, I'm going to line the hamper with a trash bag, and no more bags of dirty laundry taking up more space then needed on the floor. Wait... maybe I'll get those mesh laundry BAGS at the dollar store, and hang them with suction cup hooks...then they won't be taking up ANY floor space! With such an extended stay, it would be really nice to keep everything off the floor.

I'm with you on this one! I pack a small bottle of vinegar (it's a disinfectant, you could also take ammonia) with our laundry stuff, and I add it to the wash when I do laundry away from home. I don't worry about the dryer so much because of the high temperatures (I'm hoping) it gets to. I would definitely plan on doing laundry as opposed to packing that much stuff!

Hmmm......I wondered if there was some kind of disinfectant I could put in the wash. I use vinegar for other laundry issues, but I didn't realize it was a disinfectant. Thanks for the info!!!

I'm the type who would definitely NOT want to do laundry on vacation, especially a Disneyland vacation! Through my travels, packing cubes have saved me time and money on many trips. Yes, it is another thing to spend money on, but it will last you for many years to come. In fact, there have been many times where there was so much extra room, I could have gone way over airline weight limits because I was able to pack everything so tightly with these cubes. In your case, you are driving so you don't even have to worry about that. All the more worth it for you I'd say.

If you don't end up doing laundry, save all your plastic bags for the dirty clothes for the trip home.

Good luck and looking forward to hearing how the trip goes!

Thanks! I hadn't checked into packing cubes. I will have to look those up! Although...I did read a reference on that thread the PP posted, that mentioned 2.5 gallon sized ziploc bags...so, I might be able to continue packing the kids' clothes (and heck, mine too!) in those if I can find some (I've never noticed that size in the store before). We re-use them for things like, packing all of the shampoo and stuff for the trip home, etc. Otherwise, I'll just flatten and store them in their duffles, and we'll re-use the same bags for the next trip.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I've read about packing your stuff in ziploc bags, but have thought of using it mostly for girls and their hair doodads - so they match their outfits.

Since I only have boys I have refined that strategy into taking each t-shirt for the day and including underwear and socks and rolling it up. That way each kid just picks which shirt they want to wear and it already has socks and unders included.

I also find that packing stuff that's rolled up is easier for me and I can fit a lot more in. I've even started doing it with my own things.

I also pack shorts/jeans that can be worn more than once. For instance, I probably wouldn't take a white pair of shorts or capris to DLR - who knows what might show up on those - I would be constantly worried about my pants!

I have had to do laundry once on vacation - but it was jeans that had gotten wet on Splash or GRR and I didn't worry about that in the public washer. I was glad I'd stuck some laundry detergent into my suitcase, though, so I didn't have to buy some.

I love one of the suggestions I read on here about taking a shamwow type of thing and doing a quick wipe of seats before we sit down, should keep pants/shorts cleaner and dryer.

 

[Disneylovers2000]

I don't *mind* doing laundry, for the sake of doing laundry. Here's the bare-bones truth: The idea of putting my laundry into a washer/dryer that strangers use completely grosses me out! I mean...ugh...I don't even want to describe why that is gross to me, that's how gross it is to me! Suffice it to say, that when you really think about it...a washing machine isn't exactly *clean*. Factor in people with staph infections, babies who had diaper explosions, kids who puked on their shirts, etc....I don't really want to put my family's things in the same metal barrel and swish it around with some water, ya know?

@CaliforniaMomOf4Girls - Thanks for that thread link, I will definitely read it!!

Holy Moly, I hadn't ever thought about that!! I never had an issue with doing laundry on vacation before but I don't think I will be able to now for sure!! Thank you for giving me something to think about

 

[Mugglemama]

Holy Moly, I hadn't ever thought about that!! I never had an issue with doing laundry on vacation before but I don't think I will be able to now for sure!! Thank you for giving me something to think about

Oh, no....I didn't mean to freak a bunch of people out.

 

[krispin41]

I also really love the packing cubes. I got mine online at ebags.com and they come in lots of pretty colors. I got green for me, and grey for my DH. I've also purchased the 2.5 gallon ziplocks at Target. I use them when I am making page kits up for scrapbooking when I go to a crop, so I usually have them on hand.

 

[indimom3]

Be careful with your suction cup/mesh hanging laundry bag idea. I tried that at WDW and you'd be really surprised at how hard it is to get a suction cup to stick to some hotel walls. Factor in the weight of several days worth of laundry...
My kids have collapsible hampers in their room (Disney themed, naturally) and we always bring at least one of those with us. Sits in a corner of the closet or behind the curtain. As they fill up, we pack the dirty laundry back in the empty luggage.
We were just in S Cal for 9 days, and I did end up just doing laundry when I discovered our villa in the desert had a machine right there in the room. Clothes just get dirtier when you're on vacation. I don't think I was able to rewear any of my pants or shorts.

Have fun!

 

[Disney Dreams]

My one packing tip is to really figure out if you need everything you are packing. For example: You mentioned towels. Do you need to pack towels when you are staying at a hotel? Those take up a lot of valuable space.

Also...

...and multiple pairs of boxers & T-shirts for everyone to sleep in (they roll up super tiny, and I can't stand for my kids to not climb into bed freshly showered and in clean jammies...). They can use each set of jammies twice.

7 tops and 7 shirts x 3 kids each = 42 items of clothing just for jammies. They will have just showered. They are only sleeping in their jammies, not running around town in them. Couldn't they just have one or two sets each? That would be 6 or 12 items, reducing a considerable amount of clothing right there.

Just two thoughts for you,
Dreams

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

.

I find as my kids get older that my germaphobe-iness is fading (in fairness, I never worried about that kind of stuff until my oldest son got deathly sick - literally - from some virus he caught when he was 3 in a disgusting hospital emergency room we had to sit in for hours when he hurt his arm...) Before that, I never worried about germs.

I never really stressed it at Disneyland, either, until I realized we were getting sick each and every single time we went there. Now, I just take certain measures - like disinfecting the hotel room - in an attempt to avoid coming down with something every time we want to go to Disneyland (okay, well I also Clorox the room because I've read far too much about MRSA - my husband's sister died from it a few years ago). It hasn't actually worked to keep us from catching something every time we go yet, lol!!! I know we're going to get sick now and then, and that doesn't bother me...I would just love to avoid it upon returning from Disneyland because..like..I've got five loads of laundry to catch up on when I get home, and I'd love to not ALSO have to be taking care of a bunch of sick people at the same time.

I'm not as bad as I used to be either. My older two are 8 and almost 6. The 8 year old used to catch EVERY STOMACH VIRUS he came into contact with. He was so sick all the time for the first 4 years of his life. So I also clean hotel rooms and take wet ones (which kill the stomach flu virus..or so I've read..one of the only things besides bleach) for the park. At home, I'm much more relaxed My youngest doesn't catch the tummy bugs as easily it seems so I haven't done a whole lot with her. She's the only one who has gotten away with eating things that fell on floors/grass.

As much as it used to suck, I'm glad DS got the bugs out of the way when he was young. He doesn't catch the stomach flu almost at all anymore. Whew. So I'm also not one of the super germaphobes..just in hotels/travel. *shudder*

I'm so sorry about your husband's sister btw. My friend just got done battling MRSA and now her daughter is as well. Poor thing is so sick

I want to echo the vinegar! They are using it to battle MRSA actually. So I may take along a bottle of vinegar instead of bleach

 

[Paulakoala]

There are six of us going this summer - DH, myself, my 15 year old niece and my three kids, 11, 5 and 4. We're driving down and will be gone a total of sixteen days (8 at DL, 4 in Vegas, the rest travelling days). I'm already stressing a little at packing, OY.

We do roll clothes, makes it MUCH easier to fit things in. I'm thankful my kids are past the bottles (way past ) and diapers stage as I don't know if we'd have enough room in the truck! We will be doing laundry at least once, as we won't have enough clothes for 16 days on single-wear and my kids (and I) are spill magnets. We pack Tide powder normally, I might look into a small package of the pods though.

Off to read the thread linked above!