Everything but the kitchen sink? Driving to WDW...

[It's A Happy Day]

We are driving to WDW for a 10 night trip in November, but really this applies to pretty much all of our driving trips because my current method is driving me crazy

Because we are there for an extended period of time & driving thus use some of the items en route, what do you pack all your "essentials" in? I'm talking about the shampoo, conditioner, razors, sunscreen, tums, etc. In the past I usually put everything into a backpack and make sure it's put into the trnk upright just to ensure no spillage but I hate trying to dig through it trying to find smaller items. Also, once at the hotel, I'm one of those people that don't leave everything sitting out on the counter (with the exception of shampoo/conditioner I'll leave on the shower shelf), we use and put back into the bag so I'm looking for something that can be organized and easier to use than my current method.

 

[scrapquitler]

We are driving to WDW for a 10 night trip in November, but really this applies to pretty much all of our driving trips because my current method is driving me crazy

Because we are there for an extended period of time & driving thus use some of the items en route, what do you pack all your "essentials" in? I'm talking about the shampoo, conditioner, razors, sunscreen, tums, etc. In the past I usually put everything into a backpack and make sure it's put into the trnk upright just to ensure no spillage but I hate trying to dig through it trying to find smaller items. Also, once at the hotel, I'm one of those people that don't leave everything sitting out on the counter (with the exception of shampoo/conditioner I'll leave on the shower shelf), we use and put back into the bag so I'm looking for something that can be organized and easier to use than my current method.

A plastic bin with a snap on cover.

 

[Crl1817]

Have you looked at a hanging toiletry bag? LLbean makes some nice ones, in a variety of sizes. They zip up and hold everything, then they unzip and can be hung from a hook or towl bar in the bathroom.

 

[asmit4]

Same here~ Just trying to figure out packing in general. I have 2 nights in a hotel on the way there...so I have to pack the essentials so I don't have to unpack the entire car. Same on the way home.

I was thinking of doing plastic bins for everything but clothing. We are staying in a condo for our trip too so that's 7 nights of packing just for that....

We are bringing our crockpot- our non-parishables too- so that's 1 bin of just food.

It's gonna be a TON of stuff.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I think its amazing that you guys drive so far/for so long!! I'm amazed by it! I could never handle it!! My anxiety is better suited on a two hour flight

Nothing really to add but: "Good Luck on your trips!"

 

[asmit4]

I think its amazing that you guys drive so far/for so long!! I'm amazed by it! I could never handle it!! My anxiety is better suited on a two hour flight

Nothing really to add but: "Good Luck on your trips!"

Never driven as an adult before....but with airfare running 320/pp person we couldn't justify the expense. So driving it is! It's 18.5 hours from my house.

 

[tinktinktink]

Have you looked at a hanging toiletry bag? LLbean makes some nice ones, in a variety of sizes. They zip up and hold everything, then they unzip and can be hung from a hook or towl bar in the bathroom.

This is genius

 

[wergoin2camouse]

I Truly love my 31 organizing tote with all the sides and pockets for travel! I can even fit small rectangle tubs in bottom separated for each family member. At the resorts... I always use over door shoe organizer... One row for each person... Hung with wall cling hooks 3M that sustain plenty of weight (8 lbs I think)

Also... I have a whole Baggie full of those 3M hooks that I take and use when traveling . We use them for lanyards... swim suits... Whatever seems to need a home! Just have to replace sticky pads each trip... No damage to hotel

And lastly... I have two dollar store foldable boxes that stay in suit case... I pull those out and empty pockets into them!

 

[asmit4]

3M hooks! I love this idea!

What do you put in the shoe organizer? Is it used for toiletries?

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I think its amazing that you guys drive so far/for so long!! I'm amazed by it! I could never handle it!! My anxiety is better suited on a two hour flight

Nothing really to add but: "Good Luck on your trips!"

This will be our 3rd time driving to WDW - we usually go about every 4-5 years. I think the kids are so used to road trips and they have all the travel junk - games, dvd players, ipods, etc. that they travel well. The "crazy" part would be the straight through 23 hour drive It works for us but I get it doesn't work for a lot. There are various reasons why we drive - like have the car there to get around, family in FL so we generally have some day trips outside of WDW, and expense. For our family of 4 it's about $1400+ more or less while driving is about $350 round trip - even $400 counting food, coffee, etc. We leave around 5pm and drive through the night while the kids sleep so that helps too. We usually take 2 full weeks off from work and book around 9 nights so we have a few days at the tale end to take it easy at home before going back to work.

I Truly love my 31 organizing tote with all the sides and pockets for travel! I can even fit small rectangle tubs in bottom separated for each family member. At the resorts... I always use over door shoe organizer... One row for each person... Hung with wall cling hooks 3M that sustain plenty of weight (8 lbs I think)

What is this 31 organizing tote that you speak of? Never head of this one. Had thought of the plastic tote with snap cover but wanted to see how this works out for people who have used them.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

We always drive too. It's just too expensive to fly and get a rental car. We usually stay a night somewhere before checking into our rental so I just pack a backpack or small carry on with clothes, toiletries, etc for the 1 night. Much easier than dragging in the suitcases! As far as toiletries, I just use large ziploc bags. But I love the idea of a hanging bag or the snap lid plastic boxes!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

For a trip like that, we would stop for one night in each direction, so we would have:

1 bag for all the toiletries, sunscreen, etc for entire trip
1 bag with 2 changes of clothes for everyone
As many bags as required for what we wear at the destination

The first 2 bags are the only ones we'd bring into the hotels on the way down & back.

 

[rachael95]

This will date me as a child of the 80s - but they still make caboodles. They are awesome for organizing bathroom stuff in a way that will keep things upright.

 

[hpsalb]

I use a hanging organizer (mine is a Vera Bradley, but there are plenty of other styles). I keep it loaded with travel sizes and refill/replace as needed. I usually put it and the other things that won't fit in the organizer in a separate piece of small luggage that I use as a larger toiletry bag. Plus then I don't have to unload it all on the counter and then put it all back.

I traveled with a friend lately and she brought full sizes of everything. We were flying too, so I don't know why she did that. I wouldn't say I travel on a weekly basis, but often enough to keep travel size containers on hand.

Everyone generally has their own bags, but if we know we are stopping on the way, we consolidate the essentials and only bring in that bag.

I do love the Caboodles idea, lol!

 

[ajwolfe]

For a trip like that, we would stop for one night in each direction, so we would have:

1 bag for all the toiletries, sunscreen, etc for entire trip
1 bag with 2 changes of clothes for everyone
As many bags as required for what we wear at the destination

The first 2 bags are the only ones we'd bring into the hotels on the way down & back.

We always drive down and usually stop for a night on the way down and the way back. This is exactly what we do as well. It's much easier to just be able to grab the one bag full of clothes when you stop, then dragging everything in.
However, we do usually leave our stuff out on the counter at the hotel, but I did use my 31 tote this time to place some of the bigger stuff in, under the sink. We also purchased a hanging shelf organizer to make it easier to sort all of our clothing and such out this time, I would imagine you could use one of those for your health and beauty items if you wanted.

 

[katyjeka]

We have driven from Pa. several times. We love the family time in the car and usually have a great trip. I was gifted a thirty one bag a couple years ago and have bought several more. They make traveling in a car so easy and our bottle stay upright. Have a great trip.

 

[bshe3]

We love the x-large LL Bean toiletry bag. As far as plastic bins go I found the hard plastic to be bothersome in the car as they weren't comfortable to lean against or have crammed near anyone's feet.

 

[Heidi K]

Another vote for the LL Bean hanging toiletries bag. I believe we also have the extra large. It holds full-sized bottles of everything we need (there are 5 of us). We keep it packed year-round, so if we have a last minute overnight at Grandma's or have an upcoming longer vacation, we just grab it and know the bathroom supplies are all set. When we come home from a trip, I try to immediately replace anything that's running low.

 

[Figmentmommy]

We drive also- staying over one night in each direction. I usually pack a backpack with a change of clothes/pjs for each of us....Agreed that it's much easier to grab that one bag. I also have a smaller toiletry bag that I pack with all of our essentials which we take in with us. On our last trip we stayed at CSR which had a good amount of countertop near the sink so we left our toiletry bag tucked neatly in the far corner- this was very easy when getting ready each morning. Plus I also hate to have everything left out all over the place so this kept everything in its place....and me very happy!

 

[wergoin2camouse]

3M hooks! I love this idea! What do you put in the shoe organizer? Is it used for toiletries?

3M is a life saver! And mostly toiletries... Toothbrushes, hair brushes, sunblocks, some jewelry, medicine, and sometimes snacks (if it is hanging next to kitchen area!)