Help me pack light!!

[PEANUT1]

Calling all expert packers. I have an overpacking problem I am trying to cure. My plan for our 8 day trip in January is to pack a roll on carry on and backpack for each member of my family and check NO bags!!! can i do it?

We are staying at the THV so we will have a washer/dryer. I would just like some tips from those of you who have masterd the art of packing light.
We are doing the DDP so we dont need to pack food. We plan to stop at the grocery store to pick up milk/cereal and such for breakfasts and then dine out for lunch and dinner

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[wdwnut]

Just pack coordinating shirts, shorts, and pants. Make sure you have a couple of jackets/sweaters. We have done many trips with just carry-ons.

 

[goldwest]

I find if I limit myself to outfits for half of the days (lay them all out on the bed) instead of what I might just need - I then take less. I also try to have shirts and bottoms that can be mixed with each other so if one part of an outfit is dirty, I can switch around.

 

[Tink6666]

We pack Purex soap to wash the clothes...It is similar to a dryer sheet, but is one sheet for soap,softner and dryer sheet. It helped us only pack three shirts, shorts, socks, etc. per person on our last 6 day trip. I did a load of laundry each evening when we arrived back at the resort or did it mid day when we had our relaxing time and it was raining. It worked great! The two teenage girls tried to bargin with mom to bring extra clothes though I think the trick is to have all items mix & match. We are going in June again and it will be one carryon per person since there will be 6 of us and we are driving from MN to FL! No extra room in the suburban for a lot of suitcases!

Good Luck!

 

[Cora]

We have it down to 3 or 4 outfits each (includes what we wear down). We no longer check bags and it's great. Even if we didn't have the washer dryer I would still rather send out the laundry.

 

[photobob]

We leave then washer and dryer running every time we leave the villa. We keep them running a good bit when we are in the room too. We drive but still try to pack as lightly as possible.

The last trip we went to Vero Beach and had four of us in a Honda Accord and had to make everything fit in the trunk. I am a professional photographer and had been hired to shoot some family photos for some DVCers at the resort at the same time, so I had to fit my camera gear in there as well. We also took two boogie boards. I think we used every square inch of the trunk! We used multiple soft duffle bags for suitcases so that they would form better to the space available.

 

[PEANUT1]

thanks guys for the advice!! I am just so tired of lugging so much stuff down that I don't end up wearing..I am thinking of rolling the clothes and putting them in plastic baggies..I have heard some people saying that this really saves space..My biggest problem is the shoes. Normally I pack at least 6 pairs. This trip, I am going to wear my sneakers and pack a pair of flip flops, crocs, and one pair of nice sandals to wear out in the evening for our date night

I think I am going to pack 2 pairs of shoes, 4 outfits, 2 pj's and 2 bathing suits for each of my girls..normally I pack like 10 or more outfits and they want to wear the same things over and over again anyway.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Sometimes, it's difficult to pack for significant weather changes. This is why I'm already loving my owner's locker. We left sweatshirts, light jackets, flipflops and swimsuits on our last visit. I can pack a couple pair of jeans and shorts, t-shirts and maybe a casual dress. We also left toilettries and commons meds (tylenol, sinus meds, aloe,), band-aids, etc.

This leaves a lot of room in a carry-on.

 

[pickles]

why 2 bathing suits? They only need one that fits and is useable
we pack clothes for half the days so an 8 day trip would warrant 4 days clothes. we usually buy new socks everytime we go, so we each have a pack of socks(we go thru socks fast at our house)
we wear our long sleeves, pants etc.. while traveling, so we dont have to pack the bulky stuff, we wear it
why do you need so many shoes? We wear our sneakers and I guess I could see packing one other set of shoes for date night if you plan on wearing a dress or something
I used ziploc bags last time for the kids. that was a great idea! kept them organized. At the end of each day , they changed and put their clothes in the washer. clothes were washed at night while we slept and dried during the day while we were at the parks and then repacked into their baggie before bed.

caution on the purex wash sheet. try this at home first. I bought those for our trip and my poor son had a terrible reaction to them. he looked like he had the measles and couldnt stop itching It tooks us 2-3 days to figure out his problem and get him some relief. we are not the type family that usually has allergies

we do send some of our bags thru baggage, usually they contain water and any medicines, shampoos etc...we use only back packs with wheels, and each kid pulls his own.

 

[ssawka]

Invest in a couple pairs of "convertible" pants (where the legs zip off) That way you are prepared for either warm or cool weather.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Have you ever tried packing in compression sacks? We have 3 of these for hiking, and for our trip last week, we each had one for clothes. I managed to get 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of shorts, 3 t shirts, socks and such, bathing suit, and a fleece jacket into one. That fits easily into a small carry on, with plenty of room for flip flips, and all the other stuff for a week. We each had a carry on bag, and then I had my backpack, my son had a bag for all his diabetes stuff, and my husband had his laptop bag. More than enough stuff for a week.

Have fun!

 

[LisaZ1113]

Sometimes, it's difficult to pack for significant weather changes. This is why I'm already loving my owner's locker. We left sweatshirts, light jackets, flipflops and swimsuits on our last visit. I can pack a couple pair of jeans and shorts, t-shirts and maybe a casual dress. We also left toilettries and commons meds (tylenol, sinus meds, aloe,), band-aids, etc.

This leaves a lot of room in a carry-on.

I'm sorry to sound ignorant, but we are new DVC members...could you please explain the owners locker?? Sounds good!

 

[TLSnell1981]

I guess, it's okay for me to post this link. There frequently are threads, regarding "the purple lockers", on the Dis.

http://ownerslocker.com

 

[CarolAnnC]

We wear layers of clothing down on the plane, and I tend to now pack more "slinky" type material clothing. They can be rolled up, and do not wrinkle in the suitcase. Plus they wash out easily. I have gotten better at packing in recent years, but used to take far too much myself.

 

[MomBird]

Great goal to pack light!

On our last trip, I used the one or two gallon ziploc bags for the kids clothes and that really helped. I used the "rolling method" for the clothes and then after they were in the ziploc bag tried to roll the extra air out as well. We have those giant airtight bags too that save a lot more space, but the ones that I have require a vaccum to withdraw the extra air so I didn't opt for those.

For shoes on this last trip, like you I narrowed it down quite a bit! I didn't actually pack tennis shoes for myself because I prefer to wear my Reefs around the park anyway. I then packed just a couple of pairs on nice sandals. For my daughter, I packed tennis shoes and flip flops - same thing for DH and DS.

I usually pack a ton of books (even though it's Disney!) but this time, we each packed only one book and tried to make it one that we could somewhat share with each other if we wanted. And I didn't pack any DVD's as they can be checkout out through member services anyway.

Good luck on light packing and have a great trip!

 

[dopeygirl76]

I am a reformed overpacker!!! I used to bring 5 prs of shoes for a week!!! Now I bring 2 prs of crocs - that is all I wear anyway - actually I wear one and pack one. DH wears his tennis shoes and I pack his crocs - DDs had 2 crocs and 1 tennis shoes - they are still small so their shoes don't take up much room!!!

 

[DizGirl20]

Thank you for posting this question - what a great thread!

Our luggage was lost at the start of our last trip. We eventually got it delivered to the room but it was nerve-wracking waiting it to show up. And it made me realize - what do I really need all this for?!?!?

I am going to try the "packing light" strategy in May. My 2 girls and I both have large Vera Bradley bags that hold a surprising amount of clothing. We are staying in a villa with a washing machine so I am only planning on bringing 2-3 days worth of clothes for a 7 day trip. We always end up buying Disney clothing when we get there so I am taking that into consideration as well.

Shoes are the biggest dilemma - for the kids they wear sneakers on the plane so I will just pack them 1 pair of flip-flops. For me, same thing plus a pair of nicer dressier sandals. Think about it - how you remember what anyone was wearing on their feet last trip? As much as I love shoes, I never pay attention to what anyone else is wearing at Disney

Happy Planning!

 

[DizGirl20]

Oops - sorry for they typos - I type too fast once I get going!!!

 

[DisneySJB]

Since you are stopping at the store, you could also pick up some travel sized things your might need (deodrant, soap, sunblock, etc) When you leave, if there is anything left over, just pitch it.

 

[TSMIII]

Try this site www.onebag.com

Even if you're travelling with more than one bag, it has many great tips and techniques as well as some good links to other sites.