Help me pack!

[Erica09M]

We leave in about 3 weeks, and I'm ready to start getting things in the suitcases... but I have no idea where to start! Originally I was thinking I'd be able to pack the girls' clothes early because I didn't think we'd have warm enough weather here at home for them to wear their tanks. But at last the Indiana weather hasn't failed to be unpredictable! We've had 80+ degree temps already so the girls are wearing their tanks and such that I had planned to pack.

Tell me where to start! I feel like I need to do something!

 

[aubriee]

I'm a big believer in lists. That way I don't forget anything. Make a master packing list then make another list for each day where you list a complete outfit for each day. For the master packing list, I always start with things like IDs, credit cards, insurance info, list of ADRs, park tickets if you already have them, resort and flight info, tip envelopes for mousekeeping and baggage handlers, ponchos and/or umbrellas, park bag, cell phone and camera battery chargers, medications, etc. Be sure to include prescription meds as well as things like Motrin, cold meds, bengay, Pepto, Vitamin C, eye drops, etc. Then I add things like sunscreen, swimsuits, sunglasses, sleep wear, underwear, socks and toiletries. Then I use the second list to write down each day, where I'm going and a complete outfit for each day (including hair accessories and jewelry if you wear them). If you are doing any signature restaurants be sure to add outfits for them too. Finally I choose which shoes to take. Add the specific clothes and shoes you're taking to your master list. For me it takes longer to pack toiletries than clothes, so I try to always keep them packed in an organizer and just refill after every trip. Be sure to include things like mole skin, body glide, deodorant, razors, shower gels and lotions, shampoos, conditioner (if you like your own like I do), hair products, foot lotions, facial cleanser and moisterizer, nail file, extra contacts, contact lens case, and contact solution, tweezers, toothbrush, toothpaste, small pair of scissors to cut off any tags of stuff you buy, makeup, makeup brushes, hand sanitizer, brush, comb, flat iron, hair scrunchies, clothes pins to keep the drapes closed, etc. If you plan to do any laundry then go ahead and pack little baggies with laundry detergent, fabric softener, and mini M&M containers full of quarters. If you are doing pressed pennies then pack mini M&M containers of quarters and pennies. Go ahead and pack autograph books, glow sticks, mist spray fans, and window decorations if you are planning on using them. If you use ziplock bags to pack, then pack extra as well as extra 3-1-1 bags in case they get torn. Get your toiletries together early, then just pack the rest using your list. If you pack laundry supplies, swimsuits, sunscreen, autograph books, room decorations, prefilled tip envelopes, park bag, change for pressed pennies, night clothes, etc early, leave out just what you'll be wearing up until you leave. That way your kids can wear their clothes until the last minute. I usually don't pack clothes until the weekend before I leave. Right now I have a trip booked for May 1st-9th and just this week made sure all my toiletries are full and packed in a hanging Vera Bradely toiletry organizer I have. I use a hanging organizer for clothes, that I got at Wal Mart so dropped that in, along with swimsuit and coverup packed into a small packing cube. I can not sleep without noise, so have already dropped my extra white noise machine into my carry on. I also use mineral makeup and bought some little 3 gr jars on ebay that screw together. Screwed together the canister is about an inch around and maybe 8 inches long. They hold enough for 2-3 trips. I refill them after each trip if needed, with foundation, top coat, 2 blushes, primer, and six eyeshadows, then keep with them a little crystal 3" diameter flat candle holder that I got at the dollar store that I use to sprinkle my foundation in. So all I have to pack makeup wise are the brushes, mascara, and eyelash curler. My flight info, resort info, prefilled tip envelopes, list of ADRs, etc I have in a folding divider thingy that I use and it's already in my carry on. Those are the only things I have packed right now. As anything goes in a carry on or suitcase, it gets checked off the packing list. I'll pack my clothes on the 25th.

I'm a big believer in packing folders and packing cubes, so use those to pack, putting clothes in the folders and underwear, sleepwear, and loose items in the cubes. I also use a hanging organizer I got at Wal Mart to place all my clothes in. I take the neatly folded clothes out of the packing folders (already matched into outfits) and just place them on the shelves in the organizer that I've hung up on the closet rod in the room. Each shelf holds several outfits and because it hangs straight down I can easily get 9 days (or more) worth of clothes in it, but it takes up only about a foot of space on the closet rod. Any clothes I have for the nicer restaurants I use Downy spray wrinkle releaser on, hang in the bathroom while I'm taking a hot bath so the wrinkles will fall out of them, then I hang them up separately. I keep dryer sheets both in my luggage and packing folders, so my luggage always smells nice. I usually change those out just before and just after a trip. I don't do laundry on vacation. So every night when I come in, I take the time to neatly fold my clothes back into a packing folder, so that at the end of the week all I have to do is drop the already repacked packing folders back into my luggage, drop in the hanging organizer and the empty packing cubes, roll up the toiletry bag and put it in, then place my shoes in the crannies. This way on my last day, I can usually be packed and out of the room in less than 10 minutes. I hate repacking to go home, so try to make it as easy as possible by taking just a minute or two each night to pack my dirty clothes away neatly and keep my toiletries in their organizer. When I get home, I just drop the dirty clothes out of the packing folders into the laundry room, wipe down the folders and cubes with pinesol, put them in a 2 gallon zip lock in the top of the closet with a fresh dryer sheet, refill the toiletries and hang the toiletry organizer in the back of my closet, and put another dryer sheet in both my carry on and checked bag to keep them smelling nice until my next trip. Wow, that was long winded and rambling. Sorry, but hopefully you get the idea. lol Make a master packing list, stick with it, and you won't forget anything, nor will you overpack.

I use these:

http://www.magellans.com/store/Packing_Organizers___Packing_Cubes___FoldersLP620?Args=

http://www.magellans.com/store/Packing_Organizers___Packing_Cubes___FoldersLP618?Args=

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/medium-packing-cubes-3pc-set/48439

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/slim-packing-cubes-3pc-set/107842

http://www.verabradley.com/product/Hanging-Organizer/1000947/defaultColor/Loves Me/p/1000947.uts

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10574576&findingMethod=rr&

 

[prlnoirpir8]

Wow!! Aubriee must be a professional packer/organizer!! (Or else a professional DisneyPhile!) Nothing to add, other than I like to roll my clothes

 

[AKL LOVER]

I'm a big believer in packing folders and packing cubes

Can I ask what you mean by packing folders and cubes??


OP: I like to lay out an open suitcase or bag in my bedroom a couple weeks in advanced to throw anything random I might think of at the moment to take with me. If it's in my hand and I think, I want this in Disney, I toss it in the bag. Then it's there for when I'm ready to pack everything else (from a list I've made) a few days before my trip.

 

[aubriee]

Can I ask what you mean by packing folders and cubes??


OP: I like to lay out an open suitcase or bag in my bedroom a couple weeks in advanced to throw anything random I might think of at the moment to take with me. If it's in my hand and I think, I want this in Disney, I toss it in the bag. Then it's there for when I'm ready to pack everything else (from a list I've made) a few days before my trip.

Check out the links I've posted below. Be sure to read the reviews. I used to roll my clothes and use zip lock bags, but the packing folders and cubes leave less wrinkles and you'd be surprised at how much they hold. They just keep stretching. With the packing folders everything is folded neatly and to exactly the same size, then laid flat in the folders with the packing guide on top and the air squished out and then secured tightly so nothing moves around in it. The packing cubes are partially open mesh so air can't get trapped in them like it does in zip locks and they just keep stretching. Both stack neatly in your luggage making it easy to find everything. When you get to your destination, just slide the clothes out of the folders still neatly folded and just place the cubes in the dresser drawers and your stuff never touches the drawers themselves. I now pack more, but have more room in my suitcase. You just have to be careful with weight, as your luggage will hold alot more. I like to use duffel bags and the packing folders and packing cubes makes it really easy to organize a bag. I bought my first packing folders and packing cubes from ebags, but later found some cheaper at TG Maxx. Someone here on the DIS told me about how great they are. If you read the reviews you will see that something like 98% of the people recommend them and say they'd repurchase.

I've always been an overpacker and for a 9 day trip carry a large personal item, an overstuffed carry on, and a large duffel that's also stuffed. This past Oct I wanted to just see if I could do carry on only. I packed for 9 days with just a personal item and a carry on, using an 18" packing folder, two slim packing cubes, and one medium packing cube. I packed mainly shorts, capris, and t shirts, but because I had ADRs for five signature restaurants also packed two skirts, a sleeveless dress, and a pair of gauchos, plus a swimsuit and coverup, two pair of flip flops and a pair of nice sandals. Again all in a 21" carry on and a 12"x14" tote. No way could I have done it without squishing everything into the packing folders and cubes.

http://www.magellans.com/store/Packing_Organizers___Packing_Cubes___FoldersLP620?Args=

http://www.magellans.com/store/Packing_Organizers___Packing_Cubes___FoldersLP618?Args=

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/medium-packing-cubes-3pc-set/48439

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/slim-packing-cubes-3pc-set/107842

 

[Melknor]

I'm a firm believer in packing lists as well. I have one in excel that I use and them print out and add things as I think of them to the list. Last weekend the suitcases came out and I started putting in the odds and ends. This weekend I will start in on the clothes with last minute stuff thrown in the morning we leave. I'm sure I over-pack since I bring a first aid kit and meds, but I like to be prepared just in case..........

 

[aubriee]

oops, double posted

 

[AKL LOVER]

Aubriee--Thanks so much for sharing this idea! I checked the links out and love them. I guess I should have looked at the links to begin with in your originial post. I just read the post then replied without checking them first. I am ordering some for our next trip. Just one question about the folders--can you only fit one outfit in each or more? Does it depend on the size of the clothes? I was thinking maybe for my kids clothes I could fit more than one of their outfits in each folder so I wouldn't have to buy as many.

Thanks again! I love getting new tips/ideas on these boards

 

[aubriee]

Aubriee--Thanks so much for sharing this idea! I checked the links out and love them. I guess I should have looked at the links to begin with in your originial post. I just read the post then replied without checking them first. I am ordering some for our next trip. Just one question about the folders--can you only fit one outfit in each or more? Does it depend on the size of the clothes? I was thinking maybe for my kids clothes I could fit more than one of their outfits in each folder so I wouldn't have to buy as many.

Thanks again! I love getting new tips/ideas on these boards

I am definitely pooh sized and last Oct I fit 9 pairs of shorts/capris, and 11 blouses in a 18" one. Now granted I packed the thinnest shorts and blouses I owned and I had to force the flaps of the packing folder closed, but they did hold. Because they were squished in there, they did have wrinkles when I took them out, but they did fit. I carried a 21" Heys Exotic hard sided spinner for a carry on and that 18" packing folder fitted exactly in the top half of the bag with the suitcase divider secured, leaving the bottom half of the carry on for two slim cubes, a medium cube, two rolled up broomstick skirts, and then I slipped a pair of sandals and two pairs of flip flops along the sides. I like to use the 20" packing folder for my checked bag as I can get 9 days worth of shorts/capris and blouses in it. I use the 18" one for my carry on and could get probably 7 shorts and blouses in it really comfortably without having to force it closed. The 15" one I don't use much, but it would be good for kids clothes I guess. Just be sure to use the packing guide to fold the clothes correctly, so they'll fit into the folder using the minimum space.

I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to packing, as I usually overpack, but someone here on the DIS recommended the packing folders and cubes, so I thought I'd try them. I love them.