How much clothing do you pack?

[TheCharmingLizard]

I have a 3 year old boy (so very messy!! ) and 5 year old girl.

We're staying for a week in June...

Like how many pairs of shorts and shirts... pjs... etc?

Thank you so much!

 

[ZoZo]

I say plan to do laundry mid-trip, so you can bring half the amount of clothes. I'm a compulsive over-packer, and always bring waaaay too many clothes. Love the freedom (and lighter suitcase) when I plan to do laundry. All of the resorts have coin-operated laundry facilities.

This is just me, but . . . I plan on on pair of shorts and one shirt per day, plus a few extras. If you're hot and sweaty, it's so refreshing to go back to the room, freshen up, and change into clean clothes. When it's hot and humid, clothes get sweaty, stretched out, and wrinkled- I hate to have to wear then again the next day!

 

[Lori1960]

Is the 3yr old potty trained if not you might want to bring extra shorts

 

[jmann]

I agree, I don't mind spending a couple of hours doing laundry. It's better than lugging a ton of clothes down.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

For the kids, I pack 9 outifts for 7 days and do some laundry mid-week. But if you don't want to do laundry...pack 2 outfits for each day.

 

[ILuvMulan]

The first time we went I packed way too much!!!! I didn't realize there were laundry facilities. The second trip it was worth it to do a little laundry during the week and have less to fit in (and on) the van.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

In our house, it's however much fits in each persons suitcase. We are 4 and we each have our own suitcase.

We also have to put our shoes in our suitcases.

When the kids were little I had to do laundry. They were just very messy. Not much has changed.

I'm thinking I may have to do a couple of loads of laundry this upcoming trip just because we don't own enough clothes for the whole week since we'll most likely be changing in the middle of the day.

 

[TheCharmingLizard]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm either an overpacker or an underpacker - I have yet to get it just right....

 

[natnelliesmom]

I used to plan 2 outfits a day for each child. I would pack them as outfits in a ziplock bag, which makes getting dressed simple each morning, and easy to throw an extra set in the backpack.
I would count on 2 pajamas each, and bring 2 bathing suits, extra socks and underwear.
Skip beach towels, and use the ones at the resort.

Now we stay in 1-BR villas through DVC, so we have our own washer and dryer in our room. What a change this has made in our vacation plans! I pack very lightly now, 3 outfits per person! We have been able to go on an 8 night trip and only bring one suitcase for 4 people!

-Sarah

 

[themousetrap]

We, too, are horrendous overpackers. We pack 2 outfits per day per person. There's always the main outfit and the contingency outfit. Whilst in the parks, though, we only take an extra outfit for the kid just in case he finds some way to soil his original wear.

 

[princessjane]

I used to do 2 outfits a day too. But now I do laundry mid-trip and I certainly like the lighter suitcase that comes with not over packing. So for a 7 day trip I bring 7 outfits plus a poncho, light summer sweater and extra undies but do laundry on Wed while my son is at the pool. Works out great.

 

[MJAJmom]

I'm packing right now, we leave on Friday 6/5 with DS4 and DS6 for 9 days. I'm solo with them, so don't plan on doing laundry. For PJs, they wear the same ones twice. 2 bathing suits each. 10 pairs of tshirts/shorts/socks. More concerned about having extra shirts due to sweating than extra shorts. Extra undies especially for DS4. One pair of sneakers and flip flops. A baseball hat and raincoat. Not bringing any jackets, pants or long sleeve shirts.

Now, if I was doing laundry, instead of bringing 10 pairs of shirts/shorts/socks, I'd trim that down by half.

 

[WillowBelle]

I have DD10 & DD8. We will be there for 6 days. I will have at LEAST 8 outfits per child, probably more. I plan on doing at least one load of laundry one afternoon while we're at Pop.

Washers and dryers cost $2/each per cycle to run. Bring your laundry detergent/bounce sheets and save some extra bucks. I've also noticed that it seems like more people are doing laundry at night than during the day - may be the perfect excuse for the kids to take a nap while you're flipping loads. I'll toss my girls in the pool while I'm doing ours - when it's time to fold and put away, they'll come back in and get ready for round two of being in the parks for the day.

 

[Raivyn]

For our 10 day trip coming up, we plan on bringing 4 outfits per person which will include the clothes on our backs, but 6 pairs of undies and socks. We will also bring swimsuits, one pair of water shoes, and one pair of walking shoes, and that's it. We don't plan on checking any luggage on the plane; if you can't carry it, you can't bring it.

When we did WDW and a cruise last January, we packed way too many clothes, and after adding the souveniers, it was a nightmare to pack and bring home, and we didn't need 50% of what we brought. With laundry facilities, we expect to need alot less.

We also purchased compression sacks so our clothes will be squished in our bags to give us more room for the crap we're gonna buy at WDW.

 

[TheCharmingLizard]

Thanks for all of the help!