*Overpackers Unite.. Am I the ONLY ONE? ....

[*love*2*shop]

Who TRIEs to not overpack and it does NOT work? We are 2A/ 2C for 8 days in Disney....Not including the kids carryons, but Just the Stuff UNDER the plane..HOW many Suitcases do *YOU* bring? Last year when my hubby and I went, we had soo much luggage we had several people asking if we were MOVING to Florida ..I really try..but as the days get closer..more stuff keeps appearing and more suitcases are stacking up? Hubby is Scared to say the least...

 

[all4fun]

There are three of us. We just got back from our last trip. We checked two large suitcases, a smaller suitcase (fully expanded), a "toiletry" size suitcase (one of those really small ones we only put our bathroom stuff in), plus we checked ds's car seat in a bag as well - so five checked bags. Plus we had a small rolling suitcase we carried on that holds the laptop and cameras + misc.. I also had a canvas tote as a carry on. So we did OK this last trip I think, but it still seemed like a ton of stuff. Especially considering we had to fit all that PLUS the large single jogging stroller in the back of MIL's Xterra when she picked us up at the airport (we used an airport shuttle service on the outgoing end). Thank goodness it all fit!

I feel your pain though. I was stressed about how much we were taking too but in the end it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Are you using DME? That definitely helped on the arrival side.

 

[newholidayx2]

Im leaving in 17 days and already the large and middle sized rolling suitcases are filled! I actually weighed the medium and had to take few of the water bottles out!
Im going solo for 14days/13nights and only allowed 2 suitcases! Dont have 2 to use from DS as he's not going on this trip
And I dont want to do laundry so may need to buy more food/juices down in FL than I anticipated!

yes i know i can ship a box - how far in advance does one need to ship? and average cost?

 

[all4fun]

Im leaving in 17 days and already the large and middle sized rolling suitcases are filled! I actually weighed the medium and had to take few of the water bottles out!
Im going solo for 14days/13nights and only allowed 2 suitcases! Dont have 2 to use from DS as he's not going on this trip
And I dont want to do laundry so may need to buy more food/juices down in FL than I anticipated!

yes i know i can ship a box - how far in advance does one need to ship? and average cost?

Go to www.ups.com and you can calculate shipping cost and the time it will take on their site. I decided not to ship a box on this last trip (only "consumables" I knew we would not be bringing back with us). The box was about 13lbs and I think it would have cost us almost $20 to ship and a week to get there (we're in the NW). So we decided not to ship.

One other thing we did bring with us though is a luggage scale like THIS. We are always stressing at the end of our trip about at least one of our bags being over weight. We usually use our weight scale at home but not going pack that thing! (LOL) We bought ours at Radio Shack of all places but Target sells them too. I know I know another thing to pack! LOL But it worked perfectly.

hth

 

[MomofKatie]

I am an overpacker!!

There are 3 of us (me, DH, and DD9) that are going to WDW for 8 nights in a week and a half- I have already filled our BIG suitcase and a large tote with stuff. I haven't even finished packing my clothes and shoes, and still have ALL of DH and DD's stuff to pack, not to mention the case of H2O, the b'fast and snack food, etc, etc, etc.

We will probably end up with 1 large, 2 medium, and 1 small suitcase, 1 large tote, 1 medium tote, and a large plastic bin full of food and water. Lucky for us we're driving, so we can stuff the back of the car with as much as we can.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

In May we took one large suitcase each (5-most all were very close to 50 lb. limit), one very large soft bag with a folded jogging stroller, and one medium sized suitcase with everyone's toiletries, hairdryers, straightening irons, and also a couple of extra soft bags to take home our souv., etc....7 bags in all...all of this for 5 people...NOT INCLUDING a carry on for each of us and an additional diaper bag for our toddler....if you do not think we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies walking into the Indy airport for departure you have to be kidding yourself!!! NOW....one the way home.... ....we had a total of....10 checked bags!!! That was the point I KNEW we had defiantly graduated onto having the "cement pond"!!!

 

[NemoMOm]

Wow, I thought I was bad.....bt I think I'm worse There is 3 of us we bring 3 suitcases checked and at least 3 carry ons sometimes4. Of course it does not help that DH HAS to ring the lap top

 

[DisneyMomx7]

DH believes I am the Queen of the Overpackers. There are 5 of us and we go to Disney for two weeks every summer. My record to date has been 11 checked suitcases and five carry ons!

We take a very early plane out of Philadelphia so we always stay at the Airport Hilton the night before and take the shuttle to the airport. Last summer the drive of the shuttle asked DH if we were relocating to Florida!

The real kicker is I had already shipped down two boxes before we left!

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

me! me! I am an overpacker, but have gotten better over the years because DH makes me take stuffs out of the suitcase! LOL If I could have packed the way that I normally would, we would have gone to WDW in August with way more suitcases ..well, in the end, we left with only 3 suitcases, and ONE carry-on which includes the laptop! That's for 2 adults and a 4 yo and a 2 yo. I could have easily packed at least 5 suitcases for all of us!

 

[mkycrzy1971]

DH believes I am the Queen of the Overpackers. There are 5 of us and we go to Disney for two weeks every summer. My record to date has been 11 checked suitcases and five carry ons!

We take a very early plane out of Philadelphia so we always stay at the Airport Hilton the night before and take the shuttle to the airport. Last summer the drive of the shuttle asked DH if we were relocating to Florida!

The real kicker is I had already shipped down two boxes before we left!

Oh yeah...I shipped a 15 lb box of snacks and breakfast foods too!! Thanks for reminding me!!!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Well I ordered the snacks and breakfast items from garden grocer - the boxes I packed were costumes, stuffed animals, tinkerbelle gifts, our "Disney gear" - ponchos, water spray/fan bottles, etc.

Glad to know I'm not the only overpacker - to hear DH tell it we are the only family that arrives with that many suitcases!

 

[noahdove]

I went 2 years ago and I only had 1 large suitcase and a small like duffel bag. Actually the duffel bag had my snacks, and extra film, plus extra shoes I take 1 pair of shorts and top per day...I have my undies, socks in a zip lock baggie so when I go to shower, I take the clothes laid out the night before and the baggie. My shower supplies went on top of my clothes in the big suitcase..I might add, that the big suitcase really isn't that big Oh, yes, I put a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and a foldable mat(we sit on it to watch parades, illuminations) I never have been an overpacker, I have in the past, take "extra" clothes in case of rain, spilling, but no more...I have tide packets so if something does get messy, toss in sink and rinse out I ship nothing either It must be my conditioning that I always have a small bag packed and ready to hit the road at any time....Honestly and sincerely tho, do you really think people will look at you to see IF you or someone else has spilled on you or themselves???I am too excited to think about anyone else's clothes, shoes etc..please go and have an awesome time...you only have these days to live once

 

[*love*2*shop]

glad i am not the only one...right now we are up to atleast 4 PACKED full large suitcases to go UNDER the plane( i am thinking it will be 5 or 6 by next week when we leave)

Each of us will have a carryon and we have the Double stroller....
YES sir, we are only VISITING FL not moving here....hehe..I have ALWAYS been like this and am like this at home..it takes me 1/2 hr each night to decide on what i will wear the next day, shoes etc..mood, rain.......hubby calls it


HIGH MAINTENENCE

OH and I already Placed a 100.00+ order from Garden Grocer...

 

[star2500]

Laughing reading these posts and thinking of our last trip. We went for 15 days in August. I can't even remember how many pieces of luggage we had...all I know there was ALOT!!! There were 2 adults 3 children....so had all the extras carseat..each kid with a backpack...diaper bag...thermos for bottles....that's just carryon. When we got to the airport of course I was over in lbs. It didn't help that my luggage that I borrowed was heavy to begin with. The guy said rather than paying extra...we sell hugh duffle bags just put stuff in there. So here I am near the ticket counter trying to take stuff out of the heavy bags...of course one was mine...underwear falling out and pack this hugh duffle bag. We describe ourselves as the "Grisswald's" Disney Vacation lol. The funniest part is was so ungodly hot...that we all wore the same 2-3 coolest outfits we had. Thank god for washer and dryers. We wore 2 outfits out of 15 I brought for everyone lol.

We go next month again. My dilema now is the uncertain weather. From what I hear we need to pack expecting it to be cold and hot. So I swear (right hand up to God lol) that each person (6 of us this time 3 A 3C) that each person will have one piece of luggage and a carryon....That's IT!...I hope...I pray. lol

Wish me luck!

 

[bzzymom]

How much I pack really depends on when we go. For example, when we went in August last year we took 2 large suitcases, 1 medium and a train case. DH and DS shared a large case and DD and I shared the other. The medium case had swimwear, cover-ups, water shoes and toys for the pool. The train case had all the toiletries, and accessories we needed. When we went in January, it was much different because you have to pack for all temperatures. Jeans, sweatshirts, t's and shorts. We took plenty of each. DH and I each had a large case, and DS and DD each had a medium case plus DD was in diapers, so I took a small case filled with diapers and wipes. I didn't want to buy them down there, and the train case, plus a soft, collapseable case we packed to bring souveniers home in.

 

[SandrainNC]

I am an overpacker too!!! And this time there will be 4 of us instead of 3!! By the time you bring your clothes (which in November means clothes for both warm weather and chilly weather), pack n plays, sheets for the thing, diapers, wipes, toys, and the usual toiletries it gets crazy! I did an order through Garden Grocery this time, so that should save us some room in the car (my canned drinks and bottled water take up a lot of room) and I got some of those space bag things and am going to squish the kids clothes I think to try to help fit everything in less suitcases. We shall see.

I told DH that it wouldn't be so bad if he would let me book one of the suites with a washer and dryer!

Sandra

 

[Mom2JoeyandBen]

We a overpackers. I always tell DH we pack like we are moving to Disney World. Before we had our second baby, we use to say that we would have no room for another child in the car because we packed so much. We have gotten better, but I will say my DH's newest idea is to invite his parents with us and we pack up stuff in thier car. That is our plan for our Oct trip and Dec trip. This allow DH to overpack. He is really bad with planning his clothes and stuff.

 

[NotUrsula]

When we went in January, it was much different because you have to pack for all temperatures. Jeans, sweatshirts, t's and shorts. We took plenty of each.

Let me say that I'm a long-reformed former overpacker. The above sentence just JUMPS out at me as symptomatic of the problem and how it can be fixed.

First off, repeat after me, NO JEANS!!! (Well, you can have one pr. *if* you are going horseback riding, but no more!) Jeans are heavy, bulky, take forever to dry, and do not keep you warm when it is cold. They are a terrible choice for any kind of travel. Instead, pack zip-off pants or lighter trousers such as windpants or khakis, plus two prs. of very thin long underwear (I like silk, but hi-tech wicking fabric is good, too. And yes, you can buy it for kids.)

One water-resistant fleece jacket and pr. of gloves packed in a space bag will keep you warm when worn over a t-shirt; no need for as many long-sleeve shirts as short, and wearing the tee underneath keeps the fleece from getting smelly. Fleece also resists spills, so that's a plus, too.

 

[coolbeans]

Hi, I'm Kathie, an overpacker . I always overpack, but it's not always a bad thing. We went on a day trip recently to Kings Dominion and realized once we got to the park and paid for the tix that one day admission was the same price as two days...so we HAD to stay overnight. I had a change of clothes for everybody packed (because there is a water park and I wanted clean, dry clothes for the ride home anyway), plenty of diapers for DS, the only thing we were missing was pj's so we bought a couple of souvenier t-shirts and slept in those.

 

[CantWaitToGo2007]

I'm an overpacker too. I blame it on my mom she was my Girl Scout leader and taught me to always be prepared