Packing light

[tcufrog]

My family recently took a month-long trip to the UK where we expected rain and a wide range of temperatures. Despite needing to pack for a wide range of climates I didn’t want to pack a lot of stuff. Frustrated, I spoke to a friend who travels all over the world with her 4 kids and expects each of them to carry their own stuff.

The trick she told me was to buy everyone convertible pants. Convertible pants have zippers just below the knee so that you can unzip the legs and turn them into shorts. The ones we bought from Academy for the kids were also made from quick dry fabric and didn’t wrinkle easily. They were so lightweight that 6 pairs (3 for each kid) took up almost no space in the luggage. I paired them with brightly colored (so I could spot them in a crowd) tech shirts I got on clearance that also dried quickly and didn’t wrinkle. This simple trick cut down my kids’ clothing space in the suitcase by more than 50%.

I’d love to hear everyone else’s packing light tricks.

 

[RUDisney]

I only allow everyone a carry on. I will ship liquids like sunscreen that are larger than TSA allows or we pick them up at a Sam's Club, etc. when we get to our destination, if we're renting a car.

 

[gotomu212]

We travel a lot and to a lot of places where luggage is really restrictive. SHOES to me are the biggest space suck. We limit ourselves to packing one pair of flip flops and wear our tennis/hiking shoes. If we absolutely also need nicer shoes we’ll also pack very lightweight flats or loafers.

We also accept a little less flexibility in choice. We might wear a nicer dress a few times or suffer through in pants if we’ll only need shorts for one day. The guys are sleeping in their boxers instead of pjs...that kind of things.

 

[Squirlz]

We do laundry. Just happens to be convenient at the places we go so we can do 10-14 nights with just a carry on.

 

[Pooh2]

We use packing cubes to organize our carry-on bag and do laundry every 5 days.
We pick up toiletries when we get to our destination.
We keep a list so we can stay focused, get what we need and get out of the store quickly.

 

[Klayfish]

We do laundry. Just happens to be convenient at the places we go so we can do 10-14 nights with just a carry on.

Yep, this. We're close enough to WDW that we drive now. But still, on a 17 day trip we'll bring 4 complete outfits, including the one we're wearing. That's it. All the kids clothes fit in a school size backpack for each of them, and DW and I fit in something pretty similar.

 

[BLAZEY]

I have done Europe for 3 weeks twice with a carry or slightly larger suitcase (24") I do have to carry some medical supplies with me that deplete as I use them. I don't save money by doing just carry on overseas as all overseas flights from here have 1 suitcase included in the cost of the cheapest ticket. For Europe I do recommend carrying all your packed bags around the house and up and down a few flights of stairs. I went 4 years ago with the in-laws (S-MIL is British but had not been back in 40 years) Lots of places don't have lifts or escalators, just lots of stairs. They took too much stuff and we ended up doing relays to move everyone and the luggage rather than everyone just carrying their own. DD and i were fine, SMIL couldn't handle her suitcases. While they are improving on this it takes lots of time and money to upgrade many of the very old buildings.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I used to pack things for my kids to do when we traveled. I would drag along activities, books, small toys, etc. And do you know what I found? Out of three kids, NONE of them really cared much about any of it. The new toys or activities never kept them entertained in a proportionate amount to the hassle those items were to drag around. By the time I was traveling alone with my youngest, we didn't travel with much more than an ipad of downloaded books, music, and games and then made use of the provided videos on the airplane. (Airplanes are one place where we don't usually place much of a limit on screen time.) Our son had his own headphones and that was about it. (Note: Long car trips were different. We carried a bin filled with books and other items when we knew we were spending 24+ hours in a car and didn't need to haul things through an airport.)

One thing I DO make sure to pack though, is one or two card games. We have had trips to Ireland where the evenings drag on because they roll up the streets at 6pm with nothing much to do, lay-overs in airports where we can pass the time with a game or two, and even use them as a quiet distraction when the kids are on a different time zone and it isn't time for breakfast yet.

Another separate tip, especially for those who like to read while on vacation is to purchase books at a library book sale, where they are often only about $1 each. When you finish a book, leave it behind for someone else to pick up and read. That way, there is space in your luggage being freed up for souvenirs on your way home. (I can't remember where I read it, but I have also heard of people doing this with their clothing...taking mostly older clothes they don't mind dumping before they come home and using the space for the items they bring back...I don't know if I could do that!)

 

[BLAZEY]

I used to pack things for my kids to do when we traveled. I would drag along activities, books, small toys, etc. And do you know what I found? Out of three kids, NONE of them really cared much about any of it. The new toys or activities never kept them entertained in a proportionate amount to the hassle those items were to drag around. By the time I was traveling alone with my youngest, we didn't travel with much more than an ipad of downloaded books, music, and games and then made use of the provided videos on the airplane. (Airplanes are one place where we don't usually place much of a limit on screen time.) Our son had his own headphones and that was about it. (Note: Long car trips were different. We carried a bin filled with books and other items when we knew we were spending 24+ hours in a car and didn't need to haul things through an airport.)

One thing I DO make sure to pack though, is one or two card games. We have had trips to Ireland where the evenings drag on because they roll up the streets at 6pm with nothing much to do, lay-overs in airports where we can pass the time with a game or two, and even use them as a quiet distraction when the kids are on a different time zone and it isn't time for breakfast yet.

Another separate tip, especially for those who like to read while on vacation is to purchase books at a library book sale, where they are often only about $1 each. When you finish a book, leave it behind for someone else to pick up and read. That way, there is space in your luggage being freed up for souvenirs on your way home. (I can't remember where I read it, but I have also heard of people doing this with their clothing...taking mostly older clothes they don't mind dumping before they come home and using the space for the items they bring back...I don't know if I could do that!)

DD only took a few items for entertainment. She sleeps well on planes, so that definitely helps as does our rule "you bring it you carry it" I pack the necessities and do laundry, even at Disney.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

My family of four travelled to Hawaii for 2 weeks with one carry-on luggage per person. The trick for us is to roll the clothes and wear darkish colors with quick drying material. I always bring small one wash tide pouches and have no problem washing underclothes/tops and drying them overnight. We wear our bulky clothes on the plane. Each person also has their own ziplock bag with travel size toiletries. It makes coming back home and unpacking so much easier!

 

[NotUrsula]

I also go with lightweight quick-dry pants, though not always zip-offs. Heavyweight jeans are banned for travel in my family.

My best tip if you are going somewhere where the weather can be chilly at times but also warm is to take very thin long underwear. I prefer silk, but wicking tech fabrics are also good.

 

[tcufrog]

My family of four travelled to Hawaii for 2 weeks with one carry-on luggage per person. The trick for us is to roll the clothes and wear darkish colors with quick drying material. I always bring small one wash tide pouches and have no problem washing underclothes/tops and drying them overnight. We wear our bulky clothes on the plane. Each person also has their own ziplock bag with travel size toiletries. It makes coming back home and unpacking so much easier!

That's impressive. Have you tried the Shout wipes? I take those on the long trips and have been able to extend the use of clothing before I have to wash it. It was especially handy on this trip since none of the places we stayed had dryers and some of them didn't even have drying racks. Now that my kids are older I make them share a backpack for the plane and walking around town during the trip. If they want something for the trip that's not clothes, toiletries or medicine they have to carry it themselves.

I'm also a big fan of packing darkish clothing. For this trip, I packed only black convertible pants, a lightweight black cardigan, a pair of black leggings that could layer under the pants if it was cold, an exercise hoodie for cold weather that took up little space, and dark shirts that go with black. The convertible pants were from Columbia. They looked like dressy slacks and you couldn't tell that they were convertible pants. We had a few formal things to attend so I took a dress similar to this one. It was lightweight, didn't wrinkle and took up almost no space in my luggage. It was so comfortable I wore it during regular days as well sometimes with my black leggings. Usually, my dh complains about me packing more clothes than him but his clothes took up way more space than my stuff did because he refused to take convertible pants like the rest of the family and instead packed jeans and bulky cargo shorts.

As for entertainment for the kids, both kids took Kindles loaded with books, a small travel game and one activity book. DS7 also took one small stuffed animal. When we had wifi access we'd download more books if they'd run out of reading material. We also loaded up our phones with audiobooks.

 

[2China2009]

I tend to overpack, but only fly SW airlines. She we are allowed 2 suitcases to check and then we each carry a back pack. Of course we are not gone as long as some are.

 

[DawnM]

I just got back from a 2.5 week trip. I did laundry twice. It worked well.

 

[powellrj]

Pick a color. I only take black pants/shorts and tops that match black. I can take a Vera Bradley carry-on and put it under the seat in front of me.

 

[Disneylover1970]

Next trip in February I’m packing light - going with a carry on probably. I like to pack black or gray shorts and all shirts go with both. I wear the heavier things and wear the same outfit home. I quit bringing shampoo. I only bring a small hair spray, saline and lotion.