Ziplock packing

[katytrott]

I would so love to give the ziplock system of packing a go this year (putting kids outfits for one day in a bag etc). I do have a few questions about it however, and I am hoping there are few of you out there in the same situation as me and have experience:

We are staying offsite, in Kissimee, in my parents in law villa. Therefore we have use of a washing machine and dryer. Using the ziplock method would be great to avoid clothes getting messed up and speed in getting kids ready in the morning.

We are flying from the UK and have limited baggage weight due to our cheap airline, and will be abroad for 14 days. Obviously using the ziplock system with an outfit for each day, for 2 kids, would mean 28 different outfits - thats a lot of clothing that is uneccesary in our situation.

1: Does anyone still use the ziplock system even if they are going to wash regularly?

2: Does anyone have any suggestions of how to work this system for less days then they are away for?

Thanks everyone

 

[dizneemom]

I used it and it was so easy for my 2 daughters to get ready in the mornings. After I washed clothes I just refilled the bags and we were good for another few days. Let me tell ya-I was amazed at how much this helped me!

 

[thebeesknees]

When we go on vacation for a week, I pack enough clothes for 4 days and wash halfway through. I still pack everything in ziploc bags because it makes it so much easier in the mornings to just had each kid a bag and know there is everything in it they need - no scrambling for socks, etc. After washing everything halfway through the week, I sort it back into the bags and put them in the dresser drawers to be ready for the next day.

Now in your situation, you could pack for as many days as you'd like, but I'd do no more than 7 and probably more like 5 or 6 and just do laundry a couple of times while you are there. Since you have 2 full weeks and easy access to the washer and dryer, it shouldn't be too hard to throw a load in at night once or twice. That will save room in your bags for souvenirs!

 

[Chelley00]

I use Ziplocs for every member of my family. I don't pack outfits for the older ones or DH or me, but for the little kids I pop in shorts, shirt, underwear, socks, hair things etc by day, then pack a few extras shirts/pajamas/swimsuits in other Ziplocs. I usually take enough for half of the trip plus a day or two and then do laundry about halfway through our trip.

I throw in a load of laundry in the washing machine before we leave for the day, then shove it in the dryer when we get back, get the kids in the bathtub and in to bed, then fold it all.

 

[Nicolepa]

We always have access to a washer/dryer (DVC) so I pack for 3 days, no matter how long the trip is. Then like a pp I put a load in the am and dry when we get home. One day is lights the next is darks. If it's not lite or dark is doesn't go with us (ie red).

When I pack at home each bag gets shirt, shorts, undies, socks. I put a ziplock just of pj's (on bag for each kid). After I wash the clothes I just sort them back into outfits and stuff them back in the ziplock.

This way of packing is wonderful. When the kids were really little it allowed dh to dress them w/o me stressing. Now that they are older I can ensure that they dress cute w/o having to nag them. They just grab a bag and go!

 

[katytrott]

Thank you everyone. Some great, practical tips from you all. You have convinced me it can work and I will do this system, this trip

 

[dizneechic]

My only word of caution is when you pack in ziplocks and squeeze out the air before placing in your suitcase you can easily go over weight limits because you can fit SO much more in your bag! We did a 10 day trip for the 5 of us in Feb with winter clothes (was dang cold!) and still only brought 2 suitcases. They were both maxed though at 48lbs each and we had to be very careful packing to come home to make sure the weight was balanced (so 1 bag wasn't over our allotted 50lbs).

We use the ziplock system a lot when the kids go to grand parents houses and used it going to the parks, but found we ended up hanging up clothes after washing as outfits with the bags of undies and socks over the hangers rather than repacking the ziplocks after laundry.

 

[DbleTheFun]

Ziplock system is the ONLY way we travel. As a twin mom who's husband is useless when it comes to dressing the boys, I pack a ziplock for each day with every item they need to wear that day. (including sweaters if we are going to be there into the night), it's such a relief to know all my hubby needs to do in the morning is pull out a bag and get them dressed while I am having a shower. Makes mornings so much less stressful. (Plus it helps me find all the missing socks at the end of the week!)

 

[KristyBDJ]

Ok, so what about wrinkles? Is it an issue? I suppose not more so than regular packing?

 

[dizneechic]

Ok, so what about wrinkles? Is it an issue? I suppose not more so than regular packing?

This is why after the initial pull out and wear we started hanging ours up. Personally I don't care about a few wrinkles, my dh on the other hand irons his jeans so seeing them in the kids clothes was driving him a little batty (even though there weren't THAT many).

 

[brergnat]

I used the ziploc system, but with a twist.

I put ALL the boy's underwear in one ziploc. ALL the boys socks in another. ALL t-shirts for ONE kid in ONE ziploc. I rolled up the pants, no ziplocs.

When we arrived at the resort, I just "dumped" the ziploc bag contents into drawers, one drawer for each child, and a shared drawer for underwear and socks.

I brought twice as many shirts as pants for the kids. Pants can usu. be worn twice before washing.

My boys like to choose their own clothing, so the "one outfit in each ziploc" system would not work for us. This system probably works well for BABIES and kids up to maybe 2 years old. Then, kids begin to have opinions about what they want to wear...

 

[ccgirl]

My DD is 7 and my DS is 2. My DD loves this method. She will help me pack initially at home but loves just being able to pick out a ziploc bag (which I have written the day of week on) to wear. This also affords me piece of mind in that if somthing breaks or leaks in our, or someone else's luggage, the clothes won't get ruined. I also pack a thin laundry bag and hang it on the door so the kids can put their dirty clothes in there. Have fun!

 

[tzolkin]

I put ALL the boy's underwear in one ziploc. ALL the boys socks in another. ALL t-shirts for ONE kid in ONE ziploc. I rolled up the pants, no ziplocs.

When we arrived at the resort, I just "dumped" the ziploc bag contents into drawers, one drawer for each child, and a shared drawer for underwear and socks.


My boys like to choose their own clothing, so the "one outfit in each ziploc" system would not work for us. This system probably works well for BABIES and kids up to maybe 2 years old. Then, kids begin to have opinions about what they want to wear...

I pack individual outfits in ziplock bags, but like you each kid has their own ziplock bag of just socks and underwear. I know most people put the whole outfit (incl socks/undies) in each bag, but we bathe/shower before bed and don't wear socks every day (crocs, flipflops).

Each kid has their own drawer of ziplock bags.


As for choosing their own clothing, they help me pack the outfits and they can pick which ever outfit from their drawer each day.



OP: We went to FL with three kids for 3 weeks in 2008. We were visiting family for the first part of the trip. The day before we headed to Disney, I washed all the kids clothes and packed their outfits back into the ziplock bags. No problem.

 

[nazym86]

I love this idea and Im doing it. It will be great for my DD, But I'd like to do it for my DH and myself. Is it practical for adults as well?

 

[dizneechic]

I love this idea and Im doing it. It will be great for my DD, But I'd like to do it for my DH and myself. Is it practical for adults as well?

For the regular gallon sized ziplocks our clothes didn't fit. Maybe in Summer with tank tops and light weight shorts it could, but we wear a lot of denim (jeans, shorts) and trying to get them in a gallon ziplock with a top was near impossible (without a wrinkled mess). They do make the larger ziplocks which we tried, but those were just too big and it wasn't worth the effort there.

 

[lucyem]

For the regular gallon sized ziplocks our clothes didn't fit. Maybe in Summer with tank tops and light weight shorts it could, but we wear a lot of denim (jeans, shorts) and trying to get them in a gallon ziplock with a top was near impossible (without a wrinkled mess). They do make the larger ziplocks which we tried, but those were just too big and it wasn't worth the effort there.

We have the same problem. We zip lock underwear and socks in their own zip locks and for each child and adult. Made life a little more organized.

 

[Chelley00]

They do make the larger ziplocks which we tried, but those were just too big and it wasn't worth the effort there.

The XL and XXL Ziplocs are horrible for packing, but Hefty makes a 2 gallon (I've only found them at Target) that are perfect for packing adult clothes in

I do use some of the bigger Ziplocs for sweatshirts or jeans because you can squeeze the air out and they still take less space.

 

[Manda]

The XL and XXL Ziplocs are horrible for packing, but Hefty makes a 2 gallon (I've only found them at Target) that are perfect for packing adult clothes in

I use the XL Ziplocs and pack each person's clothes into one Ziploc. I can compress and squeeze and fit all 3 Ziplocs into one suitcase side-by-side. It keeps everything easily sorted while still only having one suitcase. For my son, I usually put his shirts vs pants in separate bags within the larger bag (to make it easier for him), but then I pull out his smaller bags and use the larger bag as the dirty clothes bag.

The main reason I started doing this, however, was because our luggage sat on the tarmac at MCO during a large thunderstorm. They'd pulled the bags out and onto a tram and then lightning hit and all the airport employees ran for cover - leaving our poor luggage to be thoroughly soaked. Everything was completely waterlogged. So now I pack everything that I don't want wet in Ziplocs.

 

[katytrott]

Great ideas.

The people who use the giant bags for adults, as well as kids, is this also for ease of getting ready in the morning or for some other reason?

My thinking is that it is just the kids dressing it will help in the morning. Not sure that I, or DH (although debateable sometimes!) need that help.

 

[MSwenson]

Ok, so what about wrinkles? Is it an issue? I suppose not more so than regular packing?

My thoughts EXACTLY!