My husband and I recently enjoyed a long weekend away without our kids. I missed the kids, but it was such fun! Eating meals at the spur of the moment, sleeping in (what is it about becoming a mother that I can’t sleep past 8 a.m. even when given the opportunity?!), reading all day without interruption. So when I was packing, I thought you might like to hear about two things that are part of my packing routine – we’re not talking rocket science or new earth shattering discoveries but two things that I do to make my life easier when traveling.
First, I roll my clothes when packing. If you haven’t tried it, do. it Honestly, it is a space saver. And my clothes don’t have big creases when I get to my destination. I’m occasionally too lazy if we’re doing a quick overnight trip to my In-Laws’ and just throw the clothes straight from the drawers to my suitcase, and I’m always surprised how much more space our clothes take up when not rolled. Go ahead, try it on your next trip.
Second, I like to pack one of my small, reusable shopping bags into my carry on. You know, the kind of little bag that folds into itself like the ones you see in just about every store these days (at least around here). They always save my butt, especially when traveling internationally with my kids. Here’s what happens to me every time we take a trip: I pack everything neatly into our carry on, we pile onto the plane only to empty 80% of the bag into our seats (kid toys, books, e-reader, headphones, wipes, etc., etc). We get to our destination and our carry-on stuff has somehow doubled in size like little gremlins and just will.not.fit. into our bag again. Same with long car rides. Enter, the reusable shopping bag to help me round up our crap easily.
Got any packing tips to share? I’d love to hear them!
