Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I have a new method for packing for a trip

Wow, packing for a trip doesn't normally make for the most exciting of topics, but I'm so thrilled with my new packing technique, I just had to write about it.

Ever since I got married and now that we have CJ, I pack for the entire family when we go on trips. In the past, I would group all the like items together and put them in the suitcase. So, all of Maki's shirts would go in together, same with my shirts, CJ's clothes, etc. During the course of a trip, I would dig through the entire suitcase or suitcases to put together an outfit for any of us, on any given day.

For the Florida trip, I tried something different. I put together outfits for every day, for every member of the family. Then I would pack each day's clothes together in the suitcase. In essence, I created little piles for each day and only that pile would come out of the suitcase when we got dressed in the morning. This method worked like an absolute dream in Florida. I didn't spend all morning looking for matching clothes and even Maki could figure out what CJ was supposed to wear. :-)

Of course, this method requires more advance planning than just throwing a bunch of t-shirts and undies in the suitcase. And if the weather is different than what I had planned for, things shift around.

This method also seems to create less mess in the hotel room because the clean clothes stay in the suitcase until I need them. In a small room, this is key to keeping my sanity. Give it a try on your next trip and let me know if this method works for you.

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