Packing - Day 2

Day 2 is definitely the lighter of the two day packing system.  On day two, the first thing I do is get down the suitcases.  I use one suitcase for all three kids for a few reasons.  One, if I don't, there is far too much room to over pack.  Secondly, there are three of them and two of us...we can't be toting tons of little suitcases everywhere.  And lastly, it is so much easier to keep everything organized and together at our destination when I don't have suitcases all over the house/hotel room/etc.

So, once I get the suitcases, I put them to the side in my 'packing room'.  When packing my kids clothes, I am very systematic.  The first thing I do is go through the days that we will be gone.  I figure out the 'special outfits' that will be needed.  For this weekend, we'd be going to church on Sunday and we were going to be celebrating Mini C's birthday.  Child by child, I lay out everything they would need for these two occasions.  I laid out all of their church clothes, socks, shoes, belts, tights, bows, etc.  Then I moved on to Mini-C's birthday outfit, socks, shoes, and bow. 

After I have any 'special occasion' clothes laid out, I move on to the every day clothes.  This is where the open table or bed becomes VERY important.  The first thing I lay out are pajamas.  I use them as place markers for each child. 

After I have their pajamas out, I move on to their clothes.  For the older two, I pack one extra 'everyday' outfit.  I start with Little P and move down the line from there.  So, this is what I do. 

First, I lay out P's CLOTHES.

Then, I add socks and underwear to every outfit (plus one extra).

And lastly, I lay out any shoes that he will need.

Once I do this, I repeat the same process for the girls, taking it step by step.  This is what my table ends up looking like.

Once I reach this point, I can breathe a sigh of relief.  The hardest part is over. 

Next, I finish off my first day bag.  For this trip, we were going to be changing them into these clothes at our breakfast stop.  They needed to be comfy for car riding but cute for arriving at Nana and Pepe's house.  So, I take one outfit/socks/underwear/shoes for each child and pack it into my 'First Day' bag.

Now, if you remember, our first day bag should last us through the first twenty four hours.  So, since we will be leaving at 3AM, I have the clothes that they will be changing into, their bath soap, diapers, wipes, extra underwear, tooth brush, tooth paste, and pajamas for the following night.  Done.  Zip it up and add it to the pile of things to get packed.

Lastly, we just have to pack up all of their clothes.  Like I told you, I put all three kids in one suitcase.  I put all of their socks and underwear in the mesh compartment and then line the rest up child by child.  Little P usually has the right side, Little C usually has the middle, and Mini C has the left side.  This is what it ends up looking like.

Once everything is packed up, I get to pack up the car.  My husband usually packs up our car for other things, but he is so awesome at letting me do it when we go on trips.  There is something about knowing that it is all organized. 

First I get everything into the back (suitcases, stroller, food for our destination, Christmas presents, etc.)  The last day bag is the last bag to go in so I can easily access it when we stop.  Then, I move to the front of the car.  I place the snacks in between the console and the dash board, the diaper box directly behind the console, the toys right behind the passenger seat, and the DVD player behind the drivers seat.  I also adjust their car seats so they are leaning back and place a blanket in each car seat so they can go back to sleep once we load them up in the morning.  They also each have a sippy cup of water but those stay in the console unless they ask for them.  With two potty trained kiddos, less water = less stops.  They know they can take sips but we won't be chugging water...haha.

So, that's about it.  I can't tell you how nice it is to get in the car and drive off knowing that I have everything I need. 

I hope these ideas have helped you in your packing this Holiday Season and beyond.

Merry Christmas!

Packing - Day 1

We traveled often when we lived in Italy.  Whether it was a quick trip to Rome, a three week visit to the States, or a 5 day trip to Greece, I realized quickly that I needed to come up with an efficient way of packing for our trips.  So, in true Jeanne fashion, I came up with a system.

Now, I LOVE packing for trips.  I can't wait for it.  I love that feeling of being on top of things and knowing exactly where things are.  I love getting in the car and not worrying about leaving items behind or toting too much.  With three little ones, I have enough to worry about.

So, today I will go over the preparations.  The days leading up to the trip and how I get it all together.  I will cover the differences in air travel, car travel, age of children, diaper bags, etc, in other posts.

So, let's begin!

The trip that I was preparing for was a 12 hour drive to my in-laws house.  One of the biggest parts of planning a drive is planning your departure time.  For us, we have determined that all of us do better when we leave in the middle of the night.  By leaving at 3AM, the kids will continue to sleep/doze for the first 3-4 hours of the trip.  Once they do wake up, it's pretty easy to stretch them for another hour or so with bananas, morning conversations, etc.  About 5 hours in, we generally stop for breakfast/stretch legs/change into day clothes/gas.  After this, we are ready to finish the drive.  It's at this time that they will watch a movie/look at books/etc and will usually doze back off because they are tired from their sleep being disturbed.  After they wake up, its the job of the passenger adult to keep them entertained with a movie, snacks, books, singing, conversation, etc. until we arrive at our destination.  In order for this departure time to work, we have to be in bed by 9pm the night before. 

So that is where my planning begins.  Once I know my 'end time' (9PM) I can start planning the days leading up to it.  The first thing I do is write out my 'plan of action'.

I fold a paper (as shown above) so I have 6 sections.  Everybody has different categories but mine are generally Errands, Grocery List, Schedule, Food to bring, Snacks for the Car, and Things to Remember.  It's easy to fold this list up and keep it in my back pocket to add to throughout the days.

So, my system is a two day system.  Day 1 is used to for laundry, grocery shopping, errands, and the non-clothes stuff and Day 2 is for clothes and packing the car.

The key to my system is having an open space to lay everything out (a table, bed, bathroom floor).  This space needs to be 'non-touchable' by the kids and big enough to hold A LOT of stuff.

DAY 1

I head to the grocery store first thing in the morning.  This is my chance to get any items that we will be bringing with us. 

At home, I am focused on getting ALL of the laundry washed, folded, and put away.  In between this, I start with the food.

I gather it all on the table and then separate it from there.

After boxing up the food that I am bringing, I make my snack bag for the car.  Knowing that this bag stays in the front with us, it has to be skinny enough to fit in between the front console and the middle dash.

Once the food is done, I get my 'Diaper Box' together.  The diaper box serves the same purpose as a diaper bag but it doesn't leave the car.  When I had three in diapers, it was full of diapers, wipes, medicine, pacifiers, etc.  Now, it sits pretty empty but its still really nice to have a place for all those little things.  I still prepare a diaper bag but this way, I can just grab and go when we get out of the car instead of chasing down everything I needed throughout the car. 

The first part of my diaper box is the medicine.  I take Advil and Tylenol every time we travel.  With three kids, everybody has a different dosage.  What I have discovered to be the most effective is to write out every body's dosage on a piece of cardboard (won't bed or get lost) that fits in the same sandwich bag.  This way, WHOEVER gives them medicine will know the proper dosage.

After I do this, I pack the rest of the diaper box.

Once the food and the diaper box are packed up, I start on the non-clothes part of the first day bag.  I started packing a first day bag when we would travel back to the States.  I found that every time we'd FINALLY get to our final destination, it was a mad hunt to find the pajamas and toiletries it required to get dressed.  Instead of messing up my entire suitcase, I just started packing a first day bag.  This bag, usually my pink Vera Bradley bag, contains anything I could need during the first 24 hours.  So, on Day 1, I pack the toiletries and on Day 2, any clothes that I will need. 

And lastly, I pack any toys that we will take in the car with us.  I used to pack a lot of toys but have since realized that they really don't play with them.  So, now I just pack them for urgent times of distractions...haha.

Other than this, I just gather any of the other stuff that I will need (hook on high chair, Christmas presents, pack n play, etc).

Once all of my laundry is washed, folded, and put away, all of my non-clothes items are packed up, and errands are run, I can be confident in the fact that Day 2 will go well.

I hope some of these ideas have helped you with your own packing.  Stay tuned for Day 2.