Holiday Travel Tips – Packing While Keeping Your Sanity!

It is that time of year again, when many of us travel long (or short!) distances to be with our loved ones. Although these moments are special the preparation for these trips can be very overwhelming – what to pack, how much to pack and how to pack it.

I recently came across a great post by Paul Fredrick focused on the top ten ways to keep your clothes looking fresh while travelling. You can check out their full list here (if you are not familiar with the Paul Fredrick brand check out their site – they have a great selection of men’s clothes!). The list is geared to men but I found that a lot of them relate to families perfectly. My favourite tips from Paul Fredrick have to be the ones related to toiletries, shoes and non iron fabrics.

I am nowhere near a pro yet to packing for trips but I have learned some countless lessons while travelling with my children.

My number one lesson has to be the toiletries and medications. Both of my children have asthma, eczema and allergies that require us to bring them everywhere we go. It is always important to have any bottled liquids in a Ziploc baggie by itself and then it can be safely stored with other toiletries in a large Ziploc bag (I know bubble gum Benadryl smells nice but it is a pain to clean up!). Remember all those fantastic samples you get in the mail? They are PERFECT for travelling. I keep mine in bins in the bathroom cupboard and use them up on our travels. Perfect size for any trip. Just make sure to keep them all in Ziploc baggies and separated from your clothes.

Remember those non iron fabrics that Paul Fredrick told us about in their post? I agree 100%! Keep your sanity and pack as many non iron fabrics as possible.

When it comes to packing clothes I start with a list (can you tell I am a list nut?!). I make a separate list for each member in the family and start writing down how  many items we will need (t-shirts, socks, underwear), will you need a bathing suit, shorts, pants, a sweater. I do not like over packing so I make sure we will have what each one of us needs. I also like to let our kids help choose which items they are going to bring. They get excited to help out and then no one can complain that I did not pack them what they wanted (how many parents have heard that before?!).

My biggest pet peeve – finding one of my family members stuffing shoes or sandals in with our clothes. Always keep them separate from your clothes. I usually pack them in a completely separate bag all together.

Above all else, have fun and enjoy packing!