I am not a light packer. I once had to pay $100 extra dollars at the airport for a overweight bag. In my defence we had just spent 2 weeks in Arizona Eli was just a baby and babies have a lot of things and mommys sometimes do a little too much shopping!
The problem is I just never know what Im going to want to wear, but never once have I ever worn everything in my suitcase, so I am getting better at this and not taking as many pairs of jeans or 5 of those sweaters.
Here is a few tips:
-Get all the clothes you want to take and then re-pack out of that stuff. Chances are you have took out clothes for 9 days when really your only going to be gone for 5. So take out a few shirts. Pair things that will work with another outfit. If your going somewhere hot don't take two pairs of jeans or pants just take one. If you get out of hand and spill wine all over your pants you might just have to find the hotel laundry!
-Pack shirts that will work for another outfit, things can be worn with a different sweater blazer or accessory to change it up a bit.
-Roll your clothes, roll everything roll your shirts your pants, even your underwear you will be surprised how much more room you have. Roll roll roll
-If your going on a hot holiday don't pack a lot of day time clothes. Your probably just going to put on a tank top and a bathing suit everyday.
-I put all of Eli's clothes in large ziploc bags. I use these Sobeys Compliments brand ones they work good and the ziploc is sturdy. Jammies, Shirts, Pants, all in bags, the key is to get all of that air out. I have bagged thousands of race shirts over the years and Im pretty good at getting all that air out. If you need a hand give me a shout! You will be surprised how much less room it takes up when all of there clothes are in air tight bags.
Here I have 7 shirts, 5 pairs of shorts, and 2 hats all in two bags
-If your done packing your suitcase and it looks bare because you probably will have more room once you have rolled everything don't fill it up because you have the room for more! Just leave it you will need the room coming back!
-Depending on where you are going, I don't pack diapers and baby food. I pack enough to get us through the day of travelling but then just buy a pack of diapers when I arrive. A lot less space taken up in the suitcase.
-The theme here is pack less!
I packed all of our clothes Aaron myself and Eli's in one large suitcase plus a small duffle bag. With room to spare. Winning!
I spent a lot do time stressing when we took out first flight with Eli going through security, the stroller, the car seat, the breastmilk, but the whole process was actually quite stress free.
When they see you with a baby they pull you right through. You do have to fold down the stroller and put the car seat through the belt but if you get a nice guard on a good day they will help you. The other great thing is you gate check anything baby related. So you don't have to pay and they have it ready for you by the time you get off the plane. That and they never check to see how many carry on you have. I try pack light with the carry on but when travelling for whole days and have connecting flights and lay overs it is hard.
Here is some things we are taking in the carry on: not the typical Cosmo, People Magazines, and a 50 Shades book we used to travel with the whole bag is full of baby related stuff!
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| Bag, Toy Bag, Bottle Bag, iPad, Baby Book, Diaper Clutch, Medicine Bag, Boogie Wipes and Treats |
-A bag full of games and coloring. I got lots of this stuff from the dollar bins at Target, and Dollar Tree, puzzles, tops, a ball, Little Mickey Mouse sticker and coloring packs, stickers books, and yes those are sticky notes. Eli loves stickers so I thought a sticky note tabs would keep him occupied
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| Game Bag |
- The iPad make sure its charged! nothing worse than getting on the flight and ohh yup 3%
-Diaper Clutch and boogie wipes
-Snack Bag (including popcorn twists, animal crackers, fruit melts) again all individually packed in ziploc bags and then I put them into a tupperware container so they don't get squished.
-Bottle Bag with formula already scooped into each bottle so all that is needed is to add water. (Keep this bag handy as it will need to be scanned and checked at security) baby food, spoons, and bib
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| Food Bag |
-Blanket
-Magazine
-Small toy bag. Don't pack to many toys takes up space and will just be filled with airport germs by the end of the day. I like to bring a new toy one they have never seen before keep them occupied for a while.
We also travel with the lobster which is the best invention ever it works on almost every table and hooks right on there. No gross restaurant high chairs needed.
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| Lobster chair by: Phil & Ted |
I found these disposable plastic place mats at Target that work good to put down on the table then the surface is kind of clean to put down food for them.
I hope these tips help you pack for your next venture out of town! We are off to Florida tomorrow can't wait!
