If you’re a world traveler you know the importance of packing well!
As a missionary family we travel a lot and every once in a while we have to make the grand trip across continents and oceans. At times like these packing well is vital!
Here are 7 tips for successful packing:
1. Start early
To avoid hectic rushing around before the flight trying to collect your things you must start early. When your thinking is not clouded by time constraints and you can make better decisions as to what goes and what stays.
2. Make a list of items each family member needs
The best list I have found is one from Flylady. It is very simple but to the point. It helped me pack many times for both short and long trips for our big family.
You can download your copy here
3. Invest in a set of good quality lightweight bags
With airlines limiting the weight of luggage pieces one has to become a savvy in packing. We found that the less our bags weigh the more we can put in them! Six years ago we purchased duffel bags from L.L. Bean and never regretted the choice. The bags are light, durable, waterproof and roomy.
You can find the toiletry bag we use here at L.L. Bean as well.
4. Use a packing system
We also use Packing Cubes to pack our clothes. Each one has his own color and it makes it easy for each person to find their own clothes in a big bag.
Check out Packing Cubes on Amazon!
5. Consider weather conditions or seasons
We are going to catch both cold and warm times of the year so we will pack summer clothes as well as winter. We will try to wear heavier shoes on the plane as it will free up some weight for other items.
6. Think of growing kids
Yes, kids grow fast! Just in the last 3 months our 11-year-old son grew 2 inches! No wonder all his clothes are too short. If you pack for a long trip and are able to purchase clothing in the country you are going to, that’s great, but if not, remember, in a few months your child may not fit into the same pair of pants!
7. Purge unnecessary luggage fillers
Once you have all your items together look over them and set aside everything that is non-essential. You will not miss those items on your trip.
floyd
October 11, 2013I travel quite a bit and have learned to be realistic. Only pack what you really need, which is way less than our emotions tell us!
Caleb
October 13, 2013It’s true, there’s this voice inside that seems to keep telling you that you need more but when it comes down to it there is very little that you actually can’t live without.
David Rupert
October 11, 2013Good tips here. The toilety bag by LL bean is good. I bought a similar one from Eddie
Bauer http://bit.ly/1hII4jp and everyone is just amazed at what a smart bag it is.
Caleb
October 13, 2013That’s a good one too. We have the giant family size one. I suppose once the kids get a bit older we’ll have to get individual ones for them too.
Dan Black
October 14, 2013Great tips here! Only packing what is absolutely necessary and nothing extra is a must. However, I’m still trying to tell that to my over packing wife. I’m going to send her to this video post.
Caleb
October 17, 2013I wish you luck Dan! We have to understand that our wives are just packing for every possibility, they have the best intentions! I hope your wife finds the video helpful.
Dan Black
October 17, 2013Thank you:) Yes they do.
Loren Pinilis
October 16, 2013Those packing cubes are sweet – I’ve never heard of those before. I really like the idea of getting ones of different colors for each person.
Caleb
October 17, 2013My mom got us our first set about a year ago and they revolutionized our packing world. We quickly went and got a set for every member of our family. It makes staying organized while traveling with kids super easy!
BlessingCounter - Deb Wolf
October 17, 2013I try to make sure all my items of clothing coordinate with each other, so I can get by with one pair of casual shoes and one dressier pair. Shoes take up so much room in a suitcase.
Caleb
October 17, 2013Shoes do take up a ton of space, although for us weight is more important than space. We have only on 50 pound bag per person and we had to bring all the kids school books which was a lot of weight right there. I actually just took the shoes I was wearing because all my other shoes are pretty worn out so I knew I would have to buy at least one pair of shoes here in the US.
Betty Draper
October 21, 2013Great post and I am going to let my daughter know about the packing cubes for they will return to PNG next year. It pays to have more children for every ticket more luggage to pack. Of course not a reason to have children, hehe. For me packing to come back to the USA was so much easier for you can buy anything anywhere. Different going to a country with limited things we needed. Our first move over seas we took army duffle bags, 19 of them with all we needed except our books, no limit on bags then but it did cost us for over weight. Worth it because it was our first time and we used everything we took. Praying for you and family as you excitedly pack this time. One thing I did since the limited bags and limited weight now given when heading back over seas was mail items or ship on a container. Paying for space instead of weight for a couple of heavy duty totes on a container ship was worth it. Love the tips.
Caleb
October 21, 2013Wow 19 bags! We took 12 when we moved to Ukraine in 2007, that was when you could still take 2 bags per person. Now it’s limited to 1 bag and 50lbs. I’m actually glad for that because if we could take 2 bags per person that would be 14 bags, which is way to many but we’d probably end up having that many any way!
DS
October 21, 2013We’ve vacuum packed bags before, where you pack in ziploc-like bags, and suck out all the extra air.
Caleb
October 22, 2013We actually do that with some of the clothes that we left in Ukraine. Helps keep them fresh!