Traveling with the Kids: 4 Tips for Better Packing
Adrienn is with us today with some great tips for packing and traveling with kids.
With spring break around the corner reevaluating our packing habits can be a rewarding process.
I love to travel and I especially adore staying in cozy hotels. To make myself at home I had this ritual of unpacking my suitcase and putting everything away in the available closets as soon as possible. Often ten minutes after I got my keys everything was neatly folded and out of sight.
So it took me by surprise that on our latest trip three days had passed and I still dressed the kids out of their big shared travel bag.
It really annoyed me that it took up loads of room, causing me to bump into it every night. Not to speak of the frustrating moments until I found the garments I was looking for. But I avoided the task. Persistently.
It got me thinking. Did I become lazy? Why did I procrastinate such an easy task that I loved doing before?
Here is what I came up with:
Systems or routines that worked before can become outdated, especially with toddlers in tow. When you realize that you avoid doing something, don’t blame yourself.
Take a step back and analyze the deeper reasons behind your lack of action.
1. Do the math: Block out enough time in advance so you don’t become discouraged.When I traveled on my own I had to unpack only my stuff. Now I need to unpack mine plus the bag of my kids as well. No wonder it takes triple the time. Seems obvious but my sweet ritual became a bigger deal, causing me to procrastinate it forever.
2. Divide and conquer: Store their belongings separate for easy access and quicker unpacking. One big bag for my two kids creates just chaos and doesn’t work anymore. Clothes get mixed up immediately making me resist to put them away. My munchkins will get a personalized travel bag to make things easier.
3. It’s not your fault: You are not lazy and you procrastinate for a reason. There are things you can’t change like available closet space in hotel rooms or guest bedrooms. On our recent trip we had one big closet but a lack of shelves made it nearly impossible to store our stuff let alone the various children clothes. Count on it and be prepared. If your kids have to live out of their bags make the best out of it. Try to put the outfits for each day in labeled zip lock bags. Same goes for pajamas. This works particularly well when they stay at Grandparents. Your Mum or Mother in law will be grateful!
4. Change your rituals: Find out the reason you liked them in the first place and come up with something that still works for you. I had to let go of my desire to unpack immediately as a way to make myself at home. Next time I will try to achieve this goal by giving me one more day and maybe even enlist the help of my little ones…
Now tell me, do you have a special way of packing for trips and is it still working?
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