Travel Tips: Clothes Packing Tips

Do you organize your clothes like this?

I layout each outfit in a pile with socks and underwear for each day.

Each child gets a row. All the columns line up for one day we are gone. I also add another column for a sweatshirt or a swim suit, anything else that everyone will need.

My local dollar store has these mesh garment bags, 3/$1. These bags have zippers as the closure.

You may need to check the store a few times because they might be out. This happens at my store quite frequently. Plan ahead. Don’t wait until the day before your trip.

Place each outfit in one of the mesh bags and zip it up! Repeat with all your piles of outfits and extras. Now it looks like this.

To me, this pile seems more manageable because everything is together for each day.

Here comes the crafty part. I have colors for each of my kids so they immediately know which bag belongs to them.

Grab some ribbon, one color for each person and double knot it onto the zipper pull. These bags do come from the dollar store which means they will not last forever. But, if I need to replace a bag they are cheap and the craft part is quick and easy to repeat in a hurry.

Now that all the clothes are in separate bags for each day and labeled with their color it is time to pack. I don’t like having a lot of bags so I get one big bag and throw all the mesh bags in there.

Each day the kids look in the one BIG bag for their colored mesh bag and put those clothes on.

When I am potty training I throw in an extra pair of pants and underwear or two per day for that child. At that age the clothes are small so it is easy to fit the extras in the same bag.

If I know my child will need a change of shirt part way through the day I will throw in an extra. This way I still only need one bag per day per child.

I like to throw in a diaper for each morning so I don’t need to hunt that down as well.

I have recently learned that more is not better. Packing light is empowering and makes travel so much easier. Read about my packing light tips to see why and how. I use these tips not just with extended travel but EVERY DAY!

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17 Replies to "Travel Tips: Clothes Packing Tips"

Katherines Corner May 28, 2015 (8:56 pm)

now that is a great new uses for old things. Pinned! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. xo

Julie M January 21, 2016 (4:48 pm)

So smart! We have our big Disney trip this spring, and I was planning to pack my girls’ outfits in gallon ziplocs. This is much better, especially since you could reuse them later. I could imagine with plastic baggies, they would slide around in the suitcase. Thanks for a great tip!

Jennifer January 26, 2016 (7:06 pm)

I simply pack outfits stacked in order of days (first day outfit on top and on then on down), this has worked for us for years. Everything stays put, just grab the outfit and go.

Kimberly January 26, 2016 (9:33 pm)

That used to work for us until my kids started dressing themselves and wanting to be independent.

Bobbi February 4, 2016 (6:40 pm)

I use gallon sized zip lock bags! Works great plus you can squeeze all the air out and make more room in the suitcase!

homeonthecornerblog February 17, 2016 (9:31 pm)

Brilliant! I love this idea! I have used ziplock bags before too, but I like this idea better! Thanks for sharing!

Sheila February 19, 2016 (5:12 pm)

Do they put the dirty clothes back in the bag at the end of the day? Really great idea. If you just untied the ribbon when they put dirty clothes back in they would know.

Kimberly February 21, 2016 (3:11 pm)

That is a great idea to take off the ribbon to identify which are clean and which are dirty! I have been taking less and doing laundry (see Packing light tips) and I love it! So many less clothes to bring and wash is quick because there isn’t much.

ROMELIA BEDOYA March 31, 2016 (1:52 pm)

I love this idea, tks, I will do it.

Katie April 7, 2016 (11:01 am)

We pack the same way, except we use gallon freezer zipper bags. That way you can squeeze out the extra air (or just sit on the bag) and pack in a suitcase like a filing cabinet. Tops of bags can be labeled or colored with Sharpies!

Kimberly April 7, 2016 (12:51 pm)

That is also a great way to pack.

Rosie April 14, 2016 (6:37 am)

If you put the dirty clothes back in the bag maybe you could wash/dry them that way, then put the ribbons back on.

Rebekah J Hackert June 3, 2016 (1:30 pm)

That is cute, We always use ziplock bags, can suction air out of the bags to take much less room. plus have airtight bags for any stinky or wet clothes in suitcase.

sarahpinklime June 27, 2016 (1:43 pm)

We always use ziploc bags, especially for camping. The kids never keep all their clothes in the bag, but this way nothing gets dirty until they take it out of the plastic bag. And I don’t have to worry about their clothes getting wet if it rains.

Janet June 28, 2016 (7:09 am)

I did this when my girls were young, too, also adding hair bows, etc. If we were driving somewhere and had stops along the way for just a night, I’d take one day’s bag for each person (pj’s included) and put those in one small bag with toiletries so I could just grab that one small bag to take into the hotel. If we had a one night stop the next night, when I reloaded the truck the next morning, I’d slip into the big bag and grab the next set of bags and put them into the small one so that it was all ready for the next stop. When the girls were very small, I could even pack all of our things for one day in a single bag. It’s a little more expensive, but you could use packing cubes and do this if your kids are bigger. And if your kids are choosing their own clothes, just have them choose them before the trip and then pack as usual. ☺

Angela October 19, 2016 (3:55 pm)

I like that you can throw the whole outfit, bag and all into the wash. Easy way to organize your clean laundry!

Katherines Corner May 28, 2015 (8:56 pm)

now that is a great new uses for old things. Pinned! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. xo
Julie M January 21, 2016 (4:48 pm)

So smart! We have our big Disney trip this spring, and I was planning to pack my girls’ outfits in gallon ziplocs. This is much better, especially since you could reuse them later. I could imagine with plastic baggies, they would slide around in the suitcase. Thanks for a great tip!
Jennifer January 26, 2016 (7:06 pm)

I simply pack outfits stacked in order of days (first day outfit on top and on then on down), this has worked for us for years. Everything stays put, just grab the outfit and go.
- Kimberly January 26, 2016 (9:33 pm)
  
  That used to work for us until my kids started dressing themselves and wanting to be independent.
Bobbi February 4, 2016 (6:40 pm)

I use gallon sized zip lock bags! Works great plus you can squeeze all the air out and make more room in the suitcase!
homeonthecornerblog February 17, 2016 (9:31 pm)

Brilliant! I love this idea! I have used ziplock bags before too, but I like this idea better! Thanks for sharing!
Sheila February 19, 2016 (5:12 pm)

Do they put the dirty clothes back in the bag at the end of the day? Really great idea. If you just untied the ribbon when they put dirty clothes back in they would know.
- Kimberly February 21, 2016 (3:11 pm)
  
  That is a great idea to take off the ribbon to identify which are clean and which are dirty! I have been taking less and doing laundry (see Packing light tips) and I love it! So many less clothes to bring and wash is quick because there isn’t much.
ROMELIA BEDOYA March 31, 2016 (1:52 pm)

I love this idea, tks, I will do it.
Katie April 7, 2016 (11:01 am)

We pack the same way, except we use gallon freezer zipper bags. That way you can squeeze out the extra air (or just sit on the bag) and pack in a suitcase like a filing cabinet. Tops of bags can be labeled or colored with Sharpies!
- Kimberly April 7, 2016 (12:51 pm)
  
  That is also a great way to pack.
Rosie April 14, 2016 (6:37 am)

If you put the dirty clothes back in the bag maybe you could wash/dry them that way, then put the ribbons back on.
Rebekah J Hackert June 3, 2016 (1:30 pm)

That is cute, We always use ziplock bags, can suction air out of the bags to take much less room. plus have airtight bags for any stinky or wet clothes in suitcase.
sarahpinklime June 27, 2016 (1:43 pm)

We always use ziploc bags, especially for camping. The kids never keep all their clothes in the bag, but this way nothing gets dirty until they take it out of the plastic bag. And I don’t have to worry about their clothes getting wet if it rains.
Janet June 28, 2016 (7:09 am)

I did this when my girls were young, too, also adding hair bows, etc. If we were driving somewhere and had stops along the way for just a night, I’d take one day’s bag for each person (pj’s included) and put those in one small bag with toiletries so I could just grab that one small bag to take into the hotel. If we had a one night stop the next night, when I reloaded the truck the next morning, I’d slip into the big bag and grab the next set of bags and put them into the small one so that it was all ready for the next stop. When the girls were very small, I could even pack all of our things for one day in a single bag. It’s a little more expensive, but you could use packing cubes and do this if your kids are bigger. And if your kids are choosing their own clothes, just have them choose them before the trip and then pack as usual. ☺
Angela October 19, 2016 (3:55 pm)

I like that you can throw the whole outfit, bag and all into the wash. Easy way to organize your clean laundry!