getting out the door with children always always always takes longer than i expect {so i am usually late}. a trip to my parents’ house, 15 minutes away, can turn into a 45 minute affair. even getting out the door to play in the backyard can be a struggle. of course, all of this is magnified when i try to plan for a longer trip.

we started traveling with E when he was about two months old. with family in three different states, we were on a plane almost every month. now, we’ve ventured into the world of road trips and in the thick of it all, i’ve learned a few things {with lots more to come, i am sure}. friends often ask me for traveling tips so i thought i would share a few here. first tip :: breathe, you {we} can do this.

confession. i wish i could be one of those people {like my husband} who just throws things in a suitcase and either manages to remember everything or doesn’t care that they forgot something. however, i am so totally not that person so i’ve developed a strategy that keeps me relatively sane {though i am sure my husband could find holes in this argument}.

i used to just pack a pile of shirts together, a pile of pants together, a pile of socks, and so on. this worked ok but when we arrived, the kids would go through their suitcases and make a mess. then i couldn’t find anything. or i would end up with more shirts than shorts. and wearing shorts is probably important.

now, i use a simple grid system on my bed. you could do this anywhere with a enough space. first, i check the weather and make a mental note of what we will be doing on each day of travel. then i head to our closets {or, let’s be honest, the huge pile of unfolded laundry on the guest room bed} and grab every outfit i think we might want to bring. next, i map out our days on my bed.

let’s pretend we were taking a trip to florida to visit family {common for us}. please know, i do not actually make this spreadsheet for a trip. that would be crazy even for me. but for the purposes of this post, this is what i am thinking as i pack…

i repeat, i do not actually make this spreadsheet before a trip. i make piles on my bed, organized in a grid like this spreadsheet. sometimes i split up the grid and do just kids or just me, depending on how much time and space i have.

this is my bed on the day before an actual trip last year. clothes are organized by day, and each pile has socks, underwear, pajamas, hair bows and anything else that might be needed in a day.

once everything is organized by day, i put each day’s clothes in a large zip lock bag, labeled with the day of the week. even i was a bit skeptical about this step at first. it seemed over the top and that is saying a lot coming from me. but i tried it. just for the kids, not for myself. it made putting everything into the suitcase so easy. i just tossed the bags in. and it was such a time saver once we arrived. no more messy suitcase.

my husband and my whole family made fun me, but if you ask my husband, he will tell you it made his life a lot easier on the trip. it also eliminated all clothing arguments. the kids knew they had to wear what was in the bag for each day.

think i am crazy? try this one time, for one trip. i bet you’ll change your mind. and if this doesn’t help calm your packing panic, try my other trick. remind yourself that they have stores where you are going. you can buy anything you forget.

do you have a favorite packing method? please share in the comments.

for more travel tips, check out our favorite car activities.

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