I still over-pack. I just like to do a few loads of laundry before we return so I don’t have to immediately do it when I get back. As a working mom I am constantly behind on laundry at home and being a week + behind when I got home would leave me in a hole I would never dig out of. If we stay someplace with it’s own laundry I will do it at night, if not one of us will do it during nap/pool time.
I would not want to constantly wash clothes on vacation, but getting it all done up before coming home is nice too. Plus it packs so much nicer clean and folded.
Also yes if you can take a few pods, that makes it so easy.
Not precisely. But we usually bring enough for a few days, and then cycle through them. I’ll usually bring two pairs of shorts, and one pair of cargo pants (just in case it is cooler), plus swim trunks. We can generally get a few days out of a pair of shorts, but having two allows the ability to swap out if needed. Shirts, we usually bring enough for about 4 days.
(And for the record, we would NEVER go to Florida in July. We’re not INSANE!)
Oh, not that. We cook several days, not all. But we do all our grocery shopping up front. We pre-plan all our meals before we ever arrive. (Okay. Moment of honesty: My wife has already made our daily meal plans for our May 2020 trip!) In fact, we BRING any of the food we can that won’t go bad in our drive, and then buy the remaining ingredients when we get down there…usually just before or just after we check into our condo/home.
Yes. It wears you out…although we are usually done with our park day before dinner time anyhow. The only reason we might stay later would be for a specific event (like the fireworks), but generally, we are gone by about 5:00 (our Universal trip, we were leaving the parks each day by 3:00 or so). This allows us more time to relax and use the pool, or possibly head back to Disney Springs, etc. On days we plan to stay later, we’ll typically not enter the parks until later either. (Truthfully, that is a rarity, though. We’ve done fireworks once in our last several trips.)
I always bring too many shoes…I just did it for my Xmas Hawaii vacation…and believe me Hawaii is a place you can wear flip flops everywhere and no one bats an eye! I should know better since I’ve been to Hawaii 6 times. I think, (even though at times we hate it) we overpack because packing is part of the fun prep for vacation. For our May WDW trip, I am TRYING to limit it to 2 broken-in walking shoes (one pair that’s newer and one in case they get wet), a pair of nice looking but comfy sandals in a neutral color usually black (love my Naots), and a pair of flip flops…I don’t wear slippers but just keep an old pair of thicker low cut socks to wear around the hotel room and throw them out when checking out. However, I know I’ll end up bringing at least another pair of dressier sandals to compliment my cute dresses for nice dinners. 5 PAIRS!!!
We Brits like to go on holiday when it’s hot, what can I say? I don’t think they intended to go shopping every day, it’s just how it turned out. My sister isn’t known for her organisational skills. But they did intend to cook every day.
We change if we take a break too. I agree, it’s not a holiday if you cook/make meals and do laundry every day! I will do laundry when we stay in condos/houses with the facilities in places like Hawaii, but that’s about it. We also don’t cook (except breakfast) even if we have a full kitchen! Vacation for us is about eating differently than our norm, I don’t want my same old recipes.
right? With clothes, you can throw them in the wash if you have to, but shoes, you just never know and so better to be prepared…they get wet; they don’t dry easily, etc.
I have two pairs. One, a pair of sneakers that doesn’t need to be packed because I wear them down, and the other, a pair of sandals (not flip-flops) that if it is super hot I can wear, or if I plan to hit up a water ride.
My sandals are Reefs brand (only brand I found that I can tolerate to wear for any length of time) and look SOMETHING like this (not exactly), but in brown:
You are like my hubby…One pair worn on plane, one pair that looks just like the one I wear, and a pair of rugged sandals. I have to talk him into a pair of dressier Echos for nice dinners. However, this May trip is with my 19yo Univ. DD who will have 3 suitcases because she is coming home for the summer!
My DH always brings less than me in terms of the number of items. Thank goodness that my clothes and shoes are smaller, so I don’t actually take up much more room than him in the luggage! Though I do always nab the bigger suitcase.
(Totally OT, but does anyone else insist that you and your significant other each have your own suitcases? I’m in the “keep everything tidy” camp and he’s in the “ruffle through the case till you find what you need, then leave everything in a crumpled heap” camp. Having our own cases is essential to a peaceful vacation!)
Oh, I only wear sundresses when I can go barefoot.
Nope. We pack, generally, by destination, not by person. So, we’ll have a small bag for our hotel on the way down, a couple of bags (plus toiletries) for our final destination, a bag specifically for days we are visiting my parents, and another small bag for our hotel on the way back. (Sometimes, the bag on the way down is one and the same with the bag on the way back up.) HOWEVER, we do have packing cubes that we put into the bags to keep each individual’s clothes separate.
I do all the packing and I used to use a separate suitcase for each person, but I stopped a few years ago because it was a struggle to fit all of DH’s stuff in and my suitcase was relatively empty!
I just pack my clipon size sunscreen then buy a large bottle when we stop by Walmart, refill each morning. Pack only conditioner from home because that’s the only part that mine and DDs hair gets particularly about, rest we use what’s available in the room. We pack cooling towels instead of fans because no batteries required. We probably overpack on bathing suits though, 3 for both of us for 10 days. Only buy travel size medicine for on the plane.
I always pack separate suitcases for My hubby and me even though I pack for both of us! LOL! They say you should pack half and half in case one suitcase is lost but I have never done it. Suitcases are usually found and delivered within a day. My hubby’s suitcase was lost from London to Dubrovnik and was delivered the next morning to our hotel.
