As you can imagine, there were a lot of logistics involved in preparing for a road trip for a family of six. The planning, the packing… it’s not for the faint of heart! I’m excited to be sharing some family road trip packing tips with y’all and I hope you’ll find them useful. I have a great system that really helps me stay organized on road trips instead of falling victim to an exploding suitcase of chaos. This packing method is especially practical for staying organized on long road trips when you’re staying in a different place every night and can’t unpack so you really are living out of a suitcase.
simple packing tips
the “bag a day” system
- Print up my packing list freebie via the link below, which includes a formula for calculating how many bags you’ll need.
- Plastic storage bags work great for smaller kids with smaller clothing. Larger kids and adults benefit form the space a packing cube provides. Label each bag with the day and place all the outfits for that day in the bag. You’ll have a shirt for each day but only half as many bottoms, so some of the bags will only have tops. I usually like to plan for my kids to wear the same bottoms two days in a row.
- Place all the pajamas, undergarments, socks, and the extra shirt for each child in a separate bag labeled with that child’s name. Pack all the plastic bags in the suitcase and pull out accordingly. When you wash your laundry repack the bags.
other packing tips
- If you have multiple children pack them coordinating clothing. It makes it easier when you repacking to group the right things together and makes for some cute pictures!
- Always consider the age of your child when packing for a long trip. If they’re young and more likely to have accidents or spill than plan accordingly.
- Check the weather before finalizing your packing but be prepared for unexpected weather too. This doesn’t mean you need to pack everything (that’s what we’re trying to avoid!), but bringing a light jacket or sweater is always a good idea for unexpected rain showers or chilly summer evenings.
What’s your favorite packing tip?
22 Responses to packing tips for family road trips
These are great tips, friend. I do the bag system with Mason and I try to let him wear shorts twice. Just depends on how dirty he gets, so I usually have a couple extras.
I had never thought of using a bag per day system. I think it would probably work for adults too! We seem to have to pull everything out of our bags to get what we are looking for when traveling, so this might cut down on the chaos.
I do a bag system too and label each bag with the day and my little’s name! It’s such a convenient way to pack and makes it easy to find what I’m looking for in my suitcase 🙂 I always feel like we have so many bags, but because you have 4 kids I’m curious how many bags/suitcases you end up taking on a trip?
We use ziploc bags and it helps keep things together plus when an oufit is dirty we slip in the bag, preventing it getting mixed up with our clean clothes.
That “Bag A Day” system is smart!
Ooh I love this trick! Super handy. I have a few mesh “stuff sacks” from REI that I use to separate mine and my husband’s clothing in one suitcase (the mesh allows for odors or dampness to escape lol).
I love those bags! I also like putting dirty clothes into a bag so they don’t get the clean clothes dirty too.
These are great tips! We haven’t gone on any really long trips with our kids yet and since we’ve just got the two, we can fit pretty much everything for our family in two suitcases. But I really like your suggestion about coordinating outfits and trying to get the most wear out of bottoms.
I do the bag a day trick for my younger kids! Taking 6 people on a road trip is always an adventure!
Great tips! I’ve done the same thing with putting clothes in bags and it makes a huge difference. This makes me want to go on a road trip!
I am so ready to take a trip…thank you for sharing, Kippi
We haven’t been a long enough trip with our kids to need this system, but I know for a fact we’ll be doing this next year when we go to DL! Also, I love the tip about packing somewhat coordinating clothes for your kids so pictures look a little more put together.
I’m going on a road trip next week so I’ll try this system out!
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