You booked your family vacation through My Vacation Lady and you’re looking for some ideas to make the packing and last minute preparation easier.  Well you’ve come to the right place because we have lots of great ideas.

Here are our top 5 tips for packing for a family vacation 

1.  Make a list of daily activities that are planned and what you know you’ll need to pack for each family member.  If every day is a day at the beach, that’s pretty easy but if you’re planning for activities like ATV tours, horseback riding, hiking or touring the Vatican, you’ll want to bring the appropriate clothing.  So consider what activities and excursions you have planned and make a list to go by.

2.  Pack each day’s clothes in separate bags.  Some of our clients like to use “space bags” but we’ve found that the gallon sized zipper bags work just as well.  You can pack a day’s worth of clothes into bags to keep them organized.  This works great so that the kids already know what they are going to wear each day.

3.  We’ve recommended this a number of times—roll your clothes instead of folding them. Rolling your clothes allows for more room to pack and they tend to wrinkle less.

4. Use all available space- and that includes packing socks, belts and other items into shoes in order to create more space inside the suitcase. The added benefit is that the kids can  match the socks with shoes they will wear instead of having to dig them out of the bottom of the suitcase.

5.  This is a great way to leave room for souvenirs. Take clothes and shoes that you are willing to leave behind at the end of your travels. This can be a way to clean out your closet and simultaneously help you to be able to pack better for your trip.

So next time you get ready to pack for your travels, keep these packing tips in mind and you won’t have to stress about trying to cram tons of clothes in a heavy and bulky suitcase.

Do you have a packing tip that you would like to share?   My Vacation Lady is always looking for great packing tips to pass on to our clients.  Email the tip to Info@myvacationlady.com and we’ll share it on our Tuesday Travel Tips on Facebook or in a blog post.

Happy Travels!