Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support my blog and allows me to continue providing valuable content.
Traveling frequently by yourself or with your significant other? Sure, no problem. Big family trip once a year with plenty of time to plan and prep? Easy peasy. But what if you’re a big family, traveling frequently? How do you do it, keep your sanity and still enjoy it?
When we set out to start our family 12 years ago, we vowed that we would fit out children into our lifestyle as opposed to forming our lifestyle around our children. One of the many proclamations you make pre-parenthood when your kids are still hypothetical 🙂 As a couple, we loved exploring this great world, going on trips, visiting new places and didn’t want that to end once we added babies to the picture. While not as easy as we may have thought it would be, we’ve still tried to keep that wanderlust alive- both for our personal enjoyment, and to plant that travel bug in our kiddos at a young age.
Living overseas, we traveled more than ever! We knew our time in Japan was finite, and want to see and do as much as we could. Traveling with a large family has definitely come with a learning curve- I use to dread packing for trips- it would take me forever to get prepped and packed. But now, I’ve come up with systems that have made it far easier, and dare I say… even enjoyable?! 🙂
So here are my tips and tricks that have changed the travel game for my family…
-
- Create a “PACKING JOURNAL“- Pick any kind of notebook/journal, and use it to write your packing and to-do lists for all of your trips. (I started using one of my husband’s Tactical Green Military Log Books years ago, and it works perfectly!) A few weeks out, I start the list by looking back through my journal and finding a similar trip we took recently- skiing, Disney, beach, etc- as the packing needs for each are different. This gives me a starting point and keeps me from reinventing the wheel every time. Then, I break the list down into what to pack for who and to-do lists for the days leading up to the trip. Keeping the lists from all the trips together just makes it easier. It helps me remember everything with less brainpower. It’s also a fun walk down memory lane. Bonus points when I remember to go back after a trip and add notes of things we needed but didn’t have!
-
- TOILETRIES– remembering to pack up your face routine, razor, contacts, etc the morning of a trip stresses me out- I’m always afraid I’m going to forget them. So, I bought duplicates of these toiletries, in travel size when possible, and keep them in my travel toiletry bag!
-
- TRAVEL TOILETRY BAG – I use the same one every trip (current fav Toiletry Bag), so I don’t unpack/repack it each time. Having it ready to go puts me ahead of the game!
-
- TOOTHBRUSHES– something so simple, but remembering to throw them in last minute is just one more thing. So I buy bulk packs and throw in them in my travel toiletry bag. Bonus- my kids think a new toothbrush is the coolest thing. Win Win!
-
- CHARGERS– I keep a small bag packed with chargers so we’re not rounding them up all the time. I keep this in my travel toiletry bag so it doesn’t go missing. (If you’re a parent with kids who steal your chargers, you get it!)
-
- KID CARRY ONS – If your kids are like mine, they will try to bring everything and the kitchen sink on trips with them. For ours, we’ve enacted the “1 carry-on rule” like the airlines 🙂 This bag is what will sit with them on the ride, and should include anything they need to stay entertained during the trip. The kids pack their own bags- if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t go! Whatever comes out of it in the car, goes back in it. This avoids the problem of loose things all over the car!
-
- Stay ORGANIZED AT HOME– Keep staples packed and ready to go. Keep like items together –> Ski gear all together in a bag. Swim gear all together in another bag. Camping clothes together in another bag.
-
- TRAVEL BAGS– my kids LOVE to use their own small suitcases, but with a large family, it’s not always possible to travel with that many- space is at a premium! So I typically pack each person in their own color Packing Cubes and then load them into our Thule Duffel Bags. This way they can go on top of the car in a roof carrier much easier than suitcases. After the trip, I gather all of these and store them together for the next trip. This avoids the step of tracking down the bags when it’s time to pack again!
-
- CARD/BOARD GAMES– Our family loves to play games, especially on trips. Sushi Go, Taco Cat Goat Pizza, Uno, Rummikub have all been lifesavers on many trips. I now keep one To-Go Game Bag with all of these games packed and ready to go so we can throw it in easily. (I use the rest of this pack to store all of our board games- ditching the boxes saves so much room!)
-
- DIRTY CLOTHES BAG– I tuck several of these into our bags so everyone has access to them during the trip. This keeps dirty clothes out of the clean clothes, and makes packing up to go home easier. Once home I collect all the bags and do the laundry right away to help reduces the post-trip hangover!
Traveling can be stressful, but avoiding the stress of packing and prep will help get your adventure off to a great start! Give these tips a try and you might just find yourself hitting the road more often!
