TRAVELING WITH KIDS: The zip-loc baggie method!

Traveling with kiddos. Oh man. I start to get hives just thinking about it!! Haha. It is TOTALLY worth it, but it does take a lot of practice and patience to make sure things run smoothly. 

We've always traveled with our kids, so we're pretty used to the chaos. But as we keep adding babies, I've tried to find more and more ways to make our lives easier. 

ENTER: The Zip-Loc baggie packing method! 

Every time we go somewhere, I feel like I methodically organize the kids' suitcases and make sure everything is organized...and then by day two of our trip, it looks like a bomb went off. Undies everywhere, mis-matched socks in different suitcases, no pants to be found anywhere...etc. 

So for our last trip out west for my sister's wedding, I did things differently. I did the Zip-Loc Baggie method, and it was awesome. Basically I packed each child's outfits into individual baggies for each day of the trip, and our lives were changed. I thought I'd share what I did with you all, and hopefully it will ease some of your traveling stresses!

 

 First, make sure you have these things before you start:

-Sharpie marker

-Suitcases

-About one zillion large storage baggies (I like the ones with the zip handle, because they're easy to re-use again and again!)

-ALL the clothes you'll need for your trip--clean, folded, and in semi-organized piles. (Shirts, pants, socks, accessories, undies...everything! You don't want to be running in and out, stressing, and trying to find stuff as you pack.)

 

Start by bagging any special outfits FIRST. 

For our trip, I knew my kiddos would need specific outfits for the wedding, as well is for Easter Sunday. I made sure that each child had everything they would need with those outfits in individual baggies.

For example: Dress shirt, bow tie, suspenders, socks, underwear, pants (or for a girl: dress, tights, undies, bow)... all in the bag. Done! That way when things are crazy and you have something important to be ready for, you won't have to stress about finding that missing accessory or shirt you knew you packed.

Family pictures, holidays, weddings...I would bag any of those outfits together BEFORE you get to your destination--just to make things easier all around!

After I packed up the special outfits, I moved onto the baby's clothes. With the baby I did things differently then the older kids, since I knew he would be going through a lot more outfits (hashtag blowouts), and needing more pajamas and layers, etc. 

I did baggies for swaddling blankets, for burp clothes, for onesies, pajamas, baby socks, and pants.

 

^Make sure to push the air out as you close each bag to maximize space!^

As I got the baggies filled, labeled and sealed, I started to pack them into the suitcases so I could gauge how much room I had left in each one. 

Now, onto the older kids! 

For them, I put each outfit out that they would wear while we were gone, plus an extra or two. I made sure each one had a shirt, pants, and socks.  

Then I started bagging them up! After they were all sealed up and ready to go, I initialed each bag with first letter of their name. That way if the suitcase got mixed up, they would still be able to pull out a bag with their initial on it, and get dressed by themselves. Thumbs up emoji!

^Initialed and ready to roll!^

I used a separate baggie for underwear, a bag for pajama bottoms, and then one for pajama tops for each kiddo. Then I stuck all baggies in the suitcase upright, and called it a day!

It might seem like a lot, but honestly, the prep work makes ALL the difference with kids! The actual packing took me less than an hour, and our trip was a billion times easier because I wasn't battling the kids about clothes or searching for lost socks every five seconds. 

Plus, the kids got to be independent and pick their own outfit bag every day, and they LOVED it!

By the end of our trip, my suitcase was a total wreck, and I looked at my husband and said, "Man. I really should do the baggie method for myself!!" Haha. But really.

I hope this helps all you families with young kiddos out there. It really helped us this time around, and I can't wait to do it again and again on future trips.

Happy traveling!!  

(Tricks for FLYING with kiddos, coming up soon!)

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For more traveling with kids tips from past blog posts, go here:

Let's do Europe, toddler style!

Let's do Europe, toddler style: Part II