Tips for Packing Toddler & Baby

One of the most annoying things about traveling for an extended period of time is living out of a suitcase. Things get smushed and tossed around, every day it becomes harder to find what you are looking for and sometimes you don't find all the clean socks until you're unpacking at home a week later. Living out on a suitcase with tiny baby and toddler clothes and accessories make the situation even more difficult.

So this last Christmas, I tried something new. All you need is gallon size ziplock bags.

First I laid out an outfit for each day that included a top, matching pants and socks. (By pre-seleting outfit combinations, I eliminated the risk of getting to the last two days of the trip with only clean pants and tops that don't match.) 

I did this for both boys. Then because I'm a total Type A, I matched the boys outfits for each day. Once it was all laid  out, all I had to do was place the different outfit combinations into the gallon size bags. 

Each bag contained 1 complete outfit for both boys. (As they grow and the clothes get bigger I'll have to use separate bags for each kid) 

And because I have a 2 year old boy and an infant I packed each one a bonus bag of extra pants, shirts and socks. I try to make the extras more neutral colors so that I can pair them with anything. Baby spits up all over his shirt? No problem, I have an extra blue onsie. Toddler has a diaper accident and just needs new pants? Here are some clean, black sweatpants.

The bags of clothes all fit very nicely into the suitcase.

Then every day On the trip, all I had to do was pull out a new bag and change them! No digging through the suitcase and trying to find clean, coordinating clothes. It was all ready to go.

I got to try this again for a week trip last week and it still worked great! No time lost fishing for clean socks at the bottom of the suitcase. We also used up the extras without having to borrow for outfits intended for other days. 

It may seem like more work up front, but it means less stress during the trip.

Bonus trip prep:

Before our trip to Disney I packed snacks in ziplock bags. Then before leaving our hotel room each day, I'd toss a few snack bags into my diaper bag along with some clementines. :) (The snacks are craisins, pretzels and goldfish)

Don't worry, Barker sampled ahead of time to make sure they were good. ;)