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I am so excited to have another guest post by Claire Hastings. I personally have a love/hate relationship with packing. I am efficient, but would not call myself a minimalist by any means! If you are curious how I pack, click here. But read through for Claire’s awesome tips on how to pack when space is at a premium!
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Minimalist Family Packing Guide for Summer Vacation
Summer’s here – say ‘yes’ to the break from work and lying all day long at the beach while sipping refreshing drinks with your family. But before you get to that, you need to go through the initial and most daunting phase of every family summer vacation – the packing. In these situations, it can be hard to limit yourself only to the essentials because you’re always under the impression that you’ll need much more. Don’t worry, the only thing you need is some lessons in minimalist packing. Here’s how to pack your family for the summer vacation by bringing only the absolutely necessary items.
Make compartments in your suitcase
If you want to spare yourself the trouble of diving into your suitcase to find what you need, make use of packing cubes.  They are extremely practical because they allow you to arrange the items in different compartments and ensure maximum organization and neatness. Use them to separate your clothes, underwear, and shoes, and you won’t get a headache every time you try to take something out of your suitcase.
Toiletry and medical supplies
It’s important to keep your skin clean, but don’t go overboard with the beauty elixirs. Keep things simple by carrying your toothbrush, body wash, hair brush, sunscreen, face cleanser, lip balm, deodorant, shampoo, and towel. When it comes to makeup, bring only your basics, whatever they may be. For example, you can include a lipstick, liner, and concealer. Apart from this, it’s a good idea to bring a medical kit with all the necessities that you and your family can make use of in case somebody gets sick. Be sure to bring band-aids, probiotics, aspirins, some antiseptic cream, and anything else that might come in handy during the vacation.
Clothes
It’s difficult to make the final selection of clothes, as both you and your family are likely to use the I-might-wear-it approach. This will only leave you buried under a pile of clothes that won’t get a chance to be worn at your vacation at all. Limit yourself to two pieces of everything – the one that’s being worn and the one that serves as a backup in case the first piece gets dirty. So, you can include two short-sleeved shirts, two shorts, two pairs of pants, etc. Bring several pieces of underwear and one pair of shoes.
You’ll probably be doing a lot of walking, and this might take its toll on the little ones. Make sure your kids wear adequate shoes and insoles. Protalus inserts for kids are a great option, because children can experience over pronation and supination of the ankle just as much as an adult can. Adding an insole can correct this.
Make sure that either tops or bottoms are in neutral colors in order to be able to combine them easily. However, regardless of how hot it is during the day, nights tend to become slightly chillier, so you’ll need some layering pieces. There’s a wide selection of kaftans online that are ideal for summer night walks, so browse through and take your pick.
Gadgets
Your summer vacation is a great opportunity for technological detox, so use the time to bond with your family instead of playing with your gadgets. Bring your smartphone and make use of the hotel’s WiFi network when the need arises and leave your computer and tablet at home. Use Skype app to chat with your family and friends at home and to let them know how things are going. Â
Toys
If you have little kids, chances are they’ll want to bring their entire toy collection with them. This doesn’t go well with the whole minimalist theory, so think in terms of size and thickness – paper and crayons, puzzles, and stickers won’t take too much room, and your kids will still be happy.
Packing for a summer vacation can be challenging, but if you follow these minimalist rules, you’ll be able to spare both your time and your nerves, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the sun.
Photo credit: ♥KatB Photography♥ via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC
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Can’t wait to book my next vacation so we can put these tips into action
I am a terrible over packer. We recently bought carry on size luggage and now I am limited to my own little suitcase and it has helped with keeping my packing in check.
oh thats a good idea!
These tips will come in handy. I like to pack every piece of clothing I own, because, you just never know, right? But, I know I bring too much. There are always things I never get around to wearing!
I admit that my weakness is on packing my things. Thanks for sharing these helpful tips. It will definitely help me on my future travels.
It is really challenging to have kids travel with you because the tendency is that they will bring all the toys they have. Thanks to this article, at least I already have an idea on what to bring if I will be travelling with my nephew soon. I hope he would just be satisfied with the crayon things! haha
Some great tips. I go with the minimal approach because i need to keep room for my wife. Her approach is ram as much as you can in her suitcase and place some maybes in mine. I take one pair of shoes, while she takes one pair of shoes + sandles + boots + heels. Just in case. Go figure. Thanks for Sharing.
that is hilarious!
Inspiring indeed 🙂
Oh, you said it. I like the idea of making compartments in the suitcase. Using that tip for sure. Cheers!!
These are great suggestions. I’m not the best at packing. My husband always pulls out the itinerary for the trip and plans his outfits around that. My method? “Does it fit? Is it clean? Perfect. It’s coming with us.”
I needed this! We are going on vacation in a few weeks and I have no idea where to even to start with packing so thank you for this!
Great suggestions!! I’m always trying to pack as little as I can while fitting in everything we need to have. It can be tricky! These suggestions help!
I’m about to start packing for a family vacation, and these tips are great! I always end up over packing, and want to avoid that this time.
I love packing light, I always overpacked and just started packing lighter and it is so freeing. I have so much more space in my bags for things I find on vacation and less chances of leaving things behind!
Great tips!! I used a few of these on my last family trip and I felt so good about not traveling will so much stuff.
Hello dear! I’ve nominated you for your second Liebster award <3 x
http://www.skipworthadventures.com/liebster-award-nomination/
oh wow that is so awesome! I need to check this out!
No matter how hard I try to be a minimalist packer, I also seem to overpack. I’ve gotten a lot better than what I used to be, especially because now I limit the bag size I use, and I don’t like it to be too heavy. I really need to invest in those packing cubes though; I’ve only heard great things about them, and I’m all about more organization while packing!
I love the 2 things rule! Great packing guidelines.
We are packing to to move today! We have to pack all the things we don’t want the movers to take since we will be without our household goods for a week or more. This post is great! I e been very pickey about what we pack to save space.
Just in time for me to pack for family vacay in a few weeks 🙂
I have never tried the packing cubes but rather use the rolling method. I def pack light on toiletries and makeup to save space for meds. Great tips!
Great tips. I always struggle and over pack 🙂
I’m a pretty efficient packer, but I’m not sure I could cut down to 2 of each!! That’s impressive! I pack 3 of each: one to wear, one to wash, and one drying. Especially with the kids…they might go through all 3 shirts in a day!!
Now I have a new goal…cut down to 2!
yes with kids…. they are so messy …
Thanks for these ideas! We’re going away soon with three in tow….should be interesting!
I think before my trip to Europe this year I’m going to take some of your chips to heart. I always pack way too much. And they do say, if you forgot it, you can always buy it over there. Good excuse for a little shopping trip.