When do you pack?

[tulok]

I have a fun question, mainly because I can’t start packing for a 6/15 cruise until 6/13, with the flight on 6/14. Not real worried but for me this is a little too close. Making me wonder when do you start packing?

[GUT2407]

We are lucky and have plenty of spare rooms now the kids are gone, so usually start leaving clothes on one of the spare beds after the laundry is done a couple of weeks out.

 

with my habit of visiting the hospital, there is always a toiletry bag ready to go,

[Lupush]

[tulok]

6 minutes ago, Lupush said:

Love it and so true. We have been to many port stores where DH forgot something.

[RNCheryl]

Men pack??? Not that I know of.

 

[PTC DAWG]

Usually the night before. 

[hallux]

I'm a guy, I usually take off work the day before departure for any pleasure trip so that I can do laundry and pack.

[Prnsessmoi]

😝

Haha, we are 248 days out...and I've already started staging certain items.  Does this mean I have a problem?

 

[4774Papa]

It takes me about 30 minutes to pack.  However, occasionally I remember something after I have packed and include the item in my suitcase.  That is why I pack a full day before we leave the house.  One thing that I do now is double check the trousers that I pack, since I  have been retired for 9 years and have trousers that I still wear that are from when I worked.  Now I check to make sure that the waist is not too tight.  I haven't gained weight, but it is distributed in a different way.

 

Dear wife takes 2-3 hours to pack.  

[BirdTravels]

day before leaving. 

[Birdie And Sue]

I start packing about an hour before I go to bed the night before we leave.  Anything earlier than that is just plain silly.

[sharonann24]

I like to write out a packing list about a week or so before which included clothing, toiletries, carry on items.  I do one for myself and my husband.  Then the night before (because of possible wrinkling which happens regardless) we pack and cross off each item.  Then double check!  

[kochleffel]

I usually pack the day before departure, but I start gathering things that I'll need but don't use every day about a month in advance.

[Peachypooh]

We travel frequently and have the luxury of a spare bedroom so that is my "staging" area.

I usually have two sets of clothes, toiletries, etc. for our next two trips neatly folded and I add

and replace anything I forgot on a regular basis. This can be as soon as a couple of weeks ahead

up to a month or so. We had two trips in May and since there was only an 11 day turn around it cut

down on stress when I returned from the first trip to know everything was ready to go for the

second trip when I got home. Since we fly I just use quart Ziploc bags for my toiletries and

it is no hardship to have a couple of those all ready to go.

[Shoppie124]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

I'm a guy, I usually take off work the day before departure for any pleasure trip so that I can do laundry and pack.

You are a unicorn for sure!!!

 

if if I didn’t pack my husbands stuff, he’d be naked most of the trip.

[pumpkinpatch4]

4 hours ago, Birdie And Sue said:

I start packing about an hour before I go to bed the night before we leave.  Anything earlier than that is just plain silly.

 

Clearly you don't have young children.  Waiting until an hour before you go to bed would be plain reckless. 

 

I am leaving on 6/15 too and I'll start packing my family later this week. 

[amygutman]

I print out my packing list about 30 days in advance....enough time to ensure we have everything we need and / or get last minute items on Amazon or local stores. 

 

We start packing about 2 weeks in advance - only because I usually work straight until the night or morning of departure.

 

This trip, the only days off until vacation I have are today and June 13th...and we too leave on June 15th. So I got home from work this morning, packed my son's and my suitcase and our carry-on backpacks, toiletries, and sundry accessories (charges, cords, first-aid kits, etc), gave my hubby his packing list for his carry-on and suitcase. Checked documents / passports / reservations, labelled bags, notified credit card company, confirmed dog boarding / house sitter / mail being held and printed out copies of everything for our house-sitter including insurance / cruise documents and emergency contacts. 

 

We (ok...I) have it down to a science at this point, with the only sticking point being a husband who, much like the cartoon, waits until the last minute. 

 

Our packing lists go from epic (long winter cruise requiring 2 seasons of clothes), to minimalist (7 day bahamas out of NY in summer). We are happy to go minimalist this time - 2 small suitcases, 3 carry-ons. Took about 2 hours today and voila...let the vacation (almost) begin...Amy

[michelle-nh]

We leave this Friday. I did laundry and piled everything for me on the dresser last night (5 days out). Plan to get it in the suitcase and weigh it tomorrow.  This is late for me, and I’m feeling a little anxious about it. My husband will wait till the last minute and eventually I’ll pack for him.

[Birdie And Sue]

1 hour ago, pumpkinpatch4 said:

 

Clearly you don't have young children.  Waiting until an hour before you go to bed would be plain reckless. 

 

I am leaving on 6/15 too and I'll start packing my family later this week. 

 

 

The age of the cruisers is of no relevance to me.  It will not be packed any better if I start cramming stuff into my suitcase days or weeks ahead of time.

[pumpkinpatch4]

1 minute ago, Birdie And Sue said:

 

 

The age of the cruisers is of no relevance to me.  It will not be packed any better if I start cramming stuff into my suitcase days or weeks ahead of time.

 

Ah, I see.  So you meant that it would be plain silly for *you*, not in general.  Fair enough.  At first read I thought you were being judgmental and rude.  My mistake. 

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, tulok said:

I have a fun question, mainly because I can’t start packing for a 6/15 cruise until 6/13, with the flight on 6/14. Not real worried but for me this is a little too close. Making me wonder when do you start packing?

think this has been asked before but it is fun to see how others do things. We usually start putting aside things that go into our carry on, like meds, make-up, etc abut a week before the day we are leaving. The rest like clothes a few day ahead. I might start putting things like underwear in the luggage right after wash day if what I have washed is going. I am not one of these that pack the night before nor do we start 2 weeks in advance like some. I do have a make up kit just for traveling set aside. That is the first thing I take out when packing time is close. I have to check and see if anything needs replacing. 

[janabanana1701]

I usually like to start about 10 days before departure, gradually adding items to the suitcase as I get laundry done. But more times than not, I start with packing a few things, then it gets neglected due to work and crazy kid schedules! Then I'm typically scrambling a day or two before to get it all done 😄

[tulok]

So many ways to get ready for a great vacation. I am a list person as well. They say you marry your opposite. Last summer we went shopping at the Barcelona dept store to buy my husband underwear that he forgot to pack. Wasn’t so bad as July is clearance sales in Europe and I got some good buys for myself for the trouble. 

[WickedRed]

I'm a night before person.  This usually includes doing laundry.  Since I tend to do last minute cruises, planning and packing ahead isn't always possible.  Guess it is a benefit of being an empty nester.

 

JoAnne

[ZsaZsa2019]

I used to pack a week or two before.  But then I found myself unpacking since I forgot what exactly I put in the suitcase.  We travel a lot, and you'd think I'd have this all down to a science, but I freak out every trip.  The panic starts about two weeks before the trip.  I literally lay awake in bed at night thinking and thinking and thinking.  I have dreams/nightmares about it.

 

We are flying out to Seattle on Friday for our cruise to Alaska on Sunday and I have not even begun to do the physical packing yet.  I have a mental idea of what I think I want to pack, but since this is a cold weather trip for us, It's all new territory.  I'm freaking out a bit.  I bought packing cubes after reading comments on this board about how great they are.  I'm not sold on it yet, but then again, haven't started the process.  How can I possibly fit some XL hoodies in those little bags??