ProudGrandma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We are leaving for a 9 day trip on the 9th of March. We live in Nebraska (where it's COLD)....and our destination point is Phoenix, AR. We are leaving Sunday the 9th and going to near the Denver, CO area for the first night. The next day we are getting up and going to Moab, UT. The next day we are headed to Cortez, CO and then on to the grand Canyon area and then to Phoenix (for a wedding). On the way home we will go to Albuquerque, Garden City, KS and then home. The 2 big deals with this: 1) we will be in hotels for all of the nights but one and 2) the drastic tempurature changes between here and Arizona. (it's 10ish here today...and when I last saw the temps for Arizona I saw like 70-80's...correct me if my weatherman is wrong) I don't want to take in 5 suitcases (there are 5 of us) to each and every hotel if I don't have to, so I thought I might try to pack Monday and Tuesday's clothes in one suitcase, PJ's/swimming suits and over night stuff in another....Wed-Thursday in a different suitcase, the Phoenix/Wedding stuff in the other 2 suitcases....then at that hotel, do wash, if I can....(we will be there for 3 nights), repack and re-label the suitcases for the return trip. But, that sounds great in theory, I just don't know if it will work. So, if this was your trip...how would you do it. Oh, the people involved are 13dd, 12 and 9 ds...myself and my husband. Also....although this is a QUICK trip...if you have any MUST SEE's along our route, please share and hopefully we will be able to get them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Layers? That is a duh suggestion, but, there you go... I think it's a good idea to have a different suitcase for the early part of the trip so you aren't dragging everything into hotel. Just be sure people can't see your stuff left in the car, put it in the trunk. If you're driving from Phoenix to Albuquerque, you could stop at Acoma Pueblo. http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Los Cuates in Albuquerque used to be really yummy. I don't know which location to suggestion bc years ago, there was only one location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 If it was my trip, we would not need several suit cases. We travel with four people and one duffel bag for a trip of several weeks. We would wear layers. We'd be wearing a fleece and have a warmer coat in the trunk (won't be wearing that in the car). In addition to the clothes we would wear, I'd pack for everybody one extra pair of pants, one pair of shorts, a few T-shirts, the dress clothes for the wedding, underwear and pajamas. That will easily fit into ONE bag, and maybe an extra garment bag for the wedding attire if it is formal. That could stay in the car until the wedding. If I have extra space, I'd take a travel dress that packs light and does not wrinkle. (Ideally, that's what I would wear to the wedding if appropriate) If I were driving the main part of the day and only at the hotel for a single night, I would pack the pajamas, toiletries and fresh underwear into a small overnight bag that I could take out of the car and leave the main bag in the trunk. If I were staying two nights at the same hotel, I'd simply take in the big bag with everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 If it was my trip, we would not need several suit cases. We travel with four people and one duffel bag for a trip of several weeks. We would wear layers. We'd be wearing a fleece and have a warmer coat in the trunk (won't be wearing that in the car). In addition to the clothes everybody would wear, I'd pack for everybody one extra pair of pants, one pair of shorts, a few T-shirts, the dress clothes for the wedding, underwear and pajamas. That will easily fit into ONE bag, and maybe an extra garment bag for the wedding attire if it is formal. That could stay in the car until the wedding. If I were driving the main part of the day and only at the hotel for a single night, I would pack the pajamas, toiletries and fresh underwear into a small overnight bag that I could take out of the car and leave the main bag in the trunk. If I were staying two nights at the same hotel, I'd simply take in the big bag with everything. You can use one bag for weeks for 4 people? For the different climates plus formal clothing? That's incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I wondered what you meant by Phoenix, AR. Now I think I know that you meant AZ. B) Since I live here I'll tell you. March is unpredictable. The high might be 60 F or it might be 100 F. There is no rhyme or reason to March here. Absolutely bring LAYERS. Usually what will happen is you will wear a t-shirt (ss or ls) covered by a hoodie or pullover sweatshirt in the morning. By noon, most of the men are in short sleeves if it's over 60 F. And most likely all will be in ss shirts by 3pm. Our hottest time of the day is truly 3pm-6pm, so keep that in mind. AND always keep a hoodie with you because if they businesses have the a/c on it's set for 'snow'. Not really, but you get the idea. Starbucks can be especially chilly! If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 You can use one bag for 9 days for 4 people? For the different climates plus formal clothing? That's incredible. I said if formal attire is required, she might need an extra garment bag. But yes, we travel for four weeks with one duffel bag (we plan to do laundry) For a 9 day trip, we'd only have carry-on baggage each and no checked luggage if it was by plane. Different climates: long pants, fleece and the coat in the cold. Shorts and T-shirt (or the dress) in Phoenix. I'd wear a long sleeve blouse that can double as a light jacket in warm weather. When we travel in the summer, we combine conferences and summer schools where DH presents and teaches, backpacking, rock climbing, city walking, sunny desert and cold mountain tops in one trip. We have one duffel bag for all the clothes for the four of us for all weather and activities. (The rest of the trunk holds climbing and camping gear and DH's work papers and computers ;-) ETA: I forgot about shoes. One sturdy pair on the feet, leaving from cold climate, one pair of sandals in the bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We are pretty much minimalists in my family when it comes to travel so what I would do for the ladies is pack about three cotton knit dresses with tights, two cardigans, a few scarves, and about three camisoles. One pair of jeans or slacks with a few shirts that could be paired with the camisoles, cardigans, and scarves. That would give you at least a dozen different outfits suitable for warm weather or cold weather. For shoes I would pack a pair of boots per person and a pair of ballet flats. That is what DD and I had packed for our two weeks in Europe last fall. Just to give you an idea in this picture the black back, purple bag, and blue bag are all the three of us had for two weeks overseas and we all felt like we had all kinds of clothes. Each bag was small enough to carry on. They also contained all of our books and fun things for DD to do on the plane. (The large rolling red and black suitcase on the right wasn't ours.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I do not overpack, and do laundry on long trips but I still am having trouble picturing this. Even if we went for a weekend, we'd need 5 bottoms, 10 tops, 5 sleepwear, 10 undies, 10 socks. That would not fit in a duffel bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I do not overpack, and do laundry on long trips but I still am having trouble picturing this. Even if we went for a weekend, we'd need 5 bottoms, 10 tops, 5 sleepwear, 10 undies, 10 socks. That would not fit in a duffel bag. You need a bigger duffel bag. I never said we took a small one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I am following this. I try to pack very light as well. We are doing a trip from Michigan to Montana and Wyoming in early June. Given the mountains, etc. we could have everything from snow to 80s. I will need to figure out if each person takes their own rolling carry on in the hotel each night or if we somehow try to pack per day or ???? Layers will be the way to go. We will need riding helmets and riding boots as the girls and I hope to go on 2 or 3 trail rides there and I am a stickler for wearing riding helmets and riding horses in boots, not tennis shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I didn't read the replies but I have packed that way before for our family of ten and it is so easy!!! We much prefer it to everyone in their own suitcase unless we are going to just one place an staying there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 yeah, I figured layers was the way to go too....and yes I did mean AZ...not AR (sorry...didn't mean to offend :) ). WOW...I don't think we oculd ever pack all of us in ONE duffle bag....I have a brother and SIL that can pack like that...something to aspire to...but I don't expect to get to that. We each have a small suitcase (we bought them for our trip to Disney last year...and we didn't want to check them...so they were all carry on size)...but even that...to bring all of them into a hotel every night...just sounds annoying to me...for only one night at a time. I have a week to figure it out...so thanks for all of the ideas....please keep helping me sort this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Could you pack your traveling clothes into 1-2 suitcases, your wedding/destination clothes in another, and then have a big duffle bag for everyone's sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, etc? They won't need those in the hotel. I could see putting enough undies, PJs and a change of clothes for each one in one suitcase. Often you can wear the same pants and sometimes shirts for more than 1 day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 If you have a carryon for each person, I'd just bring that and maybe a separate garment bag for wedding attire. Then have each person responsible for their own bag. Ds usually brings one small suitcase and a backpack for stuff, but we usually travel by car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 My teen dd would get a bit jumpy about combining her stuff in bags. I would at least have plan a bag for her to keep her lingerie and feminine items and allow to feel some small sense of privacy. Otherwise, I like labeling suitcases by day. While you may not be opening and using items in all suitcases, my dh is big on emptying the vehicle left in hotel/motel parking lots overnight. This stems from our trip home from our honeymoon when we stayed at reputable national chain hotel. A few vehicles were broken into overnight (not us, we didn't have much stuff so our stuff was in our room) and people's suitcases were stolen. So, we would carry all bags in--we just wouldn't spend time packing and unpacking all bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Could you pack your traveling clothes into 1-2 suitcases, your wedding/destination clothes in another, and then have a big duffle bag for everyone's sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, etc? They won't need those in the hotel. I could see putting enough undies, PJs and a change of clothes for each one in one suitcase. Often you can wear the same pants and sometimes shirts for more than 1 day. this is a good idea...didn't think about that. I will be thinking about how this might work. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I'm thinking that one small bag per person, when each person carries their own bag, doesn't sound inconvenient or excessive. I don't think I'm getting it. You could probably scale down to one medium suitcase for you and DH and backpacks for the kids, but m guessing you'd want the wedding clothes hung in a garment bag and then you're back to four bags. DH and I have military duffles from our Army days. They're huge and have backpack straps. I can see getting a week's worth of clothes in one of those for a family. They're not convenient though and unless you plan carefully, you have to take everything out. For each person, I'd pack: 2 pants 4 shirts 1 sweatshirt/sweater 4 pair of underwear and socks 2 pair of shoes (wedding plus something good for walking/outdoors/snow) You'd be wearing an outfit and a pair of shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 We travel with one small suitcase and a messenger bag/backpack per person. Everyone is responsible for their own things. It doesn't matter if it's 2 weeks or 2 days. Traveling by car we might need to add heavy winter or beach stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Oh, the people involved are 13dd, 12 and 9 ds...myself and my husband. At the ages of your kids, I'd make this an exercise in taking care of one's own things. With the possible exception of wedding attire and/or swim gear, I'd have each kid be responsible for their own suitcase, their backpack for things needed in the car, their own clothes, and *possibly* their own toiletries (at least the basics like toothbrush and other personal items). They'd each have a water bottle for the car. Give each kid a plastic bag for things that need to be laundered; they can be kept in the suitcase until laundry time. It will be good practice for traveling on their own one day, as well as for one-bag airline travel. Give them a list of what they'll need, have them assemble the basics, then go over their selections to be sure they've got the basics covered and so you can purchase what is needed to fill in any gaps before you leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 My teen dd would get a bit jumpy about combining her stuff in bags. I would at least have plan a bag for her to keep her lingerie and feminine items and allow to feel some small sense of privacy. We solve this by having the items for each family member grouped together in a plastic bag inside the large duffel bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I don't own a garment bag, but we have soft sided rolling suitcases. I pack hanging stuff in the suitcases on hangers--laying those down first so that they are draping out of the suitcase. Then I put the other stuff (underwear, plastic bags with shoes, jeans, other folding clothes, socks, etc) on top of the hanging stuff. Then I fold the top of the hanging stuff on top of the folding stuff and close the suitcase. The hanging stuff is thus never sharply bent, so it wrinkles less. I take it out of the suitcase at each stop and hang it on the shower rod, and run some hot water into the bathtub so that it steams out any wrinkles. This works fantastically, and I never have to iron anything. Since these are rolling suitcases, they are easy to bring places, so I don't skimp on the clothing. I always bring a warm coat and a swimming suit just in case. For your trip I would have a pair of jeans, leggings, or comfortable to dress up or down black pants for every two days of the trip, underwear for every day plus one, layers for on top, and that warm coat. Then I would have all the wedding clothes in one bag, and hang it up and steam it at every stop to keep it fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Pack one suitcase for cold weather and the other for the warmer weather and schedule clothes washing every 3 days or so so you really don't need to bring to much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 I wish I could wash every 3 days, but staying in hotels..that might not be possible. I hope to do laundry once in Phoenix since we will be there for 3 nights... and my kids have been responsible for their own luggage for years...but what I am trying to avoid is taking out 5 suitcases everynight at every hotel...to me, that just seems excessive..or something. 2-3 suitcases per night is enough, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatashainDFW Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I am getting ready for a 6 day road trip. We will be at a family house for the first and last night but the others will be in different hotels.....I made sure that each hotel had a laundry facility. I will do a load of cloth diapers and laundry each night that we are on the road to reduce the amount of clothes and diapers I must take with us. We are also going from South Texas to North Utah and back so we will also experience the weather changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 it doesn't matter how long we are going for. each person gets a back pack. and each person gets a carry-on size duffel, or half a large duffel. we take stuff in each night. why not? everyone puts on a pack and grabs their bag. that's it, that's all. fwiw, ann eta: and one person has the travel violin, and two people have computers. because really, we cannot go a day without them, apparently... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I wish I could wash every 3 days, but staying in hotels..that might not be possible. I hope to do laundry once in Phoenix since we will be there for 3 nights... and my kids have been responsible for their own luggage for years...but what I am trying to avoid is taking out 5 suitcases everynight at every hotel...to me, that just seems excessive..or something. 2-3 suitcases per night is enough, in my opinion. If they've been doing their own for years, what is their reaction to wanting to share? We've always done our own because we all have different ways of folding or sorting, having to share would have created more angst that everyone being responsible for their own. For us, it was never the suitcases that were the issue, it was the toy bag, the computer bag, the snack bag, the extra pillow, blanket, the tool bag. Dh was not a minimal traveler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We are an army duffle bag family. One duffle is all we need. ;) If we are switching locations frequently I segment things a bit with pillow cases. Put all the warm weather gear in one at the bottom. I keep dirty in another pillow case. This pillow case/laundry bag goes into the washer and dryer with the clothing and is used to carry the clean laundry. Another pillow case for rewearable/night wear etc. My last tip is take things to serve as pj's that can be worn in public. Dd always wears her pajamas home -- leggings and a cute tshirt are perfectly acceptable sleep wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I segment things a bit with pillow cases. .... I keep dirty in another pillow case. This pillow case/laundry bag goes into the washer and dryer with the clothing and is used to carry the clean laundry That is genius! Thanks for the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 A trip with multiple one night hotel stays gets disposable clothes for us. I buy cheapo sweats and T's and undies at WalMart. Each day gets packed in a plastic bag, one for the entire family. After sleeping in our clothes, I go out and get a plastic bag so that we will have fresh clothes after baths. The worn clothes get thrown in the garbage. I do not want anything that is going back home with us exposed to possible bed bugs. That is why I am a freak in disposable clothes. I do not do this if I am in the same location for more than 3 days. I then think I would have enough time to figure out I was exposed. I have always thought it was better to roll clothes, interlocking each piece when packing in plastic bags. One can interlock and fold if packing for a suitcase. This allows for fewer wrinkles while perfectly matching the shape of the container so no wasted space. Have fun on your trip. It sounds wonderful. Check out the Adventures by Disney trip to compare their stops with yours. I know we have always had great trips with them. It wouldn't hurt to copy their itineraries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 we also have issues with blankets, pillow, toys bags, snack bag, cooler, etc in the SUV. Being that we are going to be in the car MANY hours....and daily....I want the kids to have things to do too...but this should be VERY intersting...for sure. SO I want to pack as little as possible...but I just don't know. Watching the weather, it appears that Pheonix is the only place where shorts/capris will be needed...otherwise, jeans, and layered tops should suffice...so that should make things a little easier. I love the idea of wearing PJ's home...what fun!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We solve this by having the items for each family member grouped together in a plastic bag inside the large duffel bag. We do something a similar for DD - particularly when she was younger. We'd put everything she'd need for one day in a gallon sized zip lock bag (ie - underpants, socks, tunic, leggings) and then sit on it to get the air out when we closed it. It made it very easy to pack for her since we just had to add ten flat ziplocks to a bag and then even easier to figure out her outfit the next day. Grab a bag and she's got everything she needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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