Last Updated on June 14, 2021 by Natalie
Going away for a weekend with your kids? Me, too! Here’s my detailed, tongue-in-cheek guide for how to pack when traveling with kids! Especially if you’re a disorganized mom like me. This is the reality of packing with little kids around: the guide on how not to pack for a weekend away with kids.
Enjoy!
How not to pack for a weekend with kids
Sometimes, packing doesn’t go exactly as planned. I’ve forgotten to pack a myriad of items while traveling, mostly when the kids were really little and really needed me all the time. Or helped me unpack while I was trying to pack.
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Packing for a weekend away with young kids
1. Wake up in your hotbox of house because the air conditioning quit a few days ago and realize that today is FRIDAY. You are LEAVING TODAY. You washed clothes last night! Win! Throw clothes in the dryer and realize you didn’t wash anything you actually needed. Fail! Start another load of laundry.
2. Take a quick, coldish shower. The house is really hot.
3. Start packing. Something you need is in the other room. The kids bounce in and take everything out while you’re in that room. See what you just packed is now strewn all over the room. Yell that you don’t need help and will you PLEASE GO PLAY? We only have a million toys! My things are NOT TOYS!!
4. Apologize for yelling because it’s one of the things you are trying to not do except in dangerous situations. Take a deep breath, accept yourself and your flaws. You realize you are hot and sweaty again. Is there time for a second shower?!
Is there time for a second shower?
5. Find clean underwear for everyone. Repack everything that had been unpacked.
6. Stop to write a blog post because you are waiting for the washer and dryer to be done and can’t continue anyway.
Wonder Woman with her buddies, the Rescue Bots. And the great toddler hand from the sky.
Stop. Buzzer time.
7. Hear the buzzer. Stop mid-sentence to change the laundry. Tell everyone in Internet Land that you folded all the clothes like Wonder Woman, but really, you didn’t because who has time for that? Oh, you do? Nevermind (PS – either way, you’re awesome!)
8. Found wearable shorts in dryer. They are still hot. Put them in freezer for a few minutes. Freezer pants are absolute bliss to wear for 30 seconds on a hot day. After that, they are just like normal pants. Consider trademarking the term “Freezer Pants.”
9. Realize that if you don’t stop writing the blog list, you will never get packed. Curse your lack of planning in advance. Forgive yourself because the dog got really sick the same day the AC quit and required immediate vet attention (he’s okay). The other dog ended up being sick, too, probably from their stay last week while we were on vacation. Everyone is now doing better.
Procrastinate (by doing stuff you procrastinated on last week)
10. Finally remember to email the B&B to ask if they found the shoes we left there last week. They did and threw them out after a few days of being unclaimed. Get really upset with self. Get really upset in general. Then tell self to calm the heck down. Draw the line and move on. Breathe. Move on.
11. Continue packing. Make sure everyone has three or four of everything for a 2.5 day trip. It’s way too much.
12. Forget something, but NEVER forget the carrier! The baby carrier, that is!
On our last trip, having the carrier along made life a little easier! The 3 year old is hiding back there! I would rather forget everything else, but not the carrier.
Breathe. You’re finished.
All in all, the trip went fine and I had enough stuff, this time. I find that road trips are much easier, as you can travel heavy and it really isn’t a big deal.
How do you pack for a weekend away with your kids? Do you make detailed packing lists? Do you have any awesome, helpful tips for disorganized moms?
Lake Erie sunset. A reminder of why we make time and effort to travel.
20 comments
Freezer pants? I love warm drycleaning pants in winter but freezer pants.. never thought about that!
Our AC is still broken and the inside temperature has been as high as 86 degrees F. I did use ice packs to cool off a little 😀
On a cold winter day, I still love stuff right out of a warm dryer!
I don’t have any kids but found your adjusted heading to be hilarious.
Thanks! Things didn’t go exactly as planned and I actually remembered everything!
Hahaha #10 made me rofl. I cannot even imagine how crazy it might get and yelling is part of the equation for me, even without kids.
Hahaha! I definitely yelled less before having kids. Well, toddlers. Toddlers have a lot of fun and that equals a lot of messes!
Wow! Things definitely change when you have kids. My packing routine is usually 5 minutes of throwing things in a backpack! My props go to you!! 🙂
Before kids, the earliest I’d pack is the evening before and only if we were leaving early in the morning (I’m not a morning person).
This is so true.. When we traveled with our kids when they were younger, I always knew there was a Wal-Mart somewhere along the way and if we forgot something, we would always find a way to make it work. Isn’t it interesting how the washer and dryer get a work out BEFORE you leave home AND when you return?
True! If we are going anywhere longer than a few days, I’ll be doing laundry during the trip, too!
This was funny 🙂 People around me are having babies and this gives me a sense of what it’s like 😉
Also, freezer pants is a BRILLIANT idea. I’m probably going to try it too. Big hugs to your little ones, and to you 🙂
Thank you, Supriya! Having kids is a lot of fun a lot of the time. It’s also sometimes frustrating.
I’m glad you liked the freezer pants!
Good tips. I have no kids but I will pass this along to those who do
Thanks, Holly!
FREEZER PANTS. Why didn’t I think of that!? This list reminds me of the camping trips my parents took us on when we were kids. Just a bunch of screaming excited kids and my poor Mom trying to rein us in, haha! I’m amazed you find time to fit in laundry at all, to be honest. 🙂
I *had* to do laundry. We didn’t have enough clean clothes for the weekend. Plus, with no AC, there was no wearing them a second time!
Your poor mom! Momming is challenging with 2. I can only imagine more (the joys and challenges both).
Ha! Sounds like fun 🙂 deep breaths definitely help and knowing that all this is because of the people you love!
So true. The kids did have a great time!
Thanks for the laugh! Ha! I always stress about packing snacks since one of my daughters and I can’t have gluten. As long as we have snacks, we can always wear the same clothes over and over. Love the “freezer pants.”
I also can’t have gluten! So, I really worry about food for myself. As far as we know, the kids can have anything. On this particular weekend, I didn’t have to worry about food. Only clothes!