I love this thread, and have gotten so many tips from it! Has anyone composed a master list by the way?
However…
I just want to throw in what I just learned (well, I’ve always known but just had the unpleasurable experience of dealing with firsthand). Be careful that your packing doesn’t get out of hand! We took a trip where we drove and had a 15 passenger van. I threw in so many things “just in case”. Unpacking it all in the villa and then repacking for home, and again when we got home (we’ve been home since Sunday night and I’ve only unpacked a little because we’ve been so busy since we got back!). I’ll bet I had the equivalent of a full sized suitcase or more of things I took that might come in handy and I never touched!
For the future I want to think of it differently.
1. Items that if we forget we are really in trouble - glasses, contacts, prescription medications, medical supplies.
2. Random items I will use- zip lock bags, cloth diapers for rags, hand sanitizer, pool dive toys, small screwdrivers, batteries, ponchos, umbrellas.
3. Things I like but don’t
need-and might not use- Disney bubble wands, lots of Minnie ears, quarters and pennies, extra shoes, every OTC med known to man, clothes pins, kids toys
4. Things we might think we want but should not drag along! - Jedi robes (particularly in summer), droid depot droids, tons of different shoes for different outfits, long pants in summer, stroller lights, kids lighted nightlight toys/stuffies.
thise are just examples from each category off of the top of my head. But I want to remember the future that we are going to Disney, not a remote village in Africa, and I can buy most things we might need if it was urgent enough. Heck, with
Amazon prime now we can get a lot without going to a store. And it’s better to over pay for a few things than drag along the entire house with me lol! The gift shop even has a lot of things we might need, and it’s worth the cost if it saves time.
So while I love these things and think there are some great ideas,I know that I, in particular, need to be careful what I add and try to pare down haha. I’ve always been an over packer, so we’ll see how I do, but I really need to not do this again!!