Here’s a little trick that I have learned throughout my traveling. Buy the travel sized space saver bags. Depending on how long you will be gone, get 3 of these great bags and you won’t regret. Use one for all your under wears and socks. One for your shirts and one for dresses.

Fold your clothes normally and put them in the bag and vacuum seal it. It’ll compress the space by 75% less. Although they will weigh the same, you have more room. My experiences with them are: a full suitcase can become half full. Don’t put jeans, hats, and such in the space savers as they don’t compress as much. Usually it’s the soft and bulky items like sweaters compress the most.

With the increased fees at the major airlines and limited carryons, we really need to pay attention to what and how we pack. The most important rule is that never pack the things you don’t even wear at home. There’s a reason why you don’t wear them at home, because they’re either uncomfortable or impractical. Unless you’re taking a luxury cruise, there’s no need to pack all fancy dresses, gowns, and black tie stuff. Pack what you wear everyday. Count the days you will be traveling and add one formal wear on top of that.

Who

Who exactly are you taking to the beach? If you’re planning on bringing 5 children or more, then you’re in for some heavy duty lugging around. But if you’re just going with a friend or two, then you could just go with the bare minimum.

It’s a given that travelling light can be quite expensive specially if you’re going to be taking children with you. But if you’re group is composed of only two or three adults, then you could simply opt for the things that only you need.

Where

This may be a no brainer but if you live near the beach, then you could forego bringing a lot of things. After all, you only need to walk home to get what you need right? But if you’re going to the next State or the next country, you might consider packing things which you could subsist on for at least three days to a week. Again, the first question on who are you going with applies.

It’s more difficult to bring children across great distances than it is to move yourself. To be honest, as a parent myself, I sometimes don’t even think about what we need to bring. I just get the essentials which are clothes, towels, toiletry and money. Always those four. Anything, other than those are not needed.

Always remember, the closer the beach, the less stuff you need to bring. The farther the beach the more things you have to bring.

What

Family members in particular have that tendency to bring a looooot of things when going to the beach because of the perception of boredom. You’d have to understand that kids sometimes can have very limited imaginations about family excursions. Little Joey over there would probably not like the idea of being away from his computer for two days without Internet, that’s why he is going to bring his Laptop. Sandra doesn’t like to lose contact with her friends so she’ll bring her iPhone, iPod, iPad and iWhatever kit. The baby’s the most demanding. You’ll have to bring disposable diapers, feeding bottles, more than extra amount of clothes, umbrella, the milk can, a lot of clean water, powders and lotions. That’s why it’s highly inadvisable to bring babies to the beach.

How Much

Here’s the most important question of all. How much money are you going to spend? I’m not talking about your budget but rather your willingness to burn that cash. If you can afford to buy new clothes and everything you need near the beach then by all means, carry as little stuff as you could.

If you’re on a tight budget and you’re constrained to work around it, then you can expect to bring more things since retail outlets near beaches, wherever they are have a reputation of selling things at three times the price that they would normally fetch for!

At the end of the day your situation would determine how efficiently you can pack things. The basic rule is, bring only what you need.

Going out for the day with a little one needs some planning on what to take along so you don’t get stranded somewhere away from home without an essential item or an unhappy camper because you forgot to bring something along. So be sure to pack your diaper bag with the necessities for your little one and make the most of your outing.

Some of the most important items of course are diapers, wipes, burp rags, a change of clothing (you never know what might happen along the way, car sickness, overflow on diapers, anything can happen with your unpredictable little one in tow )

Be sure you take plenty of bottles and formula if you are bottle feeding, I always like to put my powder formula into the little Tupperware midgets containers, they hold just the right amount for individual bottles and take up very little space, or they do make small containers that are divided into sections that you can pre measure your powder formulas for quickly mixing a bottle on the go.

If your little one takes a pacifier/binky be sure to take one or two extra along in case the one you leave home with gets lost along the way, You don’t want to have a broken hearted little one for miles on the road because you lost one.

Take your little one’s favorite blanket and a backup blanket just in case, I usually take extras in case they fall asleep in their car seat you can help keep them shaded from the sunshine and comfortable for the ride.

Always pack more than you think you will need just in case something unexpected happens.

Have little toys they can play with to keep them entertained.

If you have a toddler you will want to pack small snacks they pack great in the little tupperware snack cups or little baggies, take several of their favorite small toys and a spill proof cup you can quench their thirst with along the way.

This will help make your outing with little ones much easier and more enjoyable for you an baby when you travel prepared. Happy Traveling!

About The Author

Susan Pittser is a mother of 7 children, Tupperware Director http://my.tupperware.com/spittser

18 year Florist Owner of a 3rd Generation Family Florist and Professional floral designer. http://chosenflowers.com

Travel packing tips: How to pack light and still stay in style

I’ll admit it, when it comes to packing I’ll empty my entire closet out and try and stuff it all in one large suitcase. Most of it comes back unworn and wrinkled. After years of travel, I’ve come to appreciate the fine art of packing and I am slowly learning how to pack a suitcase and how to pack lightly. Here are a few travel packing tips to assist in the task of packing.

Picking the right suitcase

The first step to great packing is to purchase a great bag. Sure, you can stop by K-mart and buy a $30 suitcase, but it’s not going to last. Luggage is something worth investing in. A good suitcase can last years, if not decades. Plus, cheap suitcases don’t protect the contents as well as an expensive one will. Last, a bag with wheels is much easier on your shoulder and much easier to transport than a duffel bag. To carry on or not to carry on?

I won’t lie, I get a small pleasure from exiting the plane and walking right out the door, while everyone else has to wait and shoulder there way to their bags on the conveyor belt. I always recommend carrying your luggage on. It saves time and you don’t have to wait for your bags or worry about losing them. It also requires you to pack less. It’s important to keep in mind airline restrictions on carry-on items though. There are size limits, usually no more than 40 pounds and it has to fit in the overhead compartments or under your seat. If you are traveling with children or carrying on your luggage is not an option, make sure to label your luggage correctly and take off any unnecessary tags to ensure that your luggage gets to you safely. Also, if I have to check my luggage I always pack my toothbrush and a clean pair of underwear in my carry-on just in case my luggage gets delayed.

Pick, choose and lose

I’m sure that new summer dress is very thinning, but you’re going to be hiking in the mountains. The first packing tip is to bring only what you need. I always go through my closet and pull out everything I want to bring and then place the items in stacks. Then I put at least half of it back into the closet, picking out only the items I need. Keep the weather, what kind of activities you will be partaking in and the location in mind. I recommend packing solid colors and basic clothing items that can be easily pieced together and will match the other clothing items you pack. Instead of packing a sweater, try packing a light jacket. It will look nicer and probably will match more items. Remember to pack at least one dressy outfit as well. Women, don’t feel obligated to pack items like skirts if you don’t plan on wearing them. A nice pair of slacks will suffice. Shoes are items that take up a lot of space when packing. Wear one pair of comfortable shoes on the plane that match all your outfits, and then pack one pair of sandals and one pair of dressy shoes in your luggage.

The other stuff

Clothes are not the only things that are packed. Toiletries can easily start to add up and take up lots of space. Nowadays everything can be bought in travel size and they take up a lot less space then a jumbo bottle of shampoo. Items like blow- dryers are not necessary considering most hotels come with one. Keep the toiletries minimal and only bring what’s necessary, plus if something comes up, you can always purchase things once you’ve reached your destination.

How to pack a suitcase and make it all fit

One common packing mishap is wrinkly clothes. Hopefully, by lightening your load and only packing the necessities, you will have room in your suitcase for everything to fit and it won’t get wrinkled. Plus, the fun part of vacationing is buying things and by packing lightly you’ll have extra room in your suitcase for the things you pick up along the way. Second, rolling your clothing like pants and t-shirts saves lots of room and they can easily be stacked. Other items like sweaters or button-up shirts need to be folded neatly in a square and the wrinkles should be smoothed out. Placing items like socks inside your shoes conserves space and is a great packing tip.

I had a friend travel to Spain and once she arrived she found her bottle of perfume had broken and leaked over all her clothes. Needless to say she smelled good the entire trip. Toiletries, especially items like perfume and shampoo, should be placed in sealed plastic bags and away from your clothes, so in case they leak they will not get over everything else.

The most important packing tip for vacations is to plan ahead. Check the weather forecast before packing so you will be prepared clothing wise. Also, don’t wait until the last minute to pack, because you will definitly end up over packing. Just follow these few, simple travel packing tips and you’ll learn how to pack a suitcase lightly. So, here’s to a wrinkle-free, fun-filled vacation.

Jillian Scheeler makes it easy to provide 5 essential ways for how to pack your suitcase.To recieve free part minicourse visit the http://www.travelpost.com

About The Author