I was wondering what you all pack your clothes in? Do you just use a suitcase or do you have some clever space saving trick you could tell the rest of us?
We have only been away for weekends before, so managed with a small case, with towels, change of clothes and nightwear for the 4 of us. But we are going on our first week long trip on monday, 5 of us this time as my nephew is coming with us and i'm not sure how to fit all the clothes in!
I bought a couple of those under bed storage bags from argos, and some vacuum bags for the towels and pillows. I was hoping to squash everything into the underbed bag as it's fairly big and less bulky than a suitcase.
The other thing is I am worried about creasing al the clothes by cramming them in and not being able to iron them
Any tips much appreciated, Thanks
Claire
------------- You don't have to be crazy, but it helps!
Suitcases take up too much space, rucsacs, holdalls or Ikea / sainsburys etc bags for clothes. vacuum bags (you can sit / lie on them for the way home) are great for towels, jumpers, pillows etc.
Ironing isn't a consideration in our house, it gets ironed and if it's creased when we get there then oh well, it doesn't matter. Also don't take too many clothes, last summer's main holiday I came back with loads unworn so this year I halved the amount of clothes and still came back with loads unworn!! Take plenty of underwear and probably enough shorts, t shirts for one a day, couple of pairs of trousers and a couple of jumpers each, sorted. Forget taking evening clothes.
As Kate says suitcases take too much space and are too rigid to squish into a gap. We have a mid sized holdall each, we roll clothes and this creases them less but personally I iron virtually nothing anyway so it makes no difference!
We use Ikea or Carrefour bags for life for extras like towels etc and these can be squished into gaps.
Some folks swear by vacuum bags but we've never found them very effective after the first use.
Take layers of clothes and things that dry quickly, long jeans aren't much use if the weather is wet but 3/4 cotton or mixed fabric trousers don't drag in the wet and dirt and dry off quickly.
We use a holdall as it's easier to squash into the boot than a suitcase.
My hubby is very particular about his shirts & trousers looking crease free, so I roll each one around each towel - they come out looking like they've just been ironed.
Hey you are camping, does it matter if you have a few creases and as for trousers with creases, they're fine for the office but when camping, get ya legs out, put your shorts on then the creases match ya wrinkles
If you are taking something special that you don't want to crease, placing a plastic bag inside the garment and another one on the outside before folding works a treat.
We went away for a week last week and took a small suitcase with a pull handle and wheels, Thought it would double up as a place to store clothes. It was a bit of a pain searching through the case each time to to find childrens items etc. One good tip is to put each individuals inderwear/socks in their own carrier bag. As these items are changed daily it made it easier to grab bits before showers etc.
Next time we go for longer than a weekend, I will pack each persons clothes in a carrier bag seperately too.
Alex
------------- Dreaming of next adventure.....when my back is better :(
OH Boy...is it me or what.?.... you're camping and you are worried about creasing your clothes ?.... i rarely iron anything anyway let alone worry about it in a tent.... camping is a wonderful excuse (not that really i need one ) to look creased and muddy and have bits of grass in your hair and laugh about it...!!!.... where else can you wander over to the shower block in your jarmies and wellies......i'm never happier than when i'm sitting in the middle of a field .... mind you i have to admit to the importance of nice showers.... camping is an excuse not to wash.... but there are limits....lol..... but as for 'ironing'....well each to their own 'eh?.
Rolling is definitely the way to go - clothes crease less and they take up less space. I sometimes (if I'm feeling organised) roll a whole outfit together for the kids, then there's less rootling around the bag for their stuff.
Rolling clothes definitely works - bin doing that for 24 years whenever I pack to go away, whether camping or not!
We have middle sized holdall each, and I pack my stuff in groups in clear plastic bags so I can see them easily - e.g. bag all my undies and socks together, and all my teeshirts and vest tops etc.
My OH has his own arcane method of packing and on a long hol the bedroom we use for storage does rather end up as if a bomb has hit it. On our recent hol we had to turn the whole tent out because he became convinced he has lost his camera....I found it in his rucksack! So it is quite important to develop a routine of what you keep where.
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Topic: Packing clothes
