We are off camping to cornwall for 10 nights at the begining of august, with 3 young children. Already I am having the nightmare of how much clothing to take, we have only been for 3 nights before and even then i think i may have packed too much :/
Are there laundry facilities on site? It's a requirement for me if we're going for more than a few nights, we just don't have enough clothes to take something different for every day of a longer trip! I always plan to do a few loads of washing per week, and generally the kids wear things a bit grubbier than they might at home. They're not bothered (age 7 and 9) so I try not to be!
------------- April/May - Georgia destroyed in high winds sob
May - Loch Ken, 1st outing for the wolf lake
July - Waterside House, Lake District
July - Inside Park, Dorset
Vacuum pack bags have proven great for packing the bulkier things smaller. Also see if there is a launderette on site, then u could wash and not need to pack as much.
As a mum of 4 (with 4 step children -most of whom are teenagers or adults now- phew) This may sound obvious but dont take many white things -They wont stay that way for long .Darker colours much more forgiving.Sandals- not too many socks needed I try and take separates that all coordinate Oh and pray for sun, when you can spend all day at the beach with minimal clothes ! I think we've all had that day -near the end of the holiday- when youre scrummaging through the wash basket looking for something fractionally cleaner that what youve got left to choose from ,that can have a 'little bit more' wear.
Caroline
I just made my son a drawstring bag to contain his clothes. I've sewn on pockets to the front, one section for underwear, special pocket for pjs, tiny pocket for swimming trunks etc. Everything else will go inside. Nothing worse than going through the main family holdall to find the last couple of pairs of kids underwear etc. Plan to have one for my daughter too and keep the smallest holdall for me and OH. We'll see how it works. Another suggestion I got off here in previous years was to place outfits in clear plastic bags in your main holdall so you aren't rummaging through everything to find the thing you need. It didn't work out terribly well for us but it was a good idea. Take less than you think you need but make sure everyone's got at least one decent jumper / hoodie etc if it turns cool.
my 9 yr old has playing on site clothes and going out clothes and i will encourage him to wear them multiple times . I dont like washing on site i am on holiday !i just do it all when i get back.
Thinking about it i do the same for me and my hubby, we have lounging clothes and off site clothes.Also my sons stuff is often old stuff so if it does get ripped or really stained i bin it.
we take clothes that they are just about still fitting or are near enough rags ready for the bin.
We pack them up and also but a new outfit whilst there.
We either bin or chairty shop at the end of our camp or holiday and just bring home the new gear, so we have space in the car.
We did this since the year my hubby forgot to put all the kids clothes in the car and we had to buy all new when there, so we bought school clothes ready for the september, T shirts that they could all get away with wearing so they could swap.
The best part of the holiday for kids is to play and not have mum worrying about them getting clothes dirty. R-E=L=A=X... it's a holiday! .Not a 'cleanest family' parade.
------------- It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change. - Charles Darwin
I can go for up to eight weeks at a time. The campsite washing machines and I got to know each other very well! Take whatever powder/liquid/tablets you usually use, for automatics. Saves getting itchy from whatever the campsite may supply.
Don't take new clothes, unless it's one special outfit each for posh going out. Have campsite clothes that are at the end of their lives...almost too small, marked, well worn etc. Don't put the kids in clean stuff first thing...clean undies, sure, but they wear the current campsite outfit till it gets wet/muddy. Stains and dust don't matter on campsite and you'll go mad trying to keep clothes nice so don't bother. You can change them just before you go off site and when you get back put them back into the scruffy stuff. At the end of the holiday, bin it.
Take clothes that can be washed together,,,you'll go nuts trying to keep whites/coloureds/darks in seperate washes. My idea of a perfect camping wardrobe is the entire family wearing camoflague everything tbh. I'm working on it! And do not even think about taking anything that needs ironed.
I give everyone their own holdall of appropriate size. The ones I use most have end pockets for undies etc but you can use carrier bags (Morrisons are good because they're part transparent) as "drawers"...one for t-shirts, one for bottoms etc. Saves a lot of raking around. If you don't want so many holdalls, use the biggest supermarket bags they sell at the checkouts.
Take x2 as many pairs of socks as you think they'll need. Trust me on this one....
If you need extra when there, have a quick walk round the town charity shops. My DD is still wearing the two pairs of charity shop camoflague cut-offs I found for 50p each in a charity shop on holiday two years ago. As an aside charity shops are also great for lots of cheap books and toys...use them for the holiday then take them back to the charity shops before you leave. Saves packing so much!
We bought one of those camping washing lines last year. Half price from argos. Great for the wet suits and towels.
Camping towels, those that blot you dry are easier to pack and dry than ordinary ones. I got some from decathlon, good size and on offer.
No full length trousers. They get wet at the bottom from grass and collect sand. Same goes for PJ,S
Light weight 3/4 or shorts.
crocs or wellies for morning walks to showers
Fleeces, they are easier to dry than sweatshirts and don't mark as much and easier to sponge down.
Cheapest costumes you can get. The sand ruins them! !!! Check out supermarkets for sales.
Fairy washing up liquid. If something gets a stain on fairy liquid is good for getting it out. Then a quick rinse through in the evening.
Thin rain coat that will roll up into a back pack.
I use the ikea holdalls. 1 for each member of family. I roll the clothes up and put them in. I have an extra one for each person now (they fold into a square, about £3/4 each) and use them for dirty washing.
Pack for 5/6 days and then wash for week after. Usually a laundrette on site. You may be washing swim stuff through anyway so can swill a t shirt or undies through at same time.
1 IKEA bag for bedding and towels.
As O/H always has air con on freezing we all wear a fleece and coat to keep warm but saves on packing!!!
take 3/4 length lightweight trousers and t shirts in that 'football shirt' material, medium colours, not white(!) Then if you have to wash you can get loads in the washer in one load and it will either dry quickly hung up or if weather isn't great it won't cost you a fortune in change for the dryer getting it dry.
If you only have one or two of the above tops wear them at the beginning of the week and proper t's at the end, that way you won't need to iron anything if you do have to wash.
------------- Pally
The pen is mightier than the sword - but only if the sword is very small and the pen is very sharp...
I take mainly clothes that I don't mind getting stained etc. plus one semi decent outfit incase we go out for the day somewhere special. If there are laundry facilities on site then don't be afraid to use them. I used to take loads of clothes because there was no way I was going to wash on holidya - until the day I had sicky sheets to wash. I there some other clothes in the machine -and hve never looked back. I would rather take fewer clothes and shove a load of washing on if needed. Also means that if the kids clohes are wet and muddy they don't end up smelly. I take mainly tshirts and a couple of warmer tops which can be worn if needed. With a lightweight coat this give me a combination of weights.
I would only pack 1 pair of PJ's for them. In an emergency, it's easier to wear 'day clothes' to bed than the other way round.
We are going for 3+ weeks, so will have to wash. I would far rather do a wash on holiday than have it all to come back to. You may also find the need to 'go and check the washing' gives you 10 mins peace from the kids.
We will probably do 2x 'hot' outfits, 2x cold outfits, plus make sure they have a fleece/crocs/coat etc. If there is room, then I do try and chuck another outfit in, but even then we still seem not to wear everything.
Lots of good tips here. I don't have to dress kids, but I do have OH!
We save tatty undies and T's to take on holiday. We divide the holiday days into 3 and take clothes for 2 thirds. Wear the better stuff for 1 third then wash. Wear the tatty stuff and bin, then the rest of the 2nd third. Finally you should have the first third dry to finish the holiday.
Wear similar colours to wash together.
Take old small thin towels to wipe wet feet or hair. They will rinse through and dry on a fence.
Don't take tea towels, use synthetic cloths (Wilkinsons multipurpose packs of 10) to wash up, rinse the pots then wipe with the wrung out cloth, pots will be dry by the time you get back. The cloth will dry quickly.
Hang towels out in the sun/wind to freshen them.
Thanks so much guys, lots of great advice! I popped into primark and got some great bargins for kids, t shirts and shorts £1, dont mind how ruined they get :)
Just doing my check lists and will be so happy when we ae eventually there!
I've been using my vacuum food saver and vac packing the kids boxers and socks. It's not so much that I need to minimize the space, it's just stopping them from getting tangled up with all the other stuff.
I split their t-shirts into two piles and vacuum packed and sealed them too. They have 6 t-shirts, separated into two lots of three (each). I plan to do a wash halfway through our fortnight long holiday. The t-shirts are rolled up and three to a bag. I'm hoping that they'll be reliatively well ironed by the time I open up the second pack for them later on in the holiday.
I'm going in 2 days time! Tomorrow is really my main packing day as we're leaving the following day at 9am. I've been house cleaning and packing for the last few days getting ready. I hate coming home to a messy house.
So I'm going to take Vals advice and go and look for double the amount of socks I was thinking of taking!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: eek not long now, how much to pack?
