I am so excited for the holidays! I need a break. Work has been a bear lately and I am ready to relax. But the holidays are so much more than that, right? We spend the holidays with family and friends. Often times we get to see loved ones we haven’t seen in months or even years. It is a most wonderful time of year!

But, a lot of times, we have to travel far distances to get to the family we are so eager to see. This is where I get stressed out. I have traveled by airplane about a million times in my life and spending 10+ hours in the car has never bothered me. I’ve been doing that all my life, too. So why does traveling stress me out? It’s both making sure everything is taken care of at home first, and then the packing. I will admit I am better about this than I used to be, but planning and packing for a trip gives me anxiety.

How cold is it going to be there? (I will check the weather in our destination at least 5 times before we leave)
Will I need to dress up or down? (I always worry about being under or over dresses, not just on trips)
Is my fancy dress going to look horrible after the trip?
Do I have enough sweaters, jeans, and underwear?
How can I pack less shoes?
Should I pack my good lotion or is the stuff in my purse good enough?
Do I really need all those hair products?
Is Pearson going to be disappointed when he sees everything I packed?
And now that we have a dog…
Is his crate going to fit in the car?
Did we pack enough food?
What if the only toy he wants while we are there is the one we leave at home?

Anyway, you get the idea.
The people at Paul Fredrick have put together a list of packing tips on their blog. Go check them out. One thing they mentioned that I have never heard or thought about is “showering with your clothes” to steam them after taking them out of your suitcase. Brilliant! They have come up with several great tips (mostly for men), but I would like to add some of my own that I have learned over the years (including some specifically for women).

So here we go…

1. Usually, one pair of jeans is enough. Bring a tide to-go pen so if you get something on your only pair of jeans, it isn’t the end of the world. Same goes for slacks or a good pencil skirt. You can pair one bottom with several different tops throughout the trip.
2. Use your destination’s resources. If you are staying with family, ask if they would mind your using their washer/dryer, iron and board, towels, and even hair dryer. If they don’t care, you can do laundry there and pack less.
3. Try to eliminate “just in case” clothes. If worst comes to worst, borrow or buy something new.
4. Try rolling your clothing items when you pack them. This usually makes more room in the suitcase and the clothes come out less wrinkled. (The people at Paul Frederick mentioned this one too, but I want to reiterate it. It has saved me on several occasions).
5. Unpack when you get there, if possible. At least hang up the fancy stuff.
6. String your necklaces into straws then hook them all together with a twist-tie. Take one out of the twist-tie at a time to wear. This keeps them from getting tangled up.
7. Keep you earrings in a smaller bag within your jewelry bag so they don’t get lost at the bottom.
8. Keep a packing list. The first things on my list are always phone charger and makeup because those are things I keep out of the suit case until the last minute. Before we leave, I double check the list to make sure I got everything.
9. Layer. If you are traveling from cold, snowy Ohio to sunny, warm south Georgia like we are for Thanksgiving, you will be traveling through several different levels of weather. You will want to be able to shed the layers as you drive further south.
10. If you’re driving, pack munchies. We usually go with nuts or other “healthy” snacks that are easy to munch on while driving, and bottles of water.

I know these tips aren’t all about how to pack to keep your clothes crisp per se, but I think they are helpful. Once I have everything packed and we are on the road on Wednesday, I know I will be happy and really enjoy the trip (including the drive) but I am not looking forward to the packing.

Do you have any tips to add to out lists?

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out the great tips from the wonderful people at Paul Fredrick!