Did I pack everything?

Picture this- you're packing for a family trip out of town for a few days.  How do make sure you have everything? Will you (or your hubby) be making a mad dash to Wal-Mart in the middle of the night?   

Try today's idea out and save yourself (or your hubby) a trip to the store.  He'll thank you for it later :)

The Conundrum:

Over the years our family has grown, and so has the amount I have to pack.

Questions like these (and more) were swirling around in my head:

Did I pack 3 shirts for the youngest or was it for the oldest?  

How long are we going to be gone again?  How many shirts do we need to pack?  

I think I packed 3 pairs of pjs for the girl.  

The  oldest still needs 2 more, and 1 load is in the dryer with 2 for him, 3 for her, 1 for me, and 2 for the hubby.   

How many did I need again?!?!?

I was getting so confused!

The Solution

A customized packing list!  This solution is so simple, but it has worked wonders for our family.  Here's a glimpse:

A few key features:

• Easily divided up for each child to pack on his or her own.  We use scissors to cut it into two or three lists that each child uses to pack.  I supervise and help as needed.  
• The "# needed" column indicates how many of each type of clothing is needed.  
• The "#packed" column really helps if the packing process takes place over a few days.  It lets you know if you need to wash more of pjs or underwear and how far along the process is.  Love this part!
• Promotes independent children.
• Allows me to do laundry and put it right into suitcases.  
• It's more efficient than putting everything away and then hunting it down again to pack.

I created it in Excel and update it according to how many days/nights we'll be staying.  It's not fancy, but the kids love it!  They really like to be independent and pack themselves.  This gives them guidance and the ability to do more.  It's one more tool that helps us Get It All Together.