Welcome to our whirlwind adventures with a family of seven, where packing isn’t just a chore; it’s an art form. As a mom of five boys, I’ve learned that packing efficiently and thoughtfully is the key to ensuring smooth and enjoyable family travels. In this post, I’ll share our essential packing tips, tricks, and must-haves that have transformed our adventures into memorable, (mostly) stress-free experiences.
Mastering the art of minimalism:
With five boys, every inch of suitcase space counts. Embracing minimalism means packing only what’s necessary, avoiding overpacking, and making the most of limited luggage space.
I know it’s hard to believe, but we often travel with just one carryon bag… for all of us. Each of the four big boys carries their school backpack, Mama carries the diaper bag and baby, and Papi takes his work bag. These are considered personal items, there’s no charge, and slide right under an airplane seat or easily fit in the trunk for road trips. Then I use a single carryon bag to pack my clothes and remaining items that don’t fit, like bottles, extra diapers, wipes and toiletries. And we’ve successfully used this strategy on trips that have lasted over a week! All you need to have at your destination is access to laundry, either in your space or a laundromat nearby!
How to select the necessities:
Ok, I pack any medications, toiletries, first aid items, etc, so, if each of the boys only gets a backpack, what exactly do they pack? They know the drill, they wear one set of clothes and always wear socks and sneakers on the travel day, complete with hoodie tied around their waist for those chilly plane rides. Then, they pack two full sets of clothes, shirt, shorts/pants, underwear and socks, one set of pajamas, one pair of sandals or crocs, and that’s it.
This means when we get to our destination, they are ready for a full day of fun in what they are wearing, night one they have clean pajamas, day two they have a full set of clothes, night two we re-wear the pajamas (this may not work when they get to be smelly teens though!), and day three they have another full set of clothes, and we re-use the hoodie during the adventures. Then I know, come day three we have some laundry to do and I have to plan it in to our day. Typically this means all the boys get dressed on day three, give me all of their pajamas an days one and two clothes and I get those loads going before we even have breakfast! So by night three we have clean pajamas again and are ready for days four and five to adventure more and get home.
If we go on longer trips, we can just repeat the process doing laundry every 3rd day, so this strategy actually works no matter how long your trip may be!
The art of packing strategically:
This by far has had the biggest impact on making travel easier for a family of seven! I’m sure I didn’t invent this, others probably use it, but when it spontaneously came to mind on a trip to Tennessee 2 years ago, it changed everything!
Do NOT pack each child separately in their own backpack! I know this sounds nuts, but here me out. Instead of putting all of child one’s clothes in bag one, and child two’s clothes in bag two, and so on, pack by the day. In bag one, put a set of clothes for each child. So, Jasper carries a set of clothes for himself, MJ, Matthew and Mateo. Then, bag two, put a set of clothes for each child as well. So, Matthew carries a set of clothes for himself, MJ, Jasper and Mateo. Then in bag three, put everyone’s pajamas and sandals. So, Mateo carries everyone’s pajamas and sandals since this is the lightest bag and he’s the youngest. Then bag four is our wild card that I’ll describe in the next section.
So why pack this way? Oh just think how much better this is! You travel all day, show up to your hotel, the kids need to get into pajamas, what do they do? They open every single bag and dump the contents out on the floor to find their pajamas and now there are bags and clothes everywhere! And they stay there, the whole trip… this is my worst nightmare! When you ask for their dirty clothes, they don’t know what’s dirty or clean. When you ask them to get dressed, they’ve lost their socks. There’s so much mayhem that you are stuck doing it all and working even harder than you have to at home. Some vacation, right?
If you pack by the day, there is only one bag or suitcase open at a time. We roll into the hotel, and as I unpack the food we purchased or our one carryon bag, I simply yell over to the boys who are of course already jumping on their beds, “Boys! Open Mateo’s bag and put your sandals in the closet and change into your pajamas, please! Don’t forget to put your dirty clothes back into Mateo’s bag.” The next day we wake up, and as I go to get in the shower, I simply say “Hey boys, can you please open Jasper’s bag and get dressed? Just leave your PJs on your bed for tonight.” and off I go. Morning of day three, same thing. “Boys, open Matthew’s bag and get dressed. Please put all your dirty clothes, including you pajamas and Mateo’s bag into the washing machine so Mama can get a load going!”
It’s so simple, even 4 little boys can do it!
The wild card bag:
Ok, how does MJ, the oldest, get out of carrying a backpack? He doesn’t, he gets the heaviest one!
The boys are allowed to fill the bag with items they want for the plane ride and hotel or wherever we are staying. Each boy typically packs two books and any small toys we can fit. As the boys get older, the toys become more books, or puzzle books, or scratch pads etc, they’ve learned it’s not much fun to play cars or GI Joe’s on the plane since they always fall off the seat, we can get them, we lost them etc. So, MJ’s bag is always pretty heavy, but it’s totally worth it and he doesn’t complain since his little brothers spend their time quietly doing mazes, leaving him alone to read his latest Harry Potter book in peace.
Keeping the chaos at bay – FOOD:
All of the tips and tricks above are great for planning for and executing a smooth traveling experience, but nothing can ruin it faster than grumpy kids or toddlers melting down in the aisles. We have learned a very important lesson raising boys, they must be fed and exercised or all heck breaks loose! Since you can’t exactly exercise your body in the car or on a plane, we resort to food, and lots of it!
Yes, we bribe the boys with sweets and candies, go ahead, disagree with me! If you make it up to cruising altitude, or mile marker 100, without melting down, you get a lollipop. If you share nicely, don’t yell, help your brothers, mom brought chocolate chip cookies to share. And guess what, they earn them!! They know if they do melt down, or scream, or pick on each other, they actually won’t get the goods, so they have learned that we mean it, and they do AMAZING on the trip because they want to earn the best of the treats along the way.
However, we also know that they can’t sustain good behavior and moods on sugar alone, so we have to find ways to get healthy snacks in there too. Apples pack great, so do nuts and granola bars. So, we stagger the food. In the airport I typically get them a cheese stick to eat with their apple, when they are hungry, they get nuts, granola bars, or whatever healthier options we have. AND they get the treats. You can’t have the treats without the good food first, or the good behavior. And yes, they eat more on a three hour flight than they do in a normal five hour afternoon at home. But guess what, they are about to hike mountains, swim in creeks, jump rocks and burn more energy in 3 days than they do in a whole week at home, so enjoy boys!
Pulling it all together:
We travel a lot, and I mean a lot, for a family of our size. We take anywhere from five to ten round trip flights (think, 20 airplane rides!), and another ten or more car trips over three hours each year… with five loud, busy, rambunctious boys in tow. Traveling as a family is a chance to bond and strengthen your connections, as long as you’re not stressed out, overwhelmed and regretting ever leaving the house! So, using these lessons we’ve learned along the way have allowed us to ENJOY the memories we are making and spend quality time together, even during the travel time.
Whether you’re embarking on a weekend getaway or an international journey, use these tips to pack smart and make the most of your family adventures. Happy travels!
YOU AND LUIS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THE 5 BOYS, LOVE YOU ALL