Planning outfits for the family

I don't know about you, but my biggest stress when packing for our first cruise as a family of 4 was planning what to wear for each day/night. It was overwhelming! Especially because I knew we wanted to take family portraits, and wanted to color-coordinate some of the evening outfits.

So, here is the spreadsheet I created to:

1) make sure I accounted for the color-coordinated evenings

2) make sure we had chosen outfits (and which shoes) for every day/night, for every member

3) easily visualize where we could repeat some items (pants, skirts, shoes) to take the less stuff

4) Use it as a checklist when we actually made the suitcases, to make sure we put it all in there

5) Stack the kids' clothes on the shelves of the stateroom's closet, by the order they were going to use them. it made it so much easier to get ready every day.

And, just because women are more complicated and need to account for more stuff, I created this one as a more detailed version for my outfits

With these, we did not overpack. We took exactly the amount of outfits we used.

If anyone wants these in Excel, let me know and I can send via email :)

I thought I was bad with my spreadsheet lists....I think you have me beat:eek:. I plan by person/suitcase but not by the day. I just tell they need this many of what items and let them figure out which ones they want to pack.

I thought I was bad with my spreadsheet lists....I think you have me beat:eek:. I plan by person/suitcase but not by the day. I just tell they need this many of what items and let them figure out which ones they want to pack.

Well, my kids are little (3 & 1), so I can't exactly let them make their own picks. I did that with my husband, but even he ended up using my spreadsheet. LOL!

Wow! These are impressive. I would love them in excel. Thank you. Lainie underscore Josephson at yahoo dot com.

Wow, we just pick a color family and pack within it so we can minimize accessories and shoes. I think trying to write it out would make it more difficult for me, but props on the organization.

I like it! Please send me a copy.

kmcnana at comcast dot net

Thanks!

I did something similar with my kids first cruise ( 7 kids ages 1-13) but now things are different. We have 8 now ages 6-21 and I prefer to do things in a more hands on kind of way.

I tell my older kids ( 16 and up) to make up outfits and bring them to me after telling them what types and how many. I sign off on their stuff and stack it on the couch.

The big kids will then do the same for/with the little kids and I will sign off on thiers as well. I really prefer to lay them all out and look at them and then start pulling stuff that's redundant.

We cross pack the girls cabin in 3 cases and the boys cabin in 3 cases just incase. I pack the little boys casual clothes in zip locks as an outfit so that they can easily participate in keeping their stuff/cabin in order. It works out nicely because then with a case each for Dh and I, we only have 8 total. Strap them 4 and 4 and it only takes the 2 big boys to haul them. That leaves extra hands for holding onto little ones and dealing with docs and such.

A woman after my own compulsive heart! Nice job.

I would love a copy! I put the kids outfits in ziplocks too for easy grab and go.

cl-address at outlook dot com

Thanks!

What happens if one of the children spills ice cream on his clothes on Day 1? Does every outfit have to move up half a day, or is there some wriggle room? ;)

What happens if one of the children spills ice cream on his clothes on Day 1? Does every outfit have to move up half a day, or is there some wriggle room? ;)

Tide pen to the rescue! ;)

I have to admit I do this in my head as I pack for myself and the boys ;). Then I tell DH what he needs to bring to coordinate with our formal pics!

I admit to dressing my boys in matching coloured t-shirts so I can find them easily in a crowd while in port ;)

My hubby has been known to look askance at me if I pack for different outfits for each day. We will have items (like jeans, if going to Alaska or Hawaii -- the first couple of days are cool) that we will plan to wear more than once before heading to the self-service laundry (and yes, that is a requirement for us, especially as we usually pair a land trip with a cruise or go on two-weeks cruise, as our last three have been). We don't take formal portraits so the only coordinating we do is my hubby and I if we take our matching aloha wear.

I tend to be a planner, but just with the logistics of getting to the ship and back home (and fortunately, we live an hour's drive from one port) and I'll research each port and see what will interest us.

When it comes to packing, I'll go through my closet and drawers and take out items I'm interested in wearing, and then try to return most of those back to the closet. Did that too for my daughter until she got to her teens, and now she'll pack for herself.

Wow, impressive.

I usually just pack a set number of items(pants, shirts, etc...) and am careful to mostly pack neutral colors and very few with designs so that we can mix and match.

Pick matching outfit, put in zip lock bag, including underwear. Count number of zip lock bags on fingers on one hand. Count number of days on fingers on other hand.

Repeat with dinner outfits.

Dress shoes; sandals

Swimsuits in zip lock.

toss in suitcase. Done.

I'd love the spreadsheet- I have one going but its not as organized. THanks! Kjbortle@gmail.com

What happens if one of the children spills ice cream on his clothes on Day 1? Does every outfit have to move up half a day, or is there some wriggle room? ;)

I love this idea!! And I'm very grateful for the zip-lock bag idea for my DD2! As well as making it simple to see how many outfits she has it will also make it so much easier to have a complete outfit all together when my DD13 will be helping to get her sister dressed!!

The zip-lock is an idea I got from these boards several years ago and it has never failed to make things simple. I take an antiseptic wipe and wipe down everything. Pull the zip-lock bags out of the bags (with name written on outside of each), and toss into a drawer or onto a shelf. The dirty outfit goes into the zip-lockthat the clean outfit was in, then tossed into a designated place. We use one of the suitcases. When it comes time to pack on the last day, almost all the packing is already done (dirty clothes in the zip-locks), and I don't have to spend the last day trying to get everything organized and packed. I get to enjoy several hours more of my cruise! This was truly the best tip I ever got on this site!

It is such a good, simple idea!! I'm just sorry I didn't know of it 13 years ago when I started taking my eldest on holiday!!! I'm sorry to borrow this thread for my own question but does anyone have any useful tips on packing for a cruise sailing in Oct from the UK (very cold) down to the Canaries (hopefully hot) and back?? There's me, my DD13 and DD3 and I really don't want to overpack but at the same time I don't want us to be caught out by the weather!

Please tell me I'm not the only one who tells my children, after age two, "We'll be gone for eight days and it will be hot weather. Please pack four pairs of shorts, one pair of pants, eight t-shirts, eight pairs of underwear, some church clothes, a sweater, and two swimsuits." :D Only my older daughter thinks about coordinating shirts and shorts. I pack my favorite shirts, some shorts and capris that go with everything, a black skirt, and a couple dresses. When we get there, everyone has to put their clothes in their own drawers/shelves. Then each morning, we all get dressed.

Obviously, we don't do family portraits on vacation. Much less stress. :)

Great spreadsheet. If you could send it, that would be great. tamara dot huckle at yahoo dot ca. I am packing my kids stuff into ziplocs and can put the dirty clothes in the bags once they have been worn. My kids are really messy though, so I will have to do a few extra very neutral outfits, and we are also doing laundry mid week.

I love the spreadsheet - especially when trying to match with a color / theme.

I took this to the next level with my son. I pack each outfit into a ziplock, then I have a closet rod sweater stacker, and I put that in the closet with each days' clothes / shoes / accessories. They make these with days of the week, too - it's how we live at home every day, minus the ziplock.

I did something similar with my kids first cruise ( 7 kids ages 1-13) but now things are different. We have 8 now ages 6-21 and I prefer to do things in a more hands on kind of way.

 

I tell my older kids ( 16 and up) to make up outfits and bring them to me after telling them what types and how many. I sign off on their stuff and stack it on the couch.

 

The big kids will then do the same for/with the little kids and I will sign off on thiers as well. I really prefer to lay them all out and look at them and then start pulling stuff that's redundant.

 

We cross pack the girls cabin in 3 cases and the boys cabin in 3 cases just incase. I pack the little boys casual clothes in zip locks as an outfit so that they can easily participate in keeping their stuff/cabin in order. It works out nicely because then with a case each for Dh and I, we only have 8 total. Strap them 4 and 4 and it only takes the 2 big boys to haul them. That leaves extra hands for holding onto little ones and dealing with docs and such.

Ok this makes me feel better that you have successfully cruised with this many kids. We are taking the kids along for the first time in December and we have 6 aged 3-15 at the time of the cruise.

LOVE the zip lock bag idea. More so for the little littles. When we went on our Summer trip I was obsessive about swimsuits for everyone and forgot mine! :( I'm probably the most difficult one to pick up a swimsuit on the fly too. Live and learn!!

I'm hoping that it all goes smoothly and fits in the car for the ride down!! We are trying to decide between a car top carrier or one of the back of the car carriers that hook into your trailer hitch. We have a SUV that seats 8 but it is TIGHT with everyone in there so not sure where our luggage is going to go for our 8 hour drive to the port.

I don't know about you, but my biggest stress when packing for our first cruise as a family of 4 was planning what to wear for each day/night. It was overwhelming! Especially because I knew we wanted to take family portraits, and wanted to color-coordinate some of the evening outfits.

 

So, here is the spreadsheet I created to:

1) make sure I accounted for the color-coordinated evenings

2) make sure we had chosen outfits (and which shoes) for every day/night, for every member

3) easily visualize where we could repeat some items (pants, skirts, shoes) to take the less stuff

4) Use it as a checklist when we actually made the suitcases, to make sure we put it all in there

5) Stack the kids' clothes on the shelves of the stateroom's closet, by the order they were going to use them. it made it so much easier to get ready every day.

And, just because women are more complicated and need to account for more stuff, I created this one as a more detailed version for my outfits

With these, we did not overpack. We took exactly the amount of outfits we used.

 

If anyone wants these in Excel, let me know and I can send via email :)

Love this. I may try to recreate in excel myself, but will ping you if I need yours :rolleyes: