When do you start packing?

[NoShoes2]

I used to work a crazy amount of hours, so I never really had time to pack until the night before we were to leave town. This has become a tradition. I get home from work the evening before we leave, have dinner, grab a beverage (or two), turn on my cruise playlist and begin to pack. The longer it takes the better, because I usually don't sleep much that night any way. 

When do you start packing? 

[BklynBoy8]

2 hours ago, NoShoes2 said:

I used to work a crazy amount of hours, so I never really had time to pack until the night before we were to leave town. This has become a tradition. I get home from work the evening before we leave, have dinner, grab a beverage (or two), turn on my cruise playlist and begin to pack. The longer it takes the better, because I usually don't sleep much that night any way. 

When do you start packing? 

 

Week before...

 

Separate items of need, tioleties night before/morning of, clothing placed in bags and suitor day before, ironing two days before, documents afternoon before, etc....

 

Moderation helps makes the trip more enjoyable without stressing. 

 

[yocrui5e]

I start packing a month before but not everything: I put in the luggage what I won't need for the next month, then slowly pack week by week.

 

The weekend before the trip, I check my list to see if I have everything in the house. What I don't have, I can go out and buy. 

 

Two nights before the trip is when I make sure everything's in. If I really need to get something, I can still go out and buy it. After that, I can then just relax and feel like on vacation rather than working overtime!

[NoShoes2]

8 hours ago, yocrui5e said:

I start packing a month before but not everything: I put in the luggage what I won't need for the next month, then slowly pack week by week.

 

The weekend before the trip, I check my list to see if I have everything in the house. What I don't have, I can go out and buy. 

 

Two nights before the trip is when I make sure everything's in. If I really need to get something, I can still go out and buy it. After that, I can then just relax and feel like on vacation rather than working overtime!

This is how my wife packs. We've had suitcases in our guest room for weeks now. 

[radiationman]

night before

[yocrui5e]

"But the last-minute rush when packing for a holiday has led to three quarters of men forgetting something important. And more than half of men find the packing process stressful compared to just 31 per cent of women."

 

https://travgear.com/2017/08/29/why-men-dont-pack-until-the-last-minute/

I'm a straight guy but I like prepping for a trip weeks in advance for exactly the reasons above: forgetting/stressing!

[NoShoes2]

2 hours ago, yocrui5e said:

"But the last-minute rush when packing for a holiday has led to three quarters of men forgetting something important. And more than half of men find the packing process stressful compared to just 31 per cent of women."

 

https://travgear.com/2017/08/29/why-men-dont-pack-until-the-last-minute/

I'm a straight guy but I like prepping for a trip weeks in advance for exactly the reasons above: forgetting/stressing!

Agreed! It can be stressful (so wine and music are included in my packing process) and I have forgotten things (shopping in the port city has happened a few times… pays to arrive a couple days early 😀).

[yocrui5e]

2 hours ago, NoShoes2 said:

Agreed! It can be stressful (so wine and music are included in my packing process) and I have forgotten things (shopping in the port city has happened a few times… pays to arrive a couple days early 😀).

 

Cheers to the wine and music  Come to think of it, I used to be midway of last-minute and weeks-ahead. I think years of no travel is just making me more eager about everything!

[shorne]

Packing is much easier if you use a checklist. For every major trip that I take, I print my checklist out well in advance—sometimes weeks—and edit it by hand by adding or subtracting items. The checklist includes most things that I'm likely to want to take, but many of those things won't be included on every trip: no need for a winter coat in the tropics or during the summer, for suits if I don't intend to wear one, for sheet music if I shall not have access to a piano, for postage stamps if (as usual) I am going out of the country, for shampoo if I am staying in hotels that provide it (as most do). But there might be a need for some things that are not on the list, and for those there is plenty of space in the margins. I also begin to make notes of specific garments and other items to bring.

 

If this sounds like a lot of trouble, consider that I am never among those people who find that they haven't brought any socks. When I check off the last box on the checklist, packing is done.

[Susan in Maine]

We start the actual packing about a week before. Tends to freak the dog out because she knows what suitcases are. The cats think suitcases are a fabulous place to take a nap.

 

Planning what we need and making sure we have it all starts weeks to months ahead of time. We also have a tote that permanently holds cruise/vacation stuff like luggage tag holders, tea lights for the cabin, our passport holders, etc.

[NoShoes2]

On 5/12/2023 at 5:31 PM, Susan in Maine said:

We start the actual packing about a week before. Tends to freak the dog out because she knows what suitcases are. The cats think suitcases are a fabulous place to take a nap.

 

Planning what we need and making sure we have it all starts weeks to months ahead of time. We also have a tote that permanently holds cruise/vacation stuff like luggage tag holders, tea lights for the cabin, our passport holders, etc.

 

Our dogs also know what it means when the suitcases come out. They seem to get a bit depressed... 

[ceeceeDee]

Actual packing takes place the day before. However, I shop for whatever I need from about a month out as I think of it. Do a spot check on things like the expiry date of medications I have on hand such as travel sickness pills, gastric upset pills and the like and update if necessary. Also bug repellent,  sunscreen, travel size hair spray, shampoo & conditioner, purse size hand sanitizer et al. We travel fairly light and so far I haven't had an 'oh darn' moment on a cruise. Except last cruise it didn't occur to me to take back up contact lenses as I had just changed them prior to leaving (they're 30 day leave ins) and wouldn't you know it, one of them dislodged. No biggie, just had to wear my glasses for the last couple of days but it was a bit of a pain.

[NoShoes2]

We are still trying to learn how to travel light. We are getting better, but on our last cruise I still had items that I didn't wear. 

[msminnesota]

We leave for our cruise July 28 and I have all of my clothes figured out separated in my closet or folded separately, but not packed yet. Between now and then I have a personal trip and the 8th grade DC trip with my daughter, and then I can pack. 

[nancy1031]

leave in 7 wks, have my toiletries all packed along w/ all my empty 3 ounce bottles (for alcohol purchases)  will pack alot of the stuff a wk in advance and finish the night before as I have a 6am flight and have to be on my way by 3:30am, might just stay up all night- wouldn't  be the 1st time and most likely not the last!!!

[NoShoes2]

1 hour ago, nancy1031 said:

leave in 7 wks, have my toiletries all packed along w/ all my empty 3 ounce bottles (for alcohol purchases)  will pack alot of the stuff a wk in advance and finish the night before as I have a 6am flight and have to be on my way by 3:30am, might just stay up all night- wouldn't  be the 1st time and most likely not the last!!!

 

We have a early flight for our next cruise as well. We booked a hotel room near the airport so that we can hop up and hop on the shuttle to catch our flight. 

[NoShoes2]

On 3/17/2023 at 3:41 PM, radiationman said:

night before

I like packing the night before! I puts me in cruise mode!

[MdniteDrftr]

On 3/14/2023 at 10:20 PM, yocrui5e said:

I start packing a month before but not everything: I put in the luggage what I won't need for the next month, then slowly pack week by week.

 

The weekend before the trip, I check my list to see if I have everything in the house. What I don't have, I can go out and buy. 

 

Two nights before the trip is when I make sure everything's in. If I really need to get something, I can still go out and buy it. After that, I can then just relax and feel like on vacation rather than working overtime!

For my next cruise, this is what I've been doing. It's a longer trip in the Mediterranean and I'm being a little more particular about how/what I pack. I need to make sure I have everything but I don't want to lug around a bunch of suitcases. 

 

I have a cruise to Bermuda next Spring, and that will be a little more casual and I won't worry about packing for that until a couple days before.

[Wayfairers]

We typically take long trips - 3-7 months.  I get toiletries together a few weeks before we leave so I can buy more if we need.  I also take a quick look around my closet to see if there are any clothes, undies, winter wear, etc I need that I don’t already have or any that need to be replaced/updated.  Then about a week or 2 before leaving, I pick out clothes and spend a few days fine tuning what I want to take then pack them.  Rather have them packed than wear something I want to take without thinking and scramble to do laundry at the last minute.  Even on long trips we travel light so not too many clothes and they are almost all mix and match.  

 

If we are taking a one week cruise then I start that process a day or so before we leave.

 

My husband always picks his clothes out and packs 1-2 days before we leave.

[radiationman]

Answered this post a long time ago: Night before

Let me clarify night before for one week Caribbean cruises, which we do with carry on bags only. Other longer cruises (so far for us 2 weeks max) maybe a few days before especially if visiting a locale with variable weather requiring multiple types of garments usually only 1 checked bag for both of us.  We only bring meds and minimal toiletries, otherwise we use what ships/hotels provide and sunscreen etc we buy. 

[Smitheroo]

I met a woman on a cruise who said she keeps a "cruise closet".  Its a closet designated for her cruise clothes. She could book a cruise one day and leave the next morning because of this. I'm sure its not that unusual to do. If you have a spare closet, why not

[PammyMouse]

Tonight I grabbed some of the first  odds and ends.  Tile trackers, passport,  luggage tag sleeve, lock for carry on…I’ll do it mostly the weekend before as work is pretty much bonkers right now.  I don’t need my shorts in IL.😀 PM

Edited November 16, 2023 by PammyMouse
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[NoShoes2]

10 hours ago, PammyMouse said:

Tonight I grabbed some of the first  odds and ends.  Tile trackers, passport,  luggage tag sleeve, lock for carry on…I’ll do it mostly the weekend before as work is pretty much bonkers right now.  I don’t need my shorts in IL.😀 PM

 

When is your cruise?

 

[PammyMouse]

59 minutes ago, NoShoes2 said:

 

When is your cruise?

 

16 days!  Can’t wait to chill for a week.  😃

[NoShoes2]

9 hours ago, PammyMouse said:

16 days!  Can’t wait to chill for a week.  😃

My wife likes to start her packing “early” so I’ll move the suitcases to the spare room as soon as all the Christmas stuff is put away. Our cruise is on Jan. 27th