At the top of my list I make note of # of days and # of nights, indicating which days are travel days (comfy car or plane ride clothes) or special occassion days (holidays, church days, breakfast with the princesses days). Then I make columns for each family member, with rows for # of outfits, underwear, socks, shoes, accessories (Big Girl's hairbows, Daddy's belts and hats), bathing suits, spare clothes, and other specifics (Easter dress, Mickey Mouse tshirt).
As I do laundry and begin packing, I keep my list handy and set aside what I need to pack. This is where the rubberbands come to play. I roll each outfit together and bind it with a rubberband. Just the shirt and pants, and just for the kids. (I don't do this for my clothes or Daddy's, although he would probably like it if I did.) This is helpful in keeping the kids clothes organized in their suitcases, reduces the amount of space because the clothes are bundled up, and it keeps the kids well dressed in the event someone other than Mama dresses them.
I don't band matching socks, or Big Girl's panties or hairbows with the outfit because 1) she might choose not to wear socks with that outfit, 2) she doesn't need clean panties every day (thank God), and 3) she doesn't always want to wear a hairbow. So socks, panties and hairbows are packed together in a plastic grocery or ziplock bag, which is used later in the trip to store dirty socks and panties.
There you have it - my packing technique.
I admit, this might seem a little over-the-top, but it works for me. Check out more WFMW at We Are That Family.
