Today’s post comes from Carolyn, Mrs. PWaC, who is our chief packer. Â In fact, when I suggested to her a post with the title of “Packing Mistakes I made on our trip”, she responded with
Personally, I’m an awesome packer. Â maybe the title of this should be Packing Mistakes People Make.
So there you have it… 🙂  I will say, it is true – she is a very good packer and doesn’t do most of these packing mistakes
Packing Mistakes #1 – Not making a packing list
I think the number one mistake people make when packing is not making a packing list. I get it, you’ve packed for vacations many times, you know what you need, right? Making an actual packing list, that I can print off and check off might seem like a pain, but trust me, it will save you a ton of headache later. Having a real packing list can not only help you remember to pack all the things you need, it can also get your brain remembering things you need to add that you may have forgotten. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been packing away, using my list, only to have my memory jogged about something else that I totally forgot to put on the list. (So I quickly jot it on the list and then pack it!)
Packing Mistakes #2Â –Â Only thinking of clothes and toiletries
While it’s great to have a packing list, people tend to think only of clothes and toiletries they will need and forget all the random odds and ends. Consider cords for charging cell phones or laptops, accessories for your camera, glasses/contact supplies, voltage converters/adapters for international travel, sunglasses, prescription medicine, small first aid kit. snacks, cash, swim suits, and underwear!!
I recommend starting the packing list a few days before you want to actually start packing. Â Then, as you go through your days leading up to your trip, you’ll remember things as you use them that need to go on your list and avoid a costly packing mistake
Packing Mistake #3 – Not packing for the weather where you’re GOING
Grand Canyon at sunset
Speaking of things that you end up forgetting, make sure to consider umbrellas, raincoats or sweaters (by checking the weather for your travel destination).
When my son and Dan went on a trip to the Grand Canyon it ended up being a lot colder than they expected.  Dan figured he was going to Arizona so even though it was November, he wouldn’t need any cold weather gear.  After a few hours in snow and a cold biting wind in shorts and a T-shirt, he realized his packing mistake and was wishing he’d have listened to my advice….
Similarly for our road trip out west for Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore. It was the middle of summer so we packed no long sleeve shirts and no jackets, yet it was freezing in the train and quite cold at some of our stops out west in the mornings)
Packing Mistake #4 – Forgetting some of the baby and kid stuff
If you’re traveling with a baby or toddler there’s a whole huge list of things that they will need that you might forget about. Â Pretty much, don’t forget diapers, wipes, Desitin, food/bottles, extra clothes and a stroller!
When we went to Disney, we forgot to pack a stroller! While our youngest is 4, walking all day in Disney would be just too much for her. We ended up buying a cheap umbrella stroller at Walmart, which turned out to be a life saver.
(SEE ALSO: My top 5 Disney World tips for a budget traveler)
If you don’t have little ones that need strollers, you might find that a collapsible wagon is very useful to have for hauling stuff around on vacation.
Packing Mistakes #5 – Packing TOO MUCH baby and kid stuff
So you’re SO worried you’re going to forget some baby or kid paraphernalia that you end up packing the entire world. Â If you’re traveling by car, sometimes you can get away with this, but traveling by plane means you’re often paying extra baggage fees for things you might be able to get where you’re going
(SEE ALSO: Keeping track of 17 pieces of luggage at the airport)
Packing Mistake #6 – Forgetting the cash
I know we live in a credit card world (I mean credit card miles and points have pretty much fueled my family’s journeys over the past few years), but sometimes cash is king. Â Here’s a listing of some places we’ve been where cash came in handy
- Quarters for laundry (SEE ALSO: 4 laundry hacks when you’re doing long-term travel) – that is, unless you LIKE paying $6 for the hotel to wash your underwear
- Tolls (if you don’t have a transponder)
- Smaller food eateries (unless you like to eat McDonalds on vacation)
- Some attractions – Four Corners monument charges $5 a person, cash-only
- And of course, if you’re in Europe, you better bring cash to go to the bathroom! 😀
There are our top 6 packing mistakes and how to avoid them – what are your biggest packing mistakes?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
lol, fun post…. and quite useful.
Worst recurrent mistake I used to make was forgetting the flip-flops and/or sandals. Apart from good practice for showers, really worth it for getting to the beach, pool, sauna etc. (Cured of this mistake — I hope — after having to buy cheap “leather looking” sandals at some travel stall….. Un-broken in, ended up cutting deep, bloody, eventually infected grooves in top of feet. (in one afternoon at Daytona) Never again.
Did recently make the forgot sweater mistake too…. when traveling to Cancun and then (on a lark) to “sunny” California…. re. the latter, the Bay Area by comparison is FREEEEEZING cold. Nothing worse than getting caught at the frozen SFO airport overnight (amid the Delta meltdown) with only thin shirts in the bag…. caught a bad cold that deteriorated into pneumonia….. Never again. Even if I’m going to Death Valley again, am packing a jacket. 😉
Death Valley can be cold in the winter. I doubt you will need a jacket there in the summer though. San Francisco is like winter all year round in my experience. We love it in the summer just to get out of the heat of southern California.
We have a generic packing list for all types of trips. Beach stuff, camping stuff, etc. So if we are not going to a beach we just don’t take those items. Somehow are tent poles got separated from our tent so tent poles are prominently placed on the camping part of the list as a tent w/o poles is not easy to keep up.
The last one is the most important. The others, well, if I forget something I can buy it when I get there.
I’ll never forget reading a list of comments on a travel site attacking traveler’s checks. Then at the end there was one person who told the story of being on vacation in an Italian town when the ATMs went down. It wasn’t fixed until Monday. That meant that no cards worked in the town all weekend. TCs were a savior.
It happens in the US too. Just last week I walked out of a casino and my watch had stopped. There was a watch place in the strip mall next door, so I went in and got a new battery. Yup, it turned out the place didn’t take credit cards, and I had no cash in my pocket, so I had to walk out to my car to get some money,
#2 is the most important, IMO. Along with items on that list, I make a TO-DO list re: letting credit cards/bank know of my travel plans, getting car serviced, getting nails done/hair done (LOL, but it’s true!).
Re: #1-I also make a list of clothes based on thinking ahead what I’ll need for each day i.e. a church function on one day, kicking it on another day, and going to dinner on ANOTHER day. I kinda think ahead to what I’m going to wear, then pack accordingly. BTW hubs doesn’t have that problem-he just packs the same thing over and over and over and over ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
Additional ideas based on this post:
Having a bit of backup cash in the car, if a road trip
Having a few generic tools in the trunk, if a road trip
Don’t forget to make a dog stuff list, if traveling with dogs!
Add’l things re: making lists:
Going onto a site like weather.com about 4-5 days before traveling and get an idea of the the highs AND lows for the areas, then writing them down Also, DON’T necessarily trust the weather comments-look at the RADAR/weather in motion!
Checking previous lists and comments you’d made i.e. doing a debriefing after the trip
Making docs re: on the road travel maps & marking specific areas for dog relief, people relief, and if passengers have quasi-medical issues, nearest hospitals. AND Starbucks on the way!
Yeah, I’m OCD, but have been bit on the butt too many times.
I use the app Out of Milk for permanent packing lists. (My husband uses Evernote.) A week or so before a trip, I’ll go to my packing list and uncheck the things I’ll need for that trip specifically, like you said, beach trip or camping or theme park, etc. That way I always have the list started and can check them off as I put them in the suitcase or bag. The last things to check off are the bags themselves! I also do a “Trip To Do” list for the numerous tasks that need to get done, but may be specific to the type of trip.
That’s a good idea. I really like having the printed lists vs having them online, though the nice thign about an online list is the ability to add things no matter where you think of them. We’ve also used just Google Docs shared between ourselves
#7: If you can afford to travel and to own/shoot firearms, you can afford both a range bag and luggage for trips. And *keep them very separate* (unless, of course, properly checking in a gun for a hunting trip or competition).
I think everyone left out one extremely important item. Medications. There are some that you can’t miss even once. Additionally, any other items you need immediately when arriving at your destination. The above is not about forgetting to pack them, it’s about bringing them in your bag you take on the plane with you. We learnt our lesson on our Banff trip when our luggage stayed in Toronto. And we were happy this week that we had it when our luggage stayed in Istanbul.
Yep , make a list . While traveling make a “things I forgot ” and a “things we didn’t need ” list . When you get home review your list and make improvements for next time . Certain things I just leave in my bags until ready to go again . It wouldn’t hurt if you and a partner check each others list .
As Joseph N. also mentioned , take cash . You can buy ‘most anything ‘most anywhere.
That’s a good idea to update your packing list with things you forgot this time!
I also do a ‘debriefing’ after every trip, listing things I forgot, things that worked out well, etc.
Great tips. I have a packing list that is organized into rooms. They are:
1. bathroom
2. bedroom + closet (which would include clothes)
3. desk (which would include things like passport and phone chargers)
4. airplane seat (which would include noise cancelling headphones but this category is very short)
5. (rare) kitchen (which would include food)
If at least 2 of you are traveling by plane and you’re checking luggage, splitting your clothes between both suitcases is a good idea. Just spent 2 weeks on a cruise and one of our tablemates spent a week in the same jeans and shirt. Her suitcase arrived before sailing and his didn’t!