Now that summer vacation has officially started, it’s time to get organized for traveling! Whether your trip is a week-long cruise to an exotic destination or a quick camping trip, packing in an organized fashion is an essential skill.

Our family takes short weekend trips to visit the grandparents (both sets are out of town) or to go camping (mostly with Scouts), with a longer family vacation thrown in every couple of years. We average 5-7 overnight trips away from home per year. With three kids and a dog, packing can become a nightmare that usually involves a frustrated mom, impatient dad and crabby kids.

In order to solve some of our packing challenges, I created a Packing Checklist for the boys. On the list, I added everything I could think of that they might want to pack (from Scout uniforms to toothbrushes). Why reinvent the wheel for each trip?

Before each trip, I make adjustments to the list (by using the Strikethrough in Microsoft Word) according to where we are going and what activities we will participate in. That way, all of the items remain on the list, but the boys know not to pack the items that are stricken from the list. I change the quantities of items, depending on how many days we will be gone. Then, I print 3 copies and – Voila! – the boys can pack themselves. This system has saved us so much time & hassle of constantly trying not to forget essential items while packing.