Haha this thread cracks me up. Fwiw I consider myself super low maintenance (ahem, with products) and I'm still always surprised at how much space they take up. Now with DD's stuff too, I can see how it would get out of control quickly. We have a half bath attached to our room at my ILs so I shower in the other bathroom but get ready in "our" bathroom. I was going to say I wouldn't care about my stuff being "seen" but I remember I was mortified when someone was using "our" bath and I couldn't remember if I put stuff away so I can see the annoyance. I'm not sure what a good solution is. I guess a drawer or something. Fortunately we never stay at my ILs for 3 weeks!
Yeah, our setup is that the only bathroom downstairs is the one inside the guest room, which is a room without a closet. (It's a very, very old Dutch Colonial that has had no updates to the original floor plan.) So anyone else who is over when we stay here not only has to walk through "our" room (where we try hard to keep everything tucked away as much as possible in the one 3-drawer dresser) but also use "our" bathroom. The kids' stuff so far is pretty easy to pack in a large Ziploc (toothbrushes, eyeglass cleaner and backup glasses--I've got two kids in glasses--a comb for DD and a few hair ties/barrettes. (MIL usually gets everything else like baby shampoo and sunscreen.) Their stuff we keep no problem in the upstairs bathroom. They all sleep upstairs and she likes to do their baths/wake up with them (which is why we so happily stay with her for so long and so willingly!)
Really, though, I'd like to find some good travel bags anyway. One thing I'm thinking about is maybe getting a set of lined Vera Bradley cosmetics cases (or something similar). Maybe two of the larger size and and then a matching small one for my makeup. Then sometimes I'd only need to pack the makeup bag plus one extra, and sometimes I'd need two. Then I'd replace the case DH has for one less bulky and heavy for his stuff.
Or, if I were to get something big like the LLBean, we'd use it other times as well, such as on a driving trip in the fall where I won't need as much stuff for myself but could pack *everything* for all 5 of us in one place, which I'd want anyway since wherever we'd stay, we'd all be in one bathroom I'm sure, unlike at MIL's.
Yes I was going to suggest the first solution w/ the multiple bags for versatility, but I can see value to both. I didn't like the LL Bean thing. I wanted to but eh. I'm not really a hang up my stuff ? person I guess, I just didn't dig it. Although my life and needs were certainly different 10 ? or so years ago when I tried it, so who knows now. Do post back if you find a good solution!
I'm not talking about packing a carry-on-size bag for just myself on, say, an overnight to Vegas with my husband, folks. I'm talking about a 3-week trip (via plane) that includes a romantic getaway, a memorial service, a family reunion, and a 'college friends reunion' for me.
Sometimes I bring a mesh bag that has a cord so it can hang when we travel. It makes it easy to carry stuff to the shower, and if stuff is damp it can easily airdry (unlike ziplocs). It's green so it hides the stuff, they have them at the dollar store often, although I got ours at REI.
I think toiletries are always a headache! And I've discovered that traveling is just better when I have the same products that I use at home, so I'm not going to skimp on bringing stuff either. Three weeks with that many people is hard. You are not high maintenance - I was reading a disney board and people were listing some of the things they pack when they go to Disney with kids - yikes!!!
No worries, I didn't mean to sound snippy toward you, and I *did* call this thread, "How do you pack toiletries?" not, "Help me solve this packing dilemma."
Pine Tree - yes! I feel like sometimes I just feel so much better if I have the things I like. Other times I'm more than happy to use whatever shampoo, etc is on hand, pack just a comb and wear my hair curly, pin back my bangs instead of straighten them, etc. Especially if it's just a night or two.
Another thing that came to mind for storage is an over the door shoe holder, the canvas ones with pockets.
Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call them "impressions," and if you got a different "impression," so what, can't we all be brothers?
Originally Posted by laura
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