Have you seen those illustrations floating around social media about what it’s like to pack for vacation?  You know the ones – the wife packing list vs. the husband’s list?  Usually the latter consists of husband’s clothes – time: approximately 20 minutes.  Wife’s list is at least twice as long, takes about 3 days, and includes everything else.  Ring a bell for anyone else?! 

Last weekend my kids were spending time up north with my in-laws.    My three-year-old insisted on packing her own clothes.  Since it was only for 2 nights and it didn’t really matter what she wore, I let her.  Ok, ok, I let her get started.  I whipped out a piece of paper and drew her pictures of what she should pack and sent her on her way.  Now, by the time I drew all the pictures, with my very limited artistic ability, I may add, I probably could have packed it myself.  But I digress. 

With spring break just around the corner, it occurred to me that it would probably be pretty handy to make a reusable sheet.  My older kids can read, so I included both the text and a picture for each item.  I inserted the printable in a sheet protector and used a dry erase marker so each child knows how many of each item to pack  - actual numbers for the bigger kids, and tally marks for the littles.  There’s space to make tally marks as they pack, so in the very likely case it doesn’t get done all at once, they know where they left off.

Do yourself a favor and delegate some of the work to your very capable kiddos.  My boys have a very interesting idea of what makes up a matching outfit, so for those who can be a little OCD (like myself), you can still double check what they’ve packed 😊 

If you have infants, young toddlers, or forgetful husbands, hopefully you’ll find the sheet helpful to use yourself as well.  It may even keep you from forgetting to pack PJs for your daughter – not that I’ve ever done that…

Download the printable below!  Print one off for each family member and place in a sheet protector.  Use a dry erase marker and wipe clean to reuse.  Happy Packing!!