allisonm

Just musing here, we are leaving in 9 days and I have only begun to think about packing. I did go to a discount store to buy some small toiletries/containers & film, but I haven't dragged out the luggage yet. How far in advance do you start packing?

amelia

There have been times when we've started a month in advance--this is when we've needed to bring specialized hiking/biking clothing and we have to find out what still fits.

Those types of vacations also call for a bit of ingenuity in order to pack light, so sometimes we've had a week of "lay all the possibilities out, look, remove, add, remove, finalize"

For other types of travel in Europe, I now have a family packing list that truly can have all four of us out the door in under two hours. Still, I like to start one week before so I can find out if I need to update some necessary article of clothing.

Nikki

An hour or two before we have to leave the house.

Kristinelaine

We travel very light(ly) so I make a plan a couple of weeks ahead and then make sure that what I want to take is clean and in good repair. We may do a trial "pack" if it is important to take certain pieces (for instance, last summer we needed wedding clothes!). Then actual packing is in the last 24 hours.

jsmith

Like amelia, we have packing lists that have served us well over many trips and start the actual packing the morning of the trip.

Anonymous

I take almost the same stuff every time I travel (those favorite black pants, the bag of toiletries) so I just make sure I'm caught up on my laundry (mostly so I can grab the right numbers of sox and undies) and it takes about ten minutes for me to pack.

My own personal record was packing for a 3-week trip to Britain while the taxi to the airport waited outside the front door. Never again! I forgot my nice large-scale map of the Cotswolds, left it next to the computer where I'd been using it the night before, planning an itinerary! So now I always start packing as soon as I call the cab.

degas

Sometimes the same day we leave, but that is really not a great way to do it.

Our new goal is to be 95% done two days prior to departure so our stress levels are lower. Still, humans are all too often creatures of "bad" habits.

RufusTFirefly

I usually pack begin and finish packing (except shaving kit) a couple of days before we leave. Mrs. Fly starts packing a couple of weeks before we leave and finishes around 4 AM the day we are supposed to leave. This, of course, ensures that we start the trip in a state of sleep deprivation.

travelbunny

...the actuallly packing is done the day (or night) before the trip..depends on flight time and whether I have to go into work..I usually look at my clothes the week before and clean or mend (better yet take them to the dry cleaners) those that i think i want to take..I then check the weather forecast a day or 2 before leaving to "fine tune" things a bit but i never put all my faith in a forecast..when I actually pack I try to pack only half of what i thought i might need the week before..pack light is my motto and "swish" undies, socks and tops in the bathroom sink rather than take more items which i would otherwise only wear once.

Surfergirl

Except for stuff I buy specifically for the trip (toiletries, etc), I start the day before. The other stuff gets put in the carry-on bag as I buy it, since if I put it in t he house in a "safe place", I always forget where I put it or forget that I bought it! I also pack the important stuff (passport, foreign money, plane tickets, rail tickets, hotel reservations etc.) about a week before in the carry-on, then check it again the day I'm leaving.

tcreath

We start gathering things together a few days before (travel guides, maps and things of that sort), but don't start packing until the day of our flight, or the night before if the flight leaves early in the morning. I am careful to make sure that I didn't forget anything (I usually have a checklist). A lot of people like to pack really early, but I myself just don't see the point. If I start packing early, I would be constantly pulling things back out that I need.

Holldoll

Don't actually pack until the morning I'm leaving. But about a week before I put the piece of luggage open on my bedroom floor and start tossing in things that I think I might forget. When I pack I "think head to toe." Lots of stuff doesn't fall into that category. Like extra batteries for camera, stuff like that. So far it's worked for me!!

l_jackson95814

I start thinking about luggage a month out and usually start thinking about packing about a week or two before the trip,(which shoes are going to be the most comfortable, which jeans fit). Everything I buy specifically for the trip goes into a box (toiletries, film..) and I pull the box out and sort through it the night before as I am packing.

sfowler

It varies, but I'm a bit like surfergirl on this. I make sure i know where certain things are and check the toiletries in my travel kit. And I sequester the clothes in a part of my closet and "edit" on the hangers. But I have packed an hour before we left for the the airport

TopMan

For Europe...a month out. Why? Because it heightens the anticipation and excitement more than anything else. Having been a number of times and in all weather the issues of what to take were settled many trips ago.

We also use a continually modified packing list that is worth its weight in gold.

When do we CLOSE the suitcases?????? About two minutes before the driver takes us to the airport and we've thrown yet one more thing into the bag..go figure.

suze

I start hanging clothes for the trip in a separate place about a month ahead. So I can sort out, think thru, eliminate. Get out the suitcase and leave open nearby. A week ahead start the tiny travel bottles, cosmetics and toiletries. Day before or day of, actually put stuff in the bag.

Similarly with the carry-on, have bag at the ready and gather passport, tickets, money, cards, etc.

platzman

As soon as we purchase plane tickets, we think about the types of clothes to pack for the destination's climate. Since, I'm largely an off-season traveler, I already have the cold weather clothing necessary.
Even though we discuss what to bring up to a month ahead of time, and would buy any missing items then, we don't actually start packing until a few days before departure.
We're very light travelers (ie one small carry-on size bag each) so it doesn't take much time.

kittrdg

Usually the bulk of it I do the night before. About a solid hour since I travel a lot and keep things together that I need for travel - books, adaptors, maps, camera, etc...just a quick plan out the wardrobe and try to pacl light and I can usually pull it together in about an hour even when packing for myself and my boyfriend.

cailin

I'm a night before person too. I start thinking about what I want to take about a week beforehand so I can make sure everything is clean & ironed.

rj007

Since I always leave early in the morning it is the night before -just 10 min to pack. I have never taken more than one suitcase to Europe and it is getting ready for its 10th trip. Eagle Creek bags are great.