Are you a last minute, throw-everything-into-a-bag sort of packer or an organized, arrange-what-to-take-weeks-before type?

I am a bit of both really, I like to know roughly what I will need to take so that I can make sure that I have everything necessary and don’t need to buy anything new. Although I usually do end up buying something new, it seems to me to be part of the spirit of going on holiday to wear new clothes. I will even sometimes buy something new while I am there.

My boys will wear what ever is put clean in their wardrobes so I do have to be more organized with their packing otherwise when I go to get their clothes to put in their suitcases all I will find is empty shelves and a pile of dirty items on their bedroom floors.

I do help them with their packing otherwise we would arrive somewhere hot and find that they have one pair of shorts and several jumpers. This could be because their main priority when packing to go anywhere seems to anything electrical, computers, ipods, mp3s and game boys. Clothes are the last thing on their minds so I have to step in.

My partner is really not into packing so I tend to do theirs as well. I like our clothes to look reasonable when we unpack - not all screwed up and needing to be ironed. We usually share a case so if their clothes are just shoved in it affects mine, causing them to become creased, so I would rather supervise the whole thing.

I like to take enough clothes so that I have something for all eventualities but my other half thinks one or two outfits will do for a fortnight away so I always sneak in a few more items at the last minute.

The other side of packing is the unpacking. When we arrive at our destination I simply have to unpack straight away and my holiday can really start, but when I arrive back home I am very slow to unpack as I realize all that is waiting for us is a huge smelly pile of washing!

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