Packing for 5 for a world trip!
A family of 5, 1 year traveling, 4 backpacks = 🤔 How?
We have started packing to ensure we have everything we need and that it all fits in our backpacks. (yes, we are going to use backpacks only).
As we will be in some colder temperatures in the beginning (the Nordics in may and early June) and towards the “end” of the trip (spring time in Japan in 2020). But the remainder of the trip we are hoping to be in summer temperatures/cloths! This makes packing a bit harder as it increases the amount of items we need to take.
Firstly, we defined the backpacks we will use:
Annelies : after doing some research, I decide to purchase the Osprey Fairview 70.
Jason: he has a old 80L REI backpack that he likes and works well.
Kaio: He is ‘inheriting’ my old backpack (REI 40L).
Josefine: after visiting REI, we decided on the REI Passage 40 backpack. (she is SO excited to have her own, purple back pack. Little does she know, she will have to help carry our stuff!)
Madeline: nothing fancy for a 4 year old. She can pick any of the backpacks we have and just make sure she can keep up with us! We do have a kids Camelback that would be ideal. (it’s pink, so she’ll likely go for it!) 😉
That part was covered, but then: how to pack cloths & ‘stuff’ for 5 people into backpacks without having to unpack everything to find anything at any point of our trip (ie. Madeline spilled gelato all over her tshirt: how can we, quickly, find a new tshirt)!? Luckily, I recently found articles about “travel cubes”. What a life saver! I was able to find some fun colors for each of us (the girls are loving their pink and purple ones, to match their backpacks!).
The biggest cube has the summer cloths, medium size the winter/warmer cloths and the smaller one with underwear and socks. I will also have some cubes with toiletries, first aid kit and towels. I am excited about these and am hopefully it will make it easier!
We are also deciding on what to use as a day backpack (ie when we are out and about exploring a city/region) and dual purpose to carry our electronics during travels. Speaking of electronics: between work computers for Jason and I, and the kids chromebooks for school and kindles for reading, we will have 9 pieces of electronics!! (And all the cords that go with them). It will be key to be organized to avoid frustration and save time!
