Ziploc Baggies

[rie'smom]

Okay, after doing a search and looking back thru 3 pages of stuff, i still cant find the original tip. Do you just put your clothes in it and press the air out it and lay them flat in the suitcases? Leaving in 12 days, might try it out. Do I have it about right?

Thanks,
Wendy

Yes Wendy. I sent my son to Europe about 15 years ago using the 2 gallon ziploc bags. He loved it-open the bag and grab a days outfit. Now I have an 11 year old DD and we are still packing with the bags. After a few days on a trip, I do laundry and repack the same outfit in it's bag. DH likes the bags too.

 

[melanie03ok]

I must have done something wrong when I tried this. They were great for about 5 minutes, but then air seeped back in. I tried it using 3 different brands of baggies with no luck.

Is there a trick to this somehow?

 

[LoveWDW]

I liked the tip to keep the hands of the inspectors off of my clothes and to keep the clothes safe from any spills. In some thread, a poster said that she watched her stuff being inspected and her bra was tossed out for all to see.

I think if the bags aren't totally air tight that pressing the air out won't work. So mainly I pack what I want to in the zip bag and press it down as much as I can but don't worry much about their being compressed.

 

[Dismom+two]

I use baggies myself when traveling to the parks. I haven't used them packing, just in my day bad to keep my wallet and camera dry when doing on water type rides. I think I just may try packing with them on my next trip!!

 

[hsmamato2]

my friend was giving me a tip on this, and i think i might try it this year- we'll be there 2 weeks, moving 4 times,(5 days, then 2 days, then 5 days...)so she said to pack in 4 segments, use 1st set of bags for 1st part, then at 2nd part, use those sets, while washing and repacking 1st set for the 3rd leg of rtip, likewise, use segment 2 bags for segment 4, then go home and wash it all- so we could so 4 segment of trip, 31 and 3 use same bags, #2 and 4 use same bags- I think it'll make the moving around easier without a suitcase full of clothes scattered each time..... do I use 1 gal or 2 gal bags?

 

[akfan]

Doesn't squeezing the air out of the bag make for a wrinkled mess?

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

For me it's more about having a single day's outfit in a single bag than it is compressing the air out. It's just nice to grab a bag of clothes and know there is everything we need in it--no digging around for underwear/the other sock/THAT shirt etc. It really saved time and clutter in the mornings.

As for the question about wrinkles, yes, I think packing with baggies causes additional wrinkles. I don't like to iron at home and just refuse to iron at WDW. For me, there is nothing magical about ironing! I prefer the magical look of wrinkled clothes.

 

[Principessa1284]

I love using ziploc bags when we go to the parks. I don't like to get a locker, so i usually bring either a large purse or a small backpack with me. On water rides (Splash Mtn, Kali Rapids) I put my camera, cell phone, park ticket, and money (or anything else you don't want getting wet) into a ziploc and even if i come out soaked, all my electronics are bone dry!

Another thing DBF and I (well, me. if it were up to him to plan, we'd be out there in our underwear and snow boots) did before we went to the parks: we got a 12 pack of diet coke and a 12 pack of those mini bottled waters (pepsi, sprite, lemonade.. whatever your pleasure!) and put 2 cans of pop in a bag with ice, and 2 bottles of mini water in another with ice, and viola! It saved us at LEAST a good $20 or more on drinks. It may not seem like a lot, but we're poor, poor college students.

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm so excited, packing is a breeze! I got the 2 gal size from aldi's real cheap- and decided to wear our 1st day's outfit down- then pack 3 days worth of outfits for us all- I included in each bag a long and short sleeve shirt, and shorts and pants- never can count on January weather...
It's so easy to just line up the bags, toss in each persons items, and know it's done- took like 10 minutes,instead of the usual hours of figuring it all out! on the 4th day- I'll wash all the first 3 days stuff, and we're set for the next few days...

 

[gbanshee]

I just saw an Ad for HUGE bags, even bigger than the 2 gallon ones. I hope Target has them.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Our Target has the larger size bags. I can't wait to try this suggestion. I normally leave our clothes in the suitcase all week long because I'm a bug-a-phobia person. But I think I can handle tossing our clothes in the hotel drawers in the ziplock bags.

 

[smola09's mom]

We used the Ziploc method for packing in November for the parks and DCL. This worked so well and my little ones didn't constantly have to check and see if their clothes matched and they did not end up with a mess of a suitcase.

 

[kclyn]

I don't know why I've never though to use ziploc bags before! I'm obsessive about packing. This is a great tip. I'm going to go home and re-pack my suitcase (I leave in two weeks)

 

[hsmamato2]

ok- speaking of obsessive.... I decided on wear one days outfits down, pack 3 ziplocs for kids each, dolaundry on 4th evening,recycle for 2 weeks- it's hard to choose t-shirts, I didn't realize we had so many!

 

[kclyn]

Doesn't squeezing the air out of the bag make for a wrinkled mess?

I have found that if you ROLL your clothes INSTEAD OF FOLDING them when you put them in the bag it makes for less wrinkles. Just take your shirts (or pants, or whatever) and fold them in half the long way then roll from the bottom hem up. Lots less wrinkles.

Hope this helps.
kclyn

 

[smola09's mom]

I have never tried rolling the clothes before putting them into the Ziplocs. That is a great tip and I will be sure to try it next time.

 

[vhoffman]

I tried the idea of one outfit per bag and wound up with a big mess! Sometimes we needed to change something in the middle of the day--spilled something, weather changed, etc. So you need a fresh tee-shirt, you dig through another bag, then that outfit's incomplete, then you have to dig through even more bags for matching stuff, etc. Wound up with a big mess! I ended up dumping all the bags and re-sorting them half way through the trip.

So here's what I do now. I pack by categories--such as dd's underpants, ds's socks, dd's short sleeve shirts, dd's long sleeve shirts, well.... you get the idea. Make sure to label each bag. Its amazing how much articles of clothing look alike. Also, I pack a same-size bag inside the bag with the clothes labeled "dirty socks, dirty underwear,", etc. That way, as one bag decreases in size another takes its place. We used to stuff all our dirty laundry into the bags provided by the hotel or one big trash bag. Well, try packing that to come home. It just doesn't fit back in. This way you have an equal number of bags coming home as going down. I really don't like doing laundry on vacations if I can help it. But if I do, at least I know what's what. Also, I do like the idea of storing my clothes in the drawers in bags to keep bugs out, etc. Just works for me.