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As a professional organizer and minimalist, I try very hard to be intentional with what I bring on trips but still I struggle to pack light. I have been working on this for years now and I think I have it mostly figured out!  It’s not perfect, but I’d love to share with you what I packed for my family of 4 for a 7-day trip to Florida.

We took this trip a few weeks ago in April 2022 during Spring Break. It was originally booked for Christmas 2021 but then I found out that I had to have my gallbladder removed just 4 days before our scheduled trip which sent us into a full-blown crisis mode. We had to change flights, hotels, rental cars, and park passes. We weren’t sure when to go but we settled on Spring Break even though we knew how crowded it would be, we just absolutely didn’t want to do Orlando in the summertime (been there, done that- so much sweat!).

My family consists of Mom (Erin), Dad (Todd), and two boys (ages 7 and 8). We were not packing for any babies this time around so if you have little ones, you will need MUCH more than we brought with us. This was our third Disney trip, and we were thrilled to not have to bring a stroller this time!

We spent 7 days in the Orlando area, we visited two Disney Parks (Magic Kingdom & Epcot). Disclaimer: the crowds make me a little crazy so each time we go to Disney, we only visit one or two parks. I like to balance theme parks with other activities. We spent time at the hotel pool, went to Medieval Times, and visited Wild Florida (this place was awesome! Gator Park, drive-thru safari, tons of animals, and great food) I highly recommend it! We spent another day visiting friends at their condo by the beach. We needed to pack a variety of things based on the activities we had planned to do.

For the past few trips, we have committed to carry-on only!  One bag and one backpack per person. I have tried out my share of different styles of luggage and these bags by EBags are my absolute favorite. They are easy for the boys to pull on their own, fit perfectly in the overhead bin on the plane, and are big enough to hold a week’s worth of clothes. We’ve used these on several trips, and they are just great!

Each boy also has a small backpack for the plane, just to hold a few items.

Here is what we packed in the kid’s personal item:

Sunglasses, Pencil Case, Notebook, Activity Book & Coloring Book, Book to Read, Tablet, Headphones & Case, Face Masks (Masks were still mandatory on the plane when we went), tissues & a few snacks. We bought a bottle of water at the airport, and they carried that in the side pocket on the plane. We packed their heavier water bottles in the luggage to be used once we got there.

We flew to Orlando from Philadelphia, so it was a pretty short flight (just under 2.5hrs). On a longer flight, we would have packed a few more things to keep them busy. We downloaded some movies and games to their tablets, and they were good to go!

I use this bag as my personal item, and I love it!

Here is what I packed in my personal item:

Three pouches:  a large pouch holds my chargers & earbuds, a Middle pouch for tissues, medicine, hand wipes & sanitizer, makeup, and extra face masks and the smallest pouch has a notebook, pens & business cards. Also in my bag are my wallet, iPad, any paperwork for the trip, sunglasses, and my cellphone.

My husband carries his laptop backpack and we both bring a day bag like this to take out on excursions. It packs flat and will go inside our luggage.

In our luggage, I like to use packing cubes, I’ve tried a few different sets and I like this one the best. I bought 4 colors, so each family member has their own set. I don’t use all of the cubes on every trip, but I will almost always use three of them to keep pajamas, socks, underwear, and swimwear separated.

The hotel we were staying at had a washer and dryer in the unit. I always love staying at places that have laundry facilities because that means I can pack LESS! I did laundry once in the middle of the trip and once at the end. It was quick and we were able to come home with clean clothes!

Here is a list of what I packed for my kids:

• 3 sets of gym shorts & t-shirts

• One nicer pair of shorts & two nicer shirts for dinners out

• Athletic pants & sweatshirt - they wore these on the plane

• 7 underwear & 5 pairs of socks

• 1 Pajama

• 2 Bathing Suits (We just discovered these, and my kids are obsessed with them!)

• Rain Jacket

• Crocs

• Baseball Hat

• Sneakers -worn on the plane

Also, in the kid’s bags, we packed their goggles & pool toys, a stuffed animal, and a small toiletry bag. Since they are boys and kids, they do not have that many toiletries, we only needed one bag for the two of them. I used it for small bottles of sunscreen, body wash, toothpaste, and brushes & floss.

Packing for my boys is easy in my opinion, packing for myself is a different story! I like to have options and have a hard time narrowing down what I want to bring. But, after much packing and unpacking, here is my final list. (I’m not going to include what Todd packed because he ALWAYS packs light, and packs for himself- so I honestly do not even know what he brought along! His only issue is making his size 13 shoes fit in the bag).

My Packing List:

• Bathing suit, cover-up dress, and beach hat

• Two workout outfits- yoga pants, sports bra & tank tops

• Two dresses for dinners out

• Joggers to wear to the parks and two t-shirts to go with them (also worn on the plane)

• Jean Jacket & Light Sweatshirt - worn on the plane

• 2 Sneakers - one regular & one workout

• Sandals & Flip-Flops

• Baseball Hat

• Rain Jacket

• 1 pair of pajamas

That’s it! and it all fit comfortably in my luggage with room to spare. A few other items that I packed in my bag were a beach bag to use once we got to the hotel, my jewelry bag, makeup- bag and travel flat iron. I also had my bag of liquids which I kept in my backpack until after security.

We made a grocery store run once we arrived in Orlando, so we stocked up on breakfast foods, snacks, water, sunscreen & other random toiletries.

On the days we went out, we packed light! This was a challenge because we didn’t want to spend a ton of money on food, but we also didn’t have a stroller to store a cooler this time around. We ate breakfast before we left the hotel. Todd carried water bottles for each person and snacks in his bag. We had lunch reservations in the parks, so we ate on-site and then got ice cream each afternoon. Dining in Disney is pretty pricey, luckily, we had some gift cards (experience gifts! from Christmas) and some things are just worth the splurge on vacay! - DOLE WHIPS

We applied sunscreen at the hotel, and I carried in my day bag, travel-size bottles of sunscreen to reapply, a small first aid kit, hand wipes, and sanitizer.

We took our chances with the weather and didn’t bring our rain jackets with us. We also didn’t buy anything at the park, so we didn’t have to carry souvenirs around all day. We did hit up Disney Springs on the last day in town and the kids got a couple of small things to take home with us.

We weren’t overloaded with stuff, and we honestly didn’t feel like we needed anything more than what we brought with us. If it had been hotter, we would have packed our cooler backpack. It’s a little bigger and can hold more water and keep things cold all day long. We love it! but just didn’t need it on this trip.

We had a great time and it felt great to have only what we needed and leave the rest at home!

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