By the time we headed off on our trip, we’d already been living in our caravan for 6 weeks. It was a great way for us to get accustomed to the small space living. It also assisted us in figuring out what we actually needed versus what we thought we needed but what was in fact just a waste of space and of the precious weight allowance!
Packing the kids: Our wardrobe solution
In the months coming up to the trip, I had already reduced the amount of the kids’ clothing to the point that they had one drawer each in a chest of drawers!
When the day of moving into the caravan came, we decided it was time to buy a bag each for the kids’ clothes. Our caravan doesn’t have any wardrobe storage for the kids, so we found that bags underneath the double bed would be the perfect solution for their clothing. I went to many shops that day, but could not justify paying a small fortune for three duffel bags or gym bags. Then I found the perfect solution at a local Red Dot: $3 blanket/storage bags! We’ve been using them for 2 months now and I still love them!
Packing the kids: How many pieces is too many?
It is so easy to over-pack when packing your caravan. I know we did, when we moved into it six weeks prior to our departure, and I’m a minimalist at heart!
I think we’ve come to the final number of pieces that seems to work for us. Bare in mind our kids are 9, 7 and 5, so past the toilet training age.
They each have about 5-7 tops, 5-7 bottoms, 2-3 jumpers, and 2-3 pairs of pyjamas. Miss5 also has 3-5 extra pieces of dresses and skirts. They also each have a pair of thongs, a pair of runners and a pair of gum boots. Again, here Miss5 has an extra pair of sandals. All the shoes live in a flexitub underneath the double bed.
For most part, when the weather permits, I highly recommend having the kids live in board shorts and sporty fabric tops – they are light, fold very compact and dry extremely fast (a feature especially important when hand-washing!). Also, don’t forget that there are shops around Australia, so if you find you’re lacking something, you can always pick it up along the way!
Packing the kids: Toys
Reducing the kids’ toys was also something that we’ve been doing for quite some time in preparation for this trip.
When it came to the final packing day, we gave the kids a box each and told them they could fill them with their favourite toys. Their favourite teddies are quite large and came with us on top of the toys the kids chose to put in the boxes.
So far, they haven’t mentioned that they miss any toys, but there are toys in their boxes that I still haven’t seen them play with!
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