Packing for the Greenbrier

As a frequent traveler I do lots of packing.  I am a planner and find organizing fun (yes, I’m one of those people), so I thought I would show you my packing method for our trip to the Greenbrier.  My hope is that you get at least one useful tip for your next trip.  🙂

So I usually lay out my clothes on the floor.  Not sure why I started doing this, but it has always worked for me…until Louie came along.  He assumes anything I put on the floor is fair game for him to lay on, eat, take to the other room, etc.

I always make a list that includes every day of our trip, what we will be doing, what kind of clothes we will need and then I lay out each days clothes.  This side of the bed was my daytime casual clothes.  We were planning to stay at the Greenbrier the entire time, shopping, going to the spa and just relaxing.  So during the day nice casual clothes were fine.  I usually only pack what I need plus one extra shirt…just in case.  Notice I managed to get by with one pair of daytime shoes for the entire trip.

At night, however, the Greenbrier has a dress policy for most restaurants and the casino.  I love this because I enjoy dressing up and making events seem special.  This side of the bed was my dinner/nighttime clothes.  I always try on each outfit to make sure it fits, looks good, etc.  Then I pick out my shoes and accessories.

While I have on each outfit, I pick out the jewelry that looks best with it and pack it up in my jewelry case.

Then I move on to the bathroom for make-up and all those beauty products.  😉

I try to pack as little make-up as possible to keep things more organized.  To make sure I don’t forget anything, I mentally go through my make-up routine with each outfit on and lay out what I might need. Of course, I have a lot of the same things for each day, but there might be a certain eye liner, shadow or lip color that I would miss if I don’t do it this way.  It also keeps me from bringing EVERYTHING!

Lastly, I lay out all the other stuff I need.  I start the night before when I get ready for bed.  I leave out everything I use on the bathroom counter.  Then I won’t forget it the next day.  I have the usual list of things I take on every trip and I just add in the little things special for the Greenbrier.  I hardly ever forget something doing it this way.

Now it’s time to start loading the suitcase.  Louie breaks my heart when he looks at me this way, especially when I know he won’t be going with us.  🙁   If my shoes will fit on the bottom, I put them there.  If I have too many, I put the extras in shoe bags so they don’t get my clothes dirty.

All the clothes fit perfectly with room to spare.  This was a five day trip, with multiple outfits per day, so I was happy it all fit in a carryon size bag.

I grabbed everything else I wanted to take, including my jewelry, make-up and bath products cases; my flat iron; camera battery; iPhone charger; snacks (in the orange thing); and a blue bag filled with reading material for the trip in the car.  I put most of this stuff in my black Rooster bag, those are eggs, not polka dots.  🙂

Then the rest went on top of my clothes in my suitcase.

That’s it folks!  The blue bag will go up front in the car with me.  There are snacks, lots of magazines for me to read and my new camera to study.  The other two will go in the back and be easy to grab and carry in to the Greenbrier.  Another successful packing!

Are you an organized packer or the kind that just throws everything in and hopes for the best?