The packing list

I recall from my younger years the house descending into panic as the caravan was packed, loaded and prepared for the holiday. Clothes, food, odds and ends lay strewn around the house while tensions grew within the family.

Unlike my childhood we cannot traipse back and forth to the caravan. Back then we were able to keep the van at home, today however, we have to keep the caravan in storage 20mins away from our house. We have to ensure that we pack the caravan before we start travelling and on the day we do set off the only thing we should take to the caravan is ourselves and the fridge food. Well that’s the theory anyway !

So how can we ensure the caravan is packed with everything we need for a stress free holiday?

The answer is easy. We use Google Drive. Specifically, An online Spreadsheet that every family member has access to. We have listed out every “personal” item you should want and have it categorised as a compulsory, optional or occasional items. This may sound over the top – but it really works.

We list all items that need taking to the van, including the dog food, bedding items and any electrical items that we want to take(iPads, Kindles Cameras etc). Everything is listed. With it being a shared document, however, it is constantly updated. Items added and items removed.

As part of the “we are going away” routine, the children take the spreadsheet and make neat piles of their items they want in the living room. We then pack all these items into a huge clothing holdall, ready for transportation to the caravan.

Our packing list isn’t the only thing that is listed in our Spreadsheet. All our holidays are listed including how many nights, how many days of Annual leave, the cost and booking reference. We are incredibly organised with all things financial too. We budget how much spending cash we take, the fuel budget and cost of excursions etc are all documented.

So that is the theory of how we do it. In reality it is exactly like this. We have forgotten a few odds and ends in the past, but nothing that has been detrimental to the holiday (well apart from that time we forgot the food….). It is a great way of keeping everything organised, and it ensures you have everything listed in one place.

If you are starting from ground zero, pop over to 733blog.com where Kim has prepared an excellent downloadable camping packing list, that you can use to ensure you have packed everything.