Packing List for Vacation: One List the Family Reuses

How to create a packing list that works every time

Most packing lists fail in the same way: they're written in a hurry the night before, from memory, and thrown away after the trip. A list that keeps working follows a few habits:

• Keep a master list. Everything your household takes on almost every trip, written once. You don't start from a blank page again.
• Make a fresh copy for each trip. The master list stays clean; this trip's copy gets the extras — a swimsuit for the beach, a warm jacket for the mountains, a dressy outfit for a wedding.
• Start a few days early. A list opened a week before leaves time to buy a travel adapter or refill a prescription. A list opened the night before only tells you what's missing.
• Check what the accommodation provides. Towels, a hair dryer, a cot, a washing machine — each one you don't need to bring is space in the suitcase.
• Improve it after the trip. What did you miss? What came home unworn? A minute of edits makes next year's list better.

A travel packing list to start from

Every family travels differently, so cross out what you don't need and add what's missing.

• Documents and money. Passports or ID cards, tickets and booking confirmations, travel insurance details, driving licence, a bank card and a little local cash, copies of important documents stored separately.
• Medicines and health. Everyday medicines your household takes (in your hand luggage), a small first aid kit, sun cream, insect repellent, any prescriptions you might need to show.
• Tech. Phones and chargers, a power bank, a travel adapter, headphones, an e-reader or tablet for the journey.
• Clothes. Outfits for the number of days (fewer if you can do laundry), layers for evenings, a light rain jacket, swimwear, comfortable walking shoes, sandals, something to sleep in.
• Toiletries. Toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, a hairbrush, glasses or contact lenses with spares.
• For the journey. Snacks, refillable water bottles, something to read or play, a travel pillow, wet wipes.
• Before you lock the door. House keys, plants watered, bins out, fridge emptied of anything that won't keep.

Travelling with children? Give each child a short section of their own — favourite toy, comfort blanket, spare clothes in the day bag — so their things don't get lost among everyone else's.

Packing light: fewer things, better chosen

Packing light is easier with a list than without one, because you can see everything at once and cut before it goes in the case. Choose clothes that mix and match, plan to wear the bulkiest shoes and jacket on the journey, and rely on what your accommodation already has. Anything that is easy to buy at your destination can be crossed off.

Keep your master packing list in Family Errands

In Family Errands, the master list lives as a note that you use as a template, and each trip gets its own errand made from it.

1. Write the note

   Create a note called “Holiday packing” and add a checklist with everything from the groups above that fits your household. Already have a list in a chat or another app? Copy it, and in Notes the app offers to create a new note from the copied text, with each line as a separate checklist item. Bullets like “-” or “1.” are removed for you.

2. Create an errand for the trip

   A week or so before you leave, open the note and create an errand from it: a new errand for today appears with the same title and checklist, while the note stays as it is for next time.

3. Move it to your packing day

   Set the date you'll pack and add a reminder. If you want the list to keep coming back until the bags are closed, set a time and use a reminder that repeats until you complete the errand.

4. Add this trip's extras

   Swimwear, a gift for the people you're visiting, the adapter for this country — add them to this trip's errand without touching the template.

After you're home, open the note and add whatever you missed. Every trip makes the list a little closer to your family's real one.

Packing as a family from one list

Packing for a family holiday is rarely one person's job. One person is folding clothes in the bedroom, another is finding chargers and passports, someone else is clearing the fridge.

1. Invite your family

   In the family section, the app creates an invitation link with a 6-digit code that you send through any messenger. A family in Family Errands has up to 5 people in total.

2. Share the trip's errand

   Open the errand and tap the avatars of the people packing with you. Everyone it's shared with can see and edit the list.

3. Tick items off as they go in

   Each checklist item can be ticked separately, and changes show up on the other phones automatically while you're online. Everyone sees what's already in the suitcase and what's still left.

You can also share a single checklist item instead of the whole list — “pick up the travel adapter” with whoever is passing the shop. And if someone else is free to handle a pre-trip errand, such as collecting the dry cleaning, you can hand that errand over to them: it becomes theirs and leaves your list.

One last check as you leave

On the day you set off, move the trip's errand to that day, add your home as its place and choose to be reminded on departure. A place replaces the errand's time reminders. The notification shows the checklist, so a glance at the unticked items happens on the doorstep, not at the airport.

Going camping instead? We have a separate camping packing list. And for the food shop before you go, see how to share a grocery list.

Questions