How To Pack For A Family Vacation

What is the secret to packing for a family vacation?

I always try to pack enough outfits for every day, so that I don't have to do laundry, but it also depends on how much I'm going to have to be carrying and schlepping these bags - if I go some place for a longer period of time I may take less. For my kids, I used to let them pack their stuff. We're going to be away for 3 days, or we're going to be away for a week, so what do we need? We need 7 pairs of underwear and 7 tops, and 7 shorts, and are we going to change for dinner? Things like that. Depending on where you're going will dictate how much you pack, and how you do it. One good pair of pants or one good skirt. One thing that you can wear in the evening that will go to lots of places. You want to make your outfits multi-purposeful, so you would pack layers. You wouldn't pack as many things but you would make sure you have an outside, an inside, and a bottom. You would pack smaller things, and I also find packing flat helps. A lot of people fold things, but I find that packing flat gives you much more space.