Is it too early to pack for my holiday?

I think it's wild that anyone would just create chores that are completely unnecessary.

My clothes are all clean and dry as I wash them when I've worn them. I don't iron anything before packing as they just get creased in transit.

I have a tick box list on my phone that I build up over a few days, and then put everything in my bag either the night before or the morning of travel, ticking off as I go. No dramas at all. I also have a holiday drawer where I keep things like travel plugs, travel bottles and mini toiletries, bikini etc.

Make a list early so you won't forget anything, pack the day before (minimises the creasing). Do any necessary laundry a few days before. I get miniatures / duplicates of toiletries / cosmetics a week or so before if I'll be taking off really early, so as to pack those the night before and not be cramming them in after washing / dressing in the morning.

I definitely don't view myself as a last minute.com packer but I do generally finalise my packing the night before.

I definitely don't rewash anything, and I refuse to iron things. I don't really wear different clothes abroad though.

I have a long, categorised list of stuff on my phone. I have a quick look at that some time in advance to check there's nothing I think I am running out of, like insect repellent or whatever. Generally all travel items would be replaced immediately post holiday if I am running low so this is unlikely to be an issue.

All specialist travel items live in the suitcase.
Non specialist items, I start thinking about a week or so out. Trying to stop wearing anything I particularly want to take on holiday so I can wash it or, or wear it enough that it needs washing so it goes in the suitcase clean instead of half worn. 3 days before or so I would generally do a final wash to make sure any bits I want to take are clean and dry and I have plenty of pants or whatever.

And then the last day or so before I go I get the suitcase out and actually put everything in it. That process takes like 15-20 minutes for a short trip, and probably 45 if I am trying to do a week+ on hand luggage simply because more optimisation is required.

I don't really view any part of the process other than the final paragraph as packing.

I am a mixture of both. I make a detailed list (normally of I am stuck in one of those meetings that could have been a brief email). I have a basket somewhere that I drop things that I will need to bring think mini toothpaste, mini hairbrush, plasters, wipes, charger cabels, power banketc. I drop them in as I think of them up to a couple of weeks before travel.
Clothes wise I plan my outfits and as much as I can I avoid wearing what I plan to wear on holidays the week before I travel. Tend to pack the evening before though. Between the basket and the list I am sorted and the packing the evening before feels like the start of my holiday. Admittedly I am travelling solo so I would imagine it is far far different when packing for a family.

Oh come on OP. You don’t need to rewash the clothes unless you put them away dirty.

Ironing?! I haven’t ironed anything for 25 years and they will get crumpled to fuck in your suitcase anyway. Especially if you’ve packed an ice age before you need to go.

I travel very regularly. Ultra long haul and often going to a different season with a mix of formal, professional, fancy and casual/beach clothes needed.
I make a list on my phone of very specific things to take eg rather than 2 pairs of trousers it will be ‘white cotton culottes, Black linen trousers’ etc and I list the activity I will wear them to.
I add to and whittle down the list over the days leading up to it. Wash anything that’s in current circulation and ensure it’s clean day before and pack the evening before I leave. It’s no stressful because the list is the key

I have a toiletries bag ready to go along with my carry on bag (headphones, power bank, eye mask etc)

I then make a list of the final things to remember; hairbrush, phone, keys, passport, charger etc.

My mantra is as long as you have the critical things with you (phone, passport, keys, bank card, specs, medication, contacts) everything else can be bought and it’s not the end of the world if you forget a certain top or your deodorant. Stops the anxiety

How long does it take you to pack? Won’t you need some of the clothes before you go? Will you forget what you packed and then have to unpack to check you packed xyz?

One thing I did after a 5-week September to October holiday in the UK, Spain and Singapore was to list all the things I actually wore, as opposed to packed, on my phone as a reminder of how little I needed.

The only things that needed to be multiple were socks and knickers, due to the need for washing.

Obviously the time of year changes things, but it's proved invaluable.

I’m a bit bemused though that people have spare clothes to pack so far ahead, I’m wearing my summer dresses as it’s hot! Now winter sun holidays are easy because nothing is being worn at the time bar underwear

I gather things as and when before, heaped on the spare bed, especially when I had kids at home, but actually pack the day before.

We generally book through TUI or Jet2 and get 22 kg each, plus hand luggage. I'm practical in other ways, toiletries and footwear. This is for hot weather holidays. I like to dress for an evening. It's mainly dresses, Yumi kimono type, lightweight. Going to see a dancing horse/flamenco show, site seeing etc, I'd wear something a bit dressier than having breakfast and trying archery/rifle shooting around the hotel, going out for a stroll etc. That would be lightweight beach type dressses. I travel in the same outfit going out and coming back and no longer swim. I'm not interested in tanning and it can get chilly on whale/dolphin watching trips, so wide cotton trousers, matching shirt with t shirt underneath. Exposed skin makes you hotter. I prefer the practicality when going on cable cars etc and it saves on leg shaving of a morning. Tit tape and nipple covers are in place of a bra.

I'm the other end of the pack last minute scale!
Around four weeks before a holiday I start assembling bits and buying any new bits needed. Put things in a gradual pile in the spare bedroom as I find bits.
Then last minute decision making the day before going and into the suitcase it goes then weigh the case.
So I start the process weeks before

I agree with previous posts. Work on a thorough list and pack nearer departure day.

Save the list for the next holiday and refine it over time.
I also have a “Short Trip List”.
I have them both saved along with travel paperwork that I need for every trip.

I’m thinking about getting my suitcase down from the loft this week so that I can start putting things that I don’t think I will need again before we leave in there when they come out of the wash. Our flight is still 5 weeks away. I can’t see what harm it would do to start packing now.

I have someone who buys me a new set of clothes every day, including on holiday.

You FedEx your washing machine to the destination? Without having a machine already there to wash your own machine? And then you put your clothes in it? Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww that’s skanky.

Gosh some of your standards on here are low.

I FedEx my washing machine to the destination so that I can rewash everything after I arrive, just to get that suitcase eurgh off them.

It's nice to be fresh

Pack when and how causes you least stress.

Do it as long as you don’t need the clothes/undies etc beforehand.

Are you re-washing clean clothes from your wardrobe to take on holiday or have I read that wrong? If so, that’s bonkers!

Make a list now of what you want to take, keep on top of your washing and pack closer to the time would be my advice.

Wtf?

Why?

I don't understand how I would survive for three and a half weeks without the things in my suitcase.

I sometimes have several holidays and breaks in the summer months, if I packed that early I’d be packing for the next holiday while I’m still on the one before! Sometimes there’s only a few days turnaround between holidays for me. And who takes clean clothes out the wardrobe to rewash?!

Do it when it suits you
Im going away in 2-3 weeks and DD is coming to help me sort my clothes out next weekend
I like to try things on, make sure they are ok washing and ironing wise - then I just hang up in spare room till day before when I actually pack

I feel a touch of culture shock reading this thread!

Three outfits a day?

Tit tape?

Nipple covers?

Cotton trouser co-ord?

I don’t know what any of these things are 😳.

Well, I know what three outfits a day means, but…..why? That must be a huge amount of luggage?

Do you have somewhere like a spare bed where you could wash and iron everything and leave on the bed until a couple of days before you go?. Do a list of chargers, toiletries etc and put them with your stuff in case you need them before your holiday.