Traveling with Kids Toolkit

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traveling with kids tool kit

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There’s a ton more to pack when traveling with young kids but I wanted to share the tiny list I made while I was in South Carolina with my family and the boys. As the week progressed, I added items that I thought would be useful to have when you are staying in a home other than your own!

1. I have 5 Latchy Catchy’s and they are awesome. I have them on both the boys’ doors, the door to where the cat liter is, and the door to our guest room closet where Gravy loves to hide. They prevent the door from latching closed, but still allowing the door to shut completely in the frame. It makes opening and closing the door nearly silent. Perfect for sneaking in to check on the babies. I jammed a few folded up tissues under the one to the litter box just to make sure that door is very easily opened for the cats’ sake!

2. We had this sound machine but the softest setting was still incredibly loud so I got this one and it’s perfect. The white noise drowned out the sound of me and my mom and sister, as well as the unusual creaks and noises in a strange home.

3. It’s funny, I spent time making sure the window in the room David was sleeping in was all but blacked out so the room would be nice and dark, but I still wanted a nightlight in the far corner so I could see when I crept in there to check on him.

4. We bring our video monitors with us when we travel, so an extension cord allowed us to put it wherever we needed.

5. Speaking of monitors, we decided to never actually screw them into the wall. They are hung, very securely, using two strips of command velcro. So when we travel, we just need to bring some fresh strips with us to attach the monitors to the wall if we need to. Usually I rig up a system to avoid sticking things to the wall, but I bring them just in case!

6. WD-40! Guess which two rooms had the squeakiest doors? David and Luke’s. I wish I had thought to pack a little can of WD-40 to eliminate the creaking!

 

Again, these are only things that I wanted to mention that may not already be on the standard “traveling with kids” list. I hope it’s helpful if you have any summer travel coming up!

 

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Caroline {Virginia Sweet} says · 06.05.15

Wd40 idea is amazing!!

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Britton says · 06.05.15

Great list! We bring a black king sized sheet with us and use it as a partition to separate us from our kiddo if we share a room…we just tack it up to the wall and it can block out light. An idea I got from another seasoned mama 😀

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Cynthia says · 06.05.15

That’s brilliant! I’m definilty tucking that one away for our next family vacation.

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ashlye says · 06.05.15

Squeaky door emergency FYI: I travel with a tiny tub of coconut oil or vaseline nearly every trip. I found you can dab a little of either on the door hinges to stop squeaks. Rub it into the metal with your fingers. The thought of WD-40 bursting in a suitcase sends chills down my spine ; ) Safe travels and best of luck with the new house!

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Alexis says · 06.09.15

Ashlye

I like your idea about coconut oil since you can’t fly with WD-40 it isn’t a very travel friendly suggestion but I always have a little coconut oil in my make-up bag. 🙂

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Kate says · 06.09.15

Yes Coconut oil is perfect when you are flying, love that idea. I was driving for this road trip so WD-40 was no problem to throw in the car 🙂

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Shannon says · 06.05.15

Kate, have you found a good spot to mount the monitor on the wall? When I travel I can never get a good spot/angle to actually see little one?

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Kim says · 06.05.15

great post! I don’t have kids but this is super helpful I’m sure for those that do 🙂

Kim
http://trendkeeper.me .. Get ready FAST after a workout!

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Kathleen says · 06.05.15

This list is exactly what we figured out we needed AFTER our first overnight trip to the cottage a few weeks ago. We attach monitors the same way but yes – so many squeaky doors! The worst when in-laws want to “check on” the sleeping baby. Thanks for the great post – definitely going to get me some latchy-catchy’s.

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Ashley Whisenant says · 06.05.15

We use the Command Velcro strips for our video monitor too! We were actually able to use a small piece of wood, mounted with the Velcro strips, to put the camera out far enough over the crib to be able to see all of it! They are the best!

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Cynthia says · 06.05.15

Just like a commenter above, I used something “unconventional” to stop a squeaking door. I use jojoba oil to remove my waterproof mascara, so I put some on my fingertips and oiled the hinge.

The houses we’ve rented on vacation usually had some sort of cooking oil, so that would be good too. I’ve also used olive oil at home.

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Cynthia says · 06.05.15

Also, we don’t use a sound machine. But sometimes when we want to help drown out our voices, we’ll turn on a bathroom fan. Our nursery shares a wall with our ensuite bathroom, so sometimes we use our fan to create a gentle hum.

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Lisa says · 06.05.15

WD40 is a great idea! We’re going camping this weekend for the first time with our 1 year old son (he doesn’t remember camping last year as a baby) and I’m sure the camper door will be creaky! I already have most of the other things on your list packed up and ready to go. Have a great weekend!

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Kristi says · 06.05.15

I love the Latchy Catchys! All of the patterns are so cute!

Kristi | Be Loverly

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Ashley says · 06.05.15

We have traveled twice for far this year, and each time I wish I would have thought to bring a night light.

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Sherri @ Adventures of Love and Marriage says · 06.05.15

It had NEVER crossed my mind before to use command strips for the video monitors! I have mine sitting on a shelf but it does’t give that great of a close-up. I just WISH it would have crossed my mind in our toddler’s infant stage.

Great idea!

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Evelina says · 06.05.15

I totally laughed out loud at the WD40!! But it really makes sense. Happy weekend!

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Sarah W. says · 06.05.15

My guys are ‘big’ now (15&10) but I still always take Lysol spray, Lysol wipes ( to disinfect EVERYTHING – yes I’m a germaphobe!), and large ziplock bags in the car for various uses (garbage, car sickness) but also to put remote controls in so I know we aren’t picking up nasty germs while watching movies at night or rainy days.

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gturn62 says · 05.04.16

Ooooo…I love that remote-control-in-the-plastic-bag idea. Those things are so germy!

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Calee says · 06.05.15

We use that same sound machine and love it!

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Krista says · 06.05.15

Growing up I couldn’t stand a squeeky door so I always used baby oil or lotion to lube the joints!

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Jenna Delguidice says · 06.05.15

I have that sound machine, have for several years now, and love it! My hubby is always asking me to “turn on the birds” lol

Jenna
http://Www.loveabibliophile.com

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Deborah says · 06.05.15

Qtips to apply whatever cooking oil to squeaky door hinges. Clothes pins to close up opened bags of food, to hang our big sheet over a bright window, to pin a dishtowel to a kids shoulders while doing something messy. We also always travel with our noise machine and night lights and plug-in light timers. We plug a night light (with a fun pink bulb) into the timer and set it and the kids know when the light comes on in the morning, it is ok to get up. This has prevented early rising on vacations and let us parents get a bit more sleep! If I still had tiny kids, I’d want some latchy-catchys! And always wipes, for everything.

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Jenna says · 06.05.15

Something tells me you’ve done this a few times, lol! Great tips!

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Cynthia says · 06.08.15

Thank you so much for mentioning those timers! I was in the process of looking for an alarm clock that changes colours to let my kids know when it’s okay to get out of bed and make noise (two of my kids share a room and one of them is a random sleeper who likes to wake up the other, who is a wonderful sleeper). Those alarm clocks all have pretty bad reviews and the better clocks are sooooo expensive. I just wanted a simple light on/off visual cue. This timer idea is BRILLIANT!

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Jenna says · 06.05.15

Just got back from a family vacation and we had a very creaky door on my VERY light sleeper’s room (10 months old.)
No need to lug along a can of WD-40! Any hair oil product works great. Place a couple drops on the top of the door hinge and hold a tissue underneath to catch any drips. Open and close the door a couple times to work the oil through and it works as well as anything from the hardware store!
You have to be resourceful with a bad sleeper! ☺️

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Kimberly says · 06.05.15

The last time we visited the Fredrick Meijer Gardens (Grand Rapids, Michigan) my daughter managed to get tiny hair-like cactus spines in her hand…we eventually poured Elmer’s glue on her hand, let It dry, and then she pulled it off. Now I’m always going to have glue in the van!

I think my must-have would be Usborne Stickers books, a new one for each kid before a car ride. 🙂

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Kim H. says · 06.09.15

A strip of packing tape would remove the cactus spines and you would not have to wait for glue to dry.

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Rachel says · 06.06.15

Command hook idea=genius. My baby naps and sleeps at night in two different locations and we travel with our monitor as well- I would never have thought of that.

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Elizabeth says · 06.06.15

Wow, I absolutely NEVER thought of these items. I am a mom of six kids, and can you believe I never thought of traveling with these things? I guess I was lucky to remember diapers and wipes on most trips. Not to mention all the kids! Love your blog.

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Melanie says · 06.10.15

WD-40! Thanks, we’re renting a house next month when we go to the beach and I’ll definitely be packing this!

Melanie
http://www.theseblankwalls.com

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Lindsey says · 06.12.15

I’m a brand new follower of your blog. Found you when I googled ‘easy up dos’ and realized that I would LOVE to hear more about your life. We also both have son’s named Luke!
This is the first post of yours that I read beginning to end, and I have to say: you already have been SUPER helpful in my life. Thank you! My little guy is a VERY light sleeper and I’ll be putting this post to use at home AND on trips :).

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Sydni says · 06.15.15

Do you bring your cats with you when you travel? What do you do about the litter? It stinks (pun intended) to put the box in the room you’re staying in, but there usually aren’t other options. Any other suggestions for traveling with kitties?

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Amit Ahuja says · 09.19.15

Nice set of things. I too just became a father of a cute doll so these are somewhat helping.

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Janna says · 05.05.16

Black trash bags and frog tape help blackout a bedroom window for kids. Cheap, light weight to travel with and temporary. J

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Bethy says · 05.05.16

I bought Latchy Catchys on your recommendation a while back. I’m preeeeeetty sure they have saved my marriage. On a recent car trip my little guy was sick, I’ll spare you the details but since then I put an IKEA bib (the ones with arms) on him (over the buckled straps) to save me the nightmare of another road side clean up. My two cents 🙂

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Erin says · 05.05.16

We use the same sound machine and bring it with us everywhere. I love the door latch idea for the cats!

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Codes says · 01.20.17

We have traveled twice for far this year, and each time I wish I would have thought to bring a night light.

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Sarah says · 09.17.20

A small broom/dustpan is also great when traveling with messy eaters in the hotel room (and they aren’t offering room service or you don’t want the room service every day)

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Jessica witty says · 09.17.20

Love this!! We are going to a cabin in a few weeks and this was so helpful

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Sarah says · 09.17.20

Great tip for the squeaky door! I threw a package of outlet covers in our travel bag after traveling with a curious toddler. Also we brought a SlumberPod to blackout the pack n play and it was a game-changer! Highly recommend it for traveling with infants/toddlers!

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Dani says · 09.18.20

OMG Never in a million years I would have thought about using command strips to hang a video monitor! I was over here thinking over and over on how I would hang the camera inside our RV without putting holes on the walls. Speaking of that, what video monitor do you use?

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