Hello and Happy WILW!  If you are new, Wednesdays are when I tell you about things I love that I think you should know about. Totally random items/hacks that are making my life better or positive experiences I have had. I am still reminiscing on our amazing trip to the beach last week and decided to share a few things I think made the trip exponentially better, an item you wouldn’t think to pack but don’t want to forget, and a laundry/packing hack!

First up: Scout Bags. I mean, these things are AMAZING. So good I named my daughter after them (just kiddind!). We took The Original Deano down to the beach daily and could pack a ton into it. On days with extra stuff, I also used our Bagette. Its so light and folds up tiny. (When not at the beach, I use this one as a grocery bag.) I also think the BJ Bag would be awesome if you wanted to have pockets and a zipper. You could look into getting them all in the same pattern so all of your beach bags are easy to spot amidst the sea of people and towels.

 

Next: teleties. My goodness, these things are the best. I knew I liked them, but since the beach I have realized just how well they work. They hold your hair in place so well! I have both sizes but prefer the larger ones for getting all my hair up in a bun. Even on a super windy beach day, these babies don’t move. They are also sold on Amazon.

 

Next: a wide brim visor style beach hat! Why might you ask? one word: WIND. I have two large brimmed beach hats to help protect my face from the sun but I ended up wearing this one a lot more solely because it was much less likely to blow off. This is the link for my visor style hat.

 

 

Now, for an item you might not think to pack but don’t want to forget! It might surprise you: A SWEATSHIRT. I know, I know, but it’s summer! Why would one need a warm sweatshirt? Well, friends, air conditioning when you are renting a house feels “free” and therefore people love to crank it. Trust me. It’s a week of “FREE COLD AIR!” so why not make it feel like Alaska?! We will go back to being super cheap air people next week back when reality hits and we are paying for it. With that being said, pack a sweatshirt. Here’s a link so a super cozy one on sale. And maybe even some long pajama pants. **You will also welcome these items once you are adequately sunburned and freezing cold as heat radiates off of your freshly burned back. Don’t ask me how I know.

 

Lastly, a quick packing/laundry hack for you! It comes in two parts.

Part one:

The first can be filed under the “free air” mentality listed above. It’s the “FREE WASHING MACHINE!” mentality. If sand gets into this machine, it’s really not your problem (if anyone reading this owns a rental property, I am sure you know this all too well. I am so sorry). What I like to do before I leave the beach is do one load of wash with all the sandy bathing suits/towels in it. That way, I don’t bring all that sand home with me. Sure, you could do all your laundry before you return home, but if you only have the time for one load (or simply don’t want to do any laundry on vacation) do your future self a favor and throw the bathing suits and beach towels in for a quick wash. You will be so happy you did. **I bring a small ziplock with a few laundry pods in it for this reason.**

Part two:

You all know how much I adore the Lands End zip totes for my kids. They each have one and they have made packing SO MUCH EASIER! On the trip there, all of their respective items are in their specific bag. Once we arrive at our rental, I unpack them. AT THIS TIME, one of their bags becomes the designated dirty clothes bag for EVERYONE’S dirty clothes. This way, when we get back from our trip, that specific bag is taken directly to the laundry room and no “clothing contamination” has occurred. You might need more than one of the bags to become a designated dirty clothes bag depending on how many of the clothes you pack they actually wear, but make sure you at least have one. We had one in the kids’ room and one in our room and those two bags were the first things washed when we got home.

 

OK! That is all I have got. I do hope it was helpful. Do you have any packing tips/hacks you swear by? I would love to hear them!