How to Pack

I don't have much time tonight so I'm just going to start a general thread. I don't see an option for a poll so I will just ask now: If you want me to copy and paste your comments to this message please make your first word/line YES.

General Outline:

1. Packing

A. Generic Common Clothes

I tend to put under clothes by group in gallon zip lock bags. That way it doesn't matter what container they end up in: The socks are together, the underwear is together, etc. I can sort it out after I arrive and put the bags in drawers or leave them where they started. (Marty)

I roll up all my short pants and T-Shirts/Golf shirts ( which I often wear during the daytime hours ) and put them in one section of a container. (Marty)

B. Costumes

I start early by making sure my costumes are cleaned/washed by early August. I then begin to group them by costume(s) in garment bags as they are cleaned/washed. I add accessories that go with each costume to the garment bag containing that costume. (Marty)

Swords: We typically have one box that contains all our swords. If we have a new one we leave it in it's original box and let D*Con security open and peace bond it on site. (Marty)

C. Wigs 

2.Transportation

A. Driving

a. lot's of space

Get foot lockers with wheels and sturdy closing devices, like a hook and latch. We put all our general clothes in those. One for me, one for Lori. Then we have one for dry goods: paper towels, paper plates, plastic flatware, etc. That one usually also has room for the liquor. We bring a lot of miniatures to serve at parties. We take another one for food and our two cooking utensils: air popcorn popper and rotisserie hot dog cooker. We buy our food in Atlanta and our personal liquor too because we drive right by Fort McPherson on the way in. (Marty)
 
b. little space

There is some discussion on the subject of sharing items between costumes below, both reasons for and against it.

Let's face it, if you and 3 friends are driving to Atlanta in a Ford Focus or Honda Civic you are not going to have much room. You need to consider sharing. Can the same pants work with more than one costume? Maybe your pirate shirt can work with your kilt? There is always the need to keep them clean. Take your Woolite.

OTOH, if you are coming over in your minivan take the seats out and go to town. (Marty)

B. Other

a. Airplane

2 years ago, some guy posted on D*Con about some great footlockers.  I got them at Wallyworld for 18.99 (plus tax) they are TSA approved, meaning that they met all major airline carriers size requirements. One end is on wheels.  They are fantastic. (Randah)

Also we bought TSA approved locks for them. TSA can open them and we are alerted if the do, but no one else can but us. (Marty)

b. Train
c. Bus

Those giant Tupperware-like boxes are great for packing costume accessories.  I now have three full of all the little things.   Shoes, head gear/hats, stockings, belts, wigs, etc, etc.

You can't post a new poll?  Odd, I just checked the permissions, and you should be able to.  Above the lists of threads there should be a "POST NEW POLL" to the upper right. 

This year, I'm trying a new system, because last year by day 2 there were costume pieces EVERYWHERE since I had to dig through bins every time I needed one small item.

I made a list for each costume of everything needed.

I got a garment bag for each costume that needs one and some small & medium ziplocs. In the ziplocs are the small accessory pieces, and then I toss them into the garment bag.

Anything that's shared between costumes goes in another set of bags, but I'm trying to eliminate shared items when possible so I can store stuff with all the pieces and just grab bags and go.

Hopefully this will work, because I will only have patient roommates for so long...they want space in the drawers/counters too!

-Lara

Heh, nice.  I like the ziplock bag idea.  Maybe even put them in the pockets of the costume (if it is a costume with pockets?) 

How many costumes do you have that share accessories? 

A lot of my daytime clothes share accessories as I do just a basic gothy wardrobe during the day...so jewelry and stuff like gloves or armwarmers. I'm really debating how crazy to go with eliminating sharing, as Dragoncon is the only time it's a problem.

Oh well, thinking about packing is the closest I can get to con for now, so I'll do it

-Lara

Yeah, it feels like a millennia away.  What evening costumes are you planning for this year? 

I organized everything in big, plastic storage bings with all my props and jewelry in shoe boxes (those that fit).  Bigger accessories were kept with the costumes in garment bags.

This isn't so much a packing thing, but if your costumes involve anything at all more restricting or cumbersome than your normal street clothes (big shoes, armor, trained dress, big props etc), do a dress rehearsal at home.  Set aside a few hours to get used to walking, sitting, going up and down stairs, etc.  And, yes, a few hours, ideally you want to get as comfortable as possible before the con.  Better yet if you can double your efficiency by doing some light non-messy chores like folding laundry, organizing things, pack your other junk.  It sounds silly, you might get weird looks from your family, but anything you can do to get used to your costume will make you feel more comfortable and look more confident!

Also, file folders for important pieces of paper.  It's a trick I learned from my dad.  This is for things like itinerary, emergency contacts, number for the cab company, boarding pass if you're flying.

And lists are extremely helpful, the more detailed the better.  Don't just make a list of what you're packing, make a list of what you need to do before you leave.  For, example, here was my things to do list before I went to Arisia (keep in mind I was litterally going crazy then...) and I really did put in reminders to smoke and drink...

Go to ATM
Buy snack to eat on the bus
Do laundry
Fix costume
Smoke
Put away clean laundry
Finish packing
Call Claire (the friend I was rooming with)
Have a beer
Get on bus to UMass
Get on bus to Boston

Wow, great suggestions! 

I really like the "walk around in your costume"... can make a world of difference between a great personal experience with your costume vs a frustrating one! 

The emergency contact thing reminds me to remind you all to do this.

In your cell phone, be specific about who to contact.  My neighbor gave me this tip, so if anything happened to me it would be easier to find the person.  Like in my contacts, I have "Mark" or "Amy" but only I know who they are.  She suggested putting something like "EMERGENCY -- Mark" with his number again or "Mark -- husband" so they know who the heck he is!

I guess what I'm saying is put in your phone "Emergency contact" so we know who to call after you've passed out, we've checked your pockets for loose change, and decided to find who you belong to. :p

The emergency contact thing reminds me to remind you all to do this.

In your cell phone, be specific about who to contact.  My neighbor gave me this tip, so if anything happened to me it would be easier to find the person.  Like in my contacts, I have "Mark" or "Amy" but only I know who they are.  She suggested putting something like "EMERGENCY -- Mark" with his number again or "Mark -- husband" so they know who the heck he is!

I guess what I'm saying is put in your phone "Emergency contact" so we know who to call after you've passed out, we've checked your pockets for loose change, and decided to find who you belong to. :p

Your right... there is not much we can do when you are 'all dead'. 

Chip and I use those long, flat, plastic storage boxes, the ones with small wheels so they can be rolled away under the bed? If you have a truck and a lot of costumes, those are pretty awesome and we can usually fit most of our swords and daggers directly in with the costumes they go with. Last year, I had a box for Cadsuane, he had a box for his warder (Grail), and then we had another box for everything else, such as cloaks and the like. Then we just stacked them on the balcony of our hotel room at the Hyatt, to get them out of the way until we needed them.

2 years ago, some guy posted on DCon about some great footlockers.  I got them at Wallyword for 18.99 (plus tax) they are TSA approved, meaning that they met all major airline carriers size requirements. One end is on wheels.  They are fantastic.

We do cheat, we get a suite at DCon, and the room adjoining the bedroom to the suite, we use it for costume storage.

We pack our costumes in garmet bags with everything (unless a sword, wig, or other various interesting items are required) and label them.

For instance, when I did Cadsuance two years ago, I had special shoes for that outfit, they were actually istoner slippers died and hand painted, they went into a outer pocket of the garment bag.

We get to DCon early so that we can put all the outfits together so there is no rushing around to find things.  That includes purses for me.

Yep, that is so true! Last year we went down on Wednesday - had time to look over our costumes and make any last minute repairs, figure out the best places to eat, etc. It made a world of difference in our level of enjoyment.