Efficient Packing for On-the-Go Women: Tips and Tricks from Kristin

[KCPChef]

Hi Ladies!!! I am working on my new packing lists for shows over the next week! my question is that I am going to a smaller bag to make SURE that I only bring what I need!!!! my question is have you tried this and how is it working for you? In looking at the recipes that I typically make, I think that I can scale this down! I ususally pack my tool tool about FULL and only use maybe 5 things out of it! I have some super easy and fast recipes for the spring and summer and was just curious if this was working for any of you!!! Thanks!

-Kristin

 

[babywings76]

I only had one show so far where I tried this. I succeeded in getting it in one bag plus I had a tote bag for all the catalogs and paperwork. It was extremely heavy though. I don't think I'll bring the TTA next time, or I will put it in it's own tote like I usually do. I can bring paperwork and the TTA tote in first, then go back and get my consultant tote or carry-all tote. I'm thinking of trying the Carry all tote next time, too, because the consultant one is heavier on it's own and I tend to hit the door frames as I walk through...:blushing:

 

[KCPChef]

ok! Thanks for the feedback!! I always hit the door frame!!! HAHAHA!!! I have a rule where if I cannot bring it in to the house in 1 trip then i cannot bring it at all We will see how it works!

 

[cookingwithdawn]

I think I would be lost if I did not bring my TTA!!! I love that thing and love to show people how much STUFF fits in it!!

 

[ChefCKHall]

Not me! Two rolling totes! Everything goes in them, spice turnabout, tool turnabout, two DCB, catalogs, pens, calendar, calculator! I watched the video at Spring Launch and thought...sounds good but does not sound like me at all. With shoulder surgery and age, this ol'lady ain't carrying anything on her shoulders! I will wheel 'em in and wheel 'em out!

 

[hcjeep]

I have tried to trim down a little since spring launch and have not seen any change in my show totals still averaging around $700.
I take the green spice turn about bag that I earned last fall with the ST on the bottom with my TTA on top.
I then have a case on wheels (my friend gave me that used to sell Creative Memories) which I put everything else in. This way I can make it all in one trip. I have yet to size down to the tote I got with my kit as the one on wheels is padded and I know things are not getting scratched.

 

[mspibb]

I know it is better for recruiting. I carry way too much. I usually forget something! I try to go through the recipe and only take what is needed for but there is always something I need that didn't get a mention in the recipe! It is not that I am afraid to say "I can bring that to your show if you want to see it!" I hate having to use the host's non-PC measuring cup or something because I don't have the PC one! Especially hate it when I need the Measure-all cup and I am scraping peanut butter or something out of a dry measuring cup of the host's! :yuck:

 

[pclorri]

HOw did you do SO many shows in one year. I just want to do 4 a month. How did you get all those bookings?

 

[lalemom]

What are the easy recipes you are making for S/S season?

 

[vanscootin]

I'm making the mango confetti salsa and a chicken in the DCB at my shows...

I usually carry three or 4 things with me... my rolling tote with the carry all on top my grocery bag and my tta tote.

After a few emails from my upline and hearing about the pack less carry more, I've decided to give it a shot tonight... well I DID IT!

I fit EVERYTHING in my rolling tote so I'll just have my grocery bag and my tta on my shoulder. I'm quite proud.

I did try to fit it all in my consultant kit tote, but it was just too heavy and awkward to heave ho over my shoulder.

Plus, I'm taking my mom's car tonight to my show... because mine is out of gas and there was supposed to be a gas strike today and I didn't want to go get it. (I have a 16 gallon tank and need premium fuel and $0 left in the weekly budget... won't make that mistake again) Anyways, I wasn't sure how much was going to fit in her car. Now I don't have to worry because I just have 1 bag!

 

[babywings76]

Is the rolling tote hard to lift up from someone's steps into the house? I've heard that the wheels and the handles break easily, so I've held off on buying one. But I tell ya, I'm very tempted...

 

[[email protected]]

When I used my rolling tote, I always felt like I was ruining people's threshold and floors, lol. It just banged all around...

 

[Kelly8]

I'm one of those who refuses to wash dishes at the host's house. So for those of you taking bags, how are you bringing your stuff at home? Are you washing the products at the host's house? I'm trying to figure out how to carry less too.

 

[tinawhite07]

I'm one of those who refuses to wash dishes at the host's house. So for those of you taking bags, how are you bringing your stuff at home? Are you washing the products at the host's house? I'm trying to figure out how to carry less too.

I have a milk crate that I bring with me to put all my dirty dishes in as I use them, then all I need to bring into the house when I get home is the crate. I only started doing this about a month ago and I'm so happy with it

 

[babywings76]

I'm one of those who refuses to wash dishes at the host's house. So for those of you taking bags, how are you bringing your stuff at home? Are you washing the products at the host's house? I'm trying to figure out how to carry less too.

I do my dishes at the host's home. (This can be a whole other thread though. Actually...there are several threads where it's been discussed that you can read if you do a search. ) I like to not have to deal with dirty dishes when I come home. I like to know that when I'm back all I would have to do is unpack. Packing up dirty dishes was always tricky for me when I tried. Trying to prevent things from getting scratched on each other, knives, dirty stoneware, etc. When it's clean, I can pack things nice and safely with cookware protectors and in the compartments of the totes.

If you carry less, there will be less to wash at the host's home, too.

I know that some people will line their bags with trash bags and just put everything back in dirty.

 

[tinawhite07]

Is the rolling tote hard to lift up from someone's steps into the house? I've heard that the wheels and the handles break easily, so I've held off on buying one. But I tell ya, I'm very tempted...

I bought one from ebay for $30.00 last year because I was pregnant and knew I wouldn't be able to carry the tote with my belly getting bigger. It was a life saver for sure. I am still using it, but yes it is hard to lift up the stairs and into the house. The handle and wheels are just fine though, no issues there. I may switch back to the tote and carry less, which I think it would end up being easier...So if you can find one cheap, I'd say go ahead, But I wouldn't pay $90 for it.

 

[Becca_in_MD]

OK folks, it's Pack Less - SELL More, not Carry More. Sorry, it's been bugging me.

I find the rolling tote to be heavy and awkward. I have a station wagon so I have to lift it in and out of the back, lift up steps into the house or apartment, etc. It's great for doing a booth cuz I get the carrying bag that goes in that system to slide on the top of it.

I'm one who doesn't do dishes at the host's house. I can rinse out the big dish, usually the DCB but sometimes the 12" skillet so that it doesn't get everything else dirty. The dirty tools go into a plastic shopping bag. I always bring a couple of paper towels with me to dry off the cutting board and wrap around knives.

I like to bring the current guest special and the upcoming host special with me. I'm fine with April cuz I'm using the MFP, always have the FC with me, don't like talking about the mandoline, and always have a stainless bowl with me. It's May that's got me a little worried. In the old days, I would make a trifle in addition to my regular recipe to build bookings, but I'm not doing that. I may just bring the HWC products and direct them to the catalog for the other May host options. There will be May hosts who are not interested in HWC so I don't want to make the month all about that, but then again, there are people who would not otherwise host but will do it for HWC.

 

[vanscootin]

I will not do my dishes at a hosts house either... by the time I'm done with the demo and orders I just want to get home. On show nights I have the dishwasher empty and waiting for me.

I take one of the HWC reusable shopping bags with me and put my dirties in there. They are washable and it works for me.

As for the rolling tote.... yes indeed the handles and wheels kinda suck (sorry - for lack of better words) However, I find it less awkward to lift it from the handles up a doorstep than the big tote bag. When I carried that I was hunched over to one side, knocking into everything, and practically falling over to put it down.

Honestly, I'm not impressed with how I carry my things and feel like I could do it more efficiently. Just have to keep trying something new.

 

[ChefCKHall]

I wheel my wheeled tote everywhere with no problem. To take in a house, I hold the back strap and pull up the step with the handle. Never had a problem. My back and my shoulders are worth more than schlepping the bags, more than 1, over my shoulder. And I just had shoulder surgery....I am taking less so my bags are lighter BUT will always wheel..... ALWAYS! There is one way to take one bag but that bag has to have every tool you need for recipe, host gift, giveaways, catalogs, order forms, calendar, calculator or laptop if that is what you use...come on...no WAY can it be in one bag that is manageable. I do not like the look of showing up at a doorstep with three bags hanging off my shoulder. Love my wheels!AND, if I am training, all my stuff is cleaned and put away. Training on how to pack bags. If I am alone, I always wash my knives and DCB. Everything else goes in my BIG stainless bowl and goes in the DW when I get home...hubs/son wash for me.

 

[magentablue]

What about wooden floors? I had a friend in college whose parents had wooden floors. I rolled my luggage across them the night before we left for Spring Break, and by the time we returned from Spring Break her parents had their floors redone. They were pissed at me, and I was never really welcome in their home again! That plus I've had a few hosts on the 3rd floor of multi-family homes. Walking up all those stairs with the bag that came in the kit was killer enough.I don't do dishes at hosts homes. I can barely hand wash them at my house without pain... and the one time I tried at a show (my host INSISTED) she had one of those really deep sinks. I felt like I was laying in it head first to do my dishes. By the end I was resting on my forearms to hold me up. I can't imagine ever doing that again! Especially not when so much can just get thrown in the dishwasher, and the other stuff can be piled up next to the sink for the next night when I come home from work. I really don't feel like washing dishes at 10 pm, when I know I have to be up at 5 or 6 am for work.

 

[wadesgirl]

I repacked my kit for the new season and am so glad I did! It's so much lighter! But I haven't put my DCB in there yet! I am still packing for 3 recipes every season but a couple of them use very few products and I decided to not bring the Salad Berry Spinner for the Asian Cobb Salad.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Is the rolling tote hard to lift up from someone's steps into the house? I've heard that the wheels and the handles break easily, so I've held off on buying one. But I tell ya, I'm very tempted...

I think for those we live in a more temperate climate, the rolling tote is probably just fine. But, I live in Michigan, and for at least half of the year, we have snow, slush, and mud. All of that gets trapped in the wheels, making it harder to roll, and then there is no way I'd want to drag all of that through the hosts home, so I ended up carrying it from my car to their house most of the time. That thing is HEAVY! It just wasn't worth all of the extra work. I use mine now only for booths and other vendor events.

 

[ChefCKHall]

Regarding wheeling into a host's home - I meet them at door and ask them if it is okay to wheel through their home. One host out of over 100 said no and her husband carried them into the kitchen for me! I have had several just say "let me open the garage and you can wheel right into kitchen". I have done only one three story apartment and we just had fun with two people carrying them up and down. Make it an adventure! That said, I live in New Mexico where most homes are single story or two story and the kitchen is always on the bottom floor. The weather - mostly fine and sunshine most of the time!

 

[carlajanes]

if it's a show for a friend i usually wash the dishes there so we can chat...but for others i bring it home....especially if they have small children cause they are wanting to get them to bed.
~carla

 

[wadesgirl]

On the dish washing subject - my kit always stays packed in my car and even if it didn't I would never get them washed right when I get home. It makes more sense for me to do them at the host's house.

 

[PamperedK]

I know this isn't about washing dishes, but....for those of you that say you just want to get home...what do you do between the demo ending and people ordering? My customers usually take some time to flip through the book before they start ordering, so I do my dishes then...I wander around between dishes to answer questions and chat, but I rarely stay late just to finish my dishes...usually I'm waiting for the guests to leave or I leave before they do!

 

[vanscootin]

So as I posted yesterday about the rolling tote and how awesome yada yada yada... my show last night.... 2 story ranch and had to carry the sucker up 16 stairs. FAIL! LOL.

 

[esavvymom]

I know this isn't about washing dishes, but....for those of you that say you just want to get home...what do you do between the demo ending and people ordering? My customers usually take some time to flip through the book before they start ordering, so I do my dishes then...I wander around between dishes to answer questions and chat, but I rarely stay late just to finish my dishes...usually I'm waiting for the guests to leave or I leave before they do!

I watched Mindy Banks from Spring Launch and she said "I leave when I'm done! I'm not there to visit. " She said if folks are hanging around and they've already ordered, etc....she just says her goodbyes.

 

[PamperedK]

I watched Mindy Banks from Spring Launch and she said "I leave when I'm done! I'm not there to visit. " She said if folks are hanging around and they've already ordered, etc....she just says her goodbyes.

Oh yeah I don't hang around, but I usually have a bit of time between the end of the demo and when people start ordering, and that's when I do my dishes...

 

[Tamzin1020]

I tried this last night. I brought the bag that came with my kit. We did chicken fajitas in the DCB and salsa in the MFP. I brought only the tools necessary for the recipes. I also brought the 8"sauté pan that came with my kit, to pass around when I talked about cookware.

My show started at 7:30, I was cleaned up/all orders taken by 8:50!!

My SIL was at the show and was super impressed with how little I had and how quick it was. Even my host was impressed, I got my first great recruit lead, and sales were amazing! My average is about $550.00. Last nights show is at $730.00