Wealthy mom trend: Hiring pros to pack their kids’ summer camp bags

Wealthy moms in New York City have a new time-saver at their disposal: Hire a professional packer to get their kids’ ready for summer camp.

It costs about $250 an hour, and each camp-packing stint takes between three and four hours to complete, said Barbara Reich of Resourceful Consultants, in the New York Post. Why so complicated — and expensive?

The mothers are trying to make sure their kids have all the comforts of home at camp, including 1,000-thread-count sheets and French-milled soaps, the New York Post said. The job also requires a soothing personality for panicky moms.

“I talked three people off the camp ledge,” Ms. Reich said, the New York Post reported. “For a lot of mothers, particularly when their child is going away for the first time, it’s very stressful. Clients will say, ’I need to touch and feel the sheets for softness.’ But these are the kinds of things they can control. They’re paying $10,000 for sleep-away camp, so they shouldn’t feel so bad for their child.”

Business has been steadily growing, she said. Two years ago, she had one bag-packing job. Then last year, she had two. And this year — and it’s not even Memorial Day yet — she’s already fielded 10 jobs.

Ms. Reich has competition, too. Professional organizer Danya Brandoff of Chaos Theory has been fielding numerous camp-packing petitioners, she said, the New York Post reported.

“A lot of parents that I work with want to duplicate the bedding that they have at home,” she said. “They’re sending plastic boxes and shelving to give their kids more space.”