Stress-Free Travel
Do you wish traveling could be more relaxing? But, sometimes it seems to take so much work just to get out of the house, that you may feel exhausted before the trip even starts. Making a list or two can help you with your travel plans.
Travel To Do
This list will include the steps that need to be completed before you leave for your trip. These may include:
- Stop your mail and newspaper delivery, or ask a neighbor to collect it.
- Arrange for someone to keep an eye on your home. Make sure they have a key.
- Let family or friends know your travel plans, and give them a list of contact numbers, just in case.
- Arrange for the care of your pets.
- Refill needed prescriptions.
- Pay any bills that are due while you are out of town.
- Turn off the water in your home.
- Set your light timers.
- Unplug your TVs, computers, and small appliances.
- Clean out the refrigerator, and make sure you empty the kitchen trash can.
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To Take
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Your suitcase should contain outfits planned for each day. Pack these in zip lock bags in order to keep everything for the day together.
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Put medications, eyeglasses, cameras, tech, jewelry, and a change of clothing in a separate bag that you will keep with you, in case your suitcase gets lost.
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Pack your passport, if necessary.
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Keep with you your contact information for your travel agent, the airlines, and the rental car company. Also, take along your travel itinerary, including reservation confirmations.
Spend some time before you leave to make these lists, and you will be on your way to stress-free travel!
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
These are great tips – I never thought of unplugging the TV and other items, but it makes sense.
Thank Janet.
Our trash pickup is on Fridays. When we leave on a Friday, I don’t put my trash out because my cans would sit outside advertising my absence. My garage usually has a strong “scent” by the time we get back. So smart to at least make sure you get the trash out of the inside of the house before you go away. I always cancel my paper, but I find that many times it gets delivered anyway. I’m thinking about canceling it altogether because we mostly read online anyway…
I like to ask a neighbor to take my trash can inside if they are left out when we leave town. But whatever you think is safest.
I love that you talk about lists. They save me a ton of time and stress when I pull a list from a prior vacation. I pull out the preceding year’s vacation list and cross out what doesn’t apply for this year’s vacation. And, in no time at all, I finished my new list for this year’s vacation. YAY. Thanks for sharing your tips.
Thanks Sabrina. I love using lists so I can delegate packing to each family member. Why does Mom have to do it all? The kids can be more independent.
Great points! I am all about vacation-specific lists. I have two packing list templates, one for when I go to conference and one for traveling for fun, and it ensures that I never forget anything, both on my way and then on my return. I’ve never considered turning off my water, unplugging any appliances (isn’t that what the surge protector is for?) or setting up light timers, but I live in an apartment building. My outdoor lights turn on and off automatically (for the entire complex) and I don’t have access to the water shut-off. I can see how these might be useful to homeowners, perhaps.
Another list that reduces stress is the “upon return” list, which includes turning off my vacation-specific outgoing message on my office line and reverting the temporary changes to my web site’s “contact” page (so people weren’t expecting immediate replies). I sometimes wonder how anyone can travel with aplomb without lists!
I love the idea of an “upon return” list. I’ll have to create one for myself.
We learned the water turn-off lesson from our neighbors, which had a major flood in their home when a pile broke. Of course, this can happen any day, but it happened to them over Memorial Day weekend while they were away. Their entire home had major, like “move out for months while repairs happen” damage.