The Pre-Vacay Sprint - Creating the Best Family Vacation - Part II

It’s so exciting!!  The time has come; family vacation!  At this point you’ve decided on a vacation to take as a family.  You’ve got the general ideas mapped out of how you’re going to spend your well earned time off.  Everyone is looking forward to all the new experiences, places, food and activities.  You’ve done your research and realistic expectations are set and celebrated. 

The next most crucial part, after letting Aunt Myrtle down easy and reserving your stay, is the pre-vacay plan of attack.  The goal here is to get out the door as smoothly as possible… all the luggage, kids with both shoes, traveler’s cheques in hand and all necessary IDs, passports, confirmation codes and such… PLUS, you want to spend the time to plan your return now!  

Planning the return before you even leave along with prepping to go can seem a little overwhelming but I promise when done in bite-sized chunks over the course of a week or so it will make your life, your vacation and transition back to real life seamless and enjoyable.  

First off, make ALLLLLLL the lists!  Make lists for your lists and then a list of lists!  Okay, that might be a little extreme but I will say the more you can rely on writing things down and not your own memory when you’re trying to prepare your entire family for all eventualities of travel the better off you’ll be.  

Truly, I make a list for packing, the house, cleaning, the pets, the extras and then a few lines to drop in the things I forget initially.  So in the end here’s what I have lists of:  a list of clothes that will be necessary for each traveler, medicines for each traveler, special activity list, things like swimsuits, wet suits, snow suits, fancier attire, etc… anything out of the norm I might not think to grab when I’m standing in my closet with an open suitcase at 1 am the day we travel.  (I wish that were a joke but I’ve been there.  Using this new system works so much better for me and hopefully for you too!). Then I also have the complete and what I like to call the “master list” for getting the house cleaned and ready to be buttoned up while we’re gone. I have lists for our pets, what will be accomplished at our residence if anything while we’re away with all the necessary contact numbers/emails/confirmations etc… I write down anyone I need to speak with prior to leaving for any reason and any stores that in this moment I still need to venture out to, to complete anything on the lists already.

LOL! Some of you may already be shaking your heads thinking, “what in the world?” This gal is crazy!! Maybe, but I’m not the only one that uses this system. Feel free to take all or part of my crazy system and use it to your advantage. There is no right or wrong way to get out of the house as stress free as possible with everything you need and your way home already prepared. Shall we continue?? :)

Once I have the master list I break that list down into individual lists and depending on age and responsibility I assign each of the kids a portion or all of their list.  Normally, it looks something like: shorts x 4, t-shirts/tanks tops x7, jammies, socks x 8, undies x8, shoes, swimsuit and coverup, dress x 2, your lovies/chargers/book/activity.  Sharing out the responsibility is freeing in spirit, mind and time.  Obviously, you will need to inspect the final product.  I would never leave it to my 8 year old to choose all the perfect outfits for vacation but if we can get part way there she’s got something she loves and feels comfortable in and I can negotiate the rest to get the necessities in.  Even though they are totally capable, I still recheck my older kids packing too.  (You’ll also notice that there is an uneven number of clothes… personally I like to throw in a couple extra either full outfits or swappable options and it’s never a bad idea to have emergency underwear no matter how old you are… LOL!)

Once you’ve got all your personal lists and things are underway there you can start shifting focus to what else needs to happen before you go.  I typically spend day two prior to leaving packing, then day one prior to leaving cleaning.  That way we have as little time as possible to mess it up before we leave for vacation and in turn return from vacation to a clean and orderly home.  

My best reminders are: clean out the fridge, take out the trash, clean out the litter box if you have a cat, stop/hold the mail, set up a few lights on timers to disguise you are away.  If coming home to mopped floors is heavenly to you, do it before you go. If the shower being spotless or all the dishes put away and dishwasher empty is your jam and puts a smile on your face, do it before you go. If you’re feeling really on top of your game, wash your sheets and bedding along with towels and other linens.  Return them to their places;  nothing better than washing and drying your face with a clean towel to then lay down in your own bed all fresh and clean.  I also love to make sure any plug in air fresheners are full and ready to go. Smell is important to me.

On the financial side of things: call your bank to let them know you’re traveling so they don’t turn off your debit/credit cards.  Make sure that all your family’s IDs are current, passports valid, etc… there’s nothing worse than doing all this work and finding out you're not eligible to travel. It’s always a good idea to carry a little cash for tips, for emergencies, for whatever… go by your bank and grab some cash. If you’re carrying more than $100 in cash it’s also a good idea to split it up between a couple people. If for some reason you loose your wallet, your purse is stolen or misplaced, if you’ve divided your funds you’re not out the total amount.

Set up services for while you are gone… if you’re hiring a company to pressure wash the house, have it done while you’re gone - no interruptions, barking dogs, annoyances while you’re trying to work or relax.  Have a yard service scheduled to come out and mow, weed, whatever you need done. Have it set close to your return so you get to take full advantage of the work.  You can put together a grocery order to be delivered or picked up on your way back into town. In the event of travel delays I like to do one large grocery order scheduled for pick up a day or maybe even two after we get home. But because I know my kids will want to eat on the in between days… lol… I usually use Insta-cart (available in my area, check your local availability for the same or similar services) and get a few basics to make it through a couple days. Then there’s no rush to get out to the store between loads of laundry and unpacking.

Speaking of unpacking, my best tip for unpacking is do it quickly! Don’t let the damp swimsuits sit in your bag, have to search for your favorite flip flops or be relegated to your least favorite shorts for weeks because you haven’t unpacked. My plan anytime we come back from vacation or even a weekend away, take the suit cases directly to the laundry room and unload straight into the washing machine. Then just cycle everything through until all the laundry is done. My time saving tip: don’t even worry if you didn’t wear it, wash it anyway. If it’s all been smooshing around in the same bag it all needs to get washed anyway.

Another unpack option that you can lean into while on vacation is keeping your clean and dirty stuff very separated. You can go so far as to have a dirty clothes bag while you’re on vacation and make one suit case the dirty bag for your return trip. Either way you choose, wash it all or keep it separated, take it straight to the washer and get it done. Promise it’ll feel so good to have it all done and the suit cases put away.

It sounds like a lot of work and it is, but it is worth it when you wake up the morning of travel to a clean house, drop your tooth brush in your bag and walk out, locking the door knowing everyone has everything they need and everything is taken care of.