Many of us love to travel whether it’s to far off places or just a few hours away to see family or friends. Whether our travels keep us near or take us far, far away from our homes, there are things to think about before we walk out our doors. And many times, it’s getting out the door that is the really hard part, especially if you have young children. With some new travel tips and tricks, getting out the door can be a bit easier.
In order to make your trip as enjoyable as possible there are some things you can do ahead of time so that you are not worrying and play the “did I” game after leaving. For instance; “did I water the plants or was that last week?”
TIP: GETTING YOUR HOME READY TO BE EMPTY
There are some things that you can do in order to keep your home safer from intruders and not have a disaster on your hands when you get home, like frozen pipes or a flooded basement. So, let’s tackle those things first.
Water Pipes: The day you leave, shut the main water valve off and put your water heater on “vacation”. (Yes, it may say “vacation”). In the winter, you can turn your heater down to around 60 and in summertime, you can actually turn your AC off.
If you have them, re-program your light timers to come on and go off at different times, so people don’t know you aren’t home.
PLANTS AND PETS
Travel Tips and Tricks for Plants: If you are only going to be gone for several days or even up to a week, give your plants a good watering the day you leave. Another possibility is to use the glass watering bulbs that release the water, as needed.
If you plan on traveling longer than a week, you may want to have a neighbor, babysitter or neighborhood teen, that you trust, come into your home and water your plants for you.
And don’t forget about the plants you have outside. Dying plants could be a dead give-a-way to an intruder, that you aren’t home.
Your neighbor could also get the mail out of your box and leave it in the house for you. Better still, stop it at the post office until you are back home.
Another thing to think about—could your neighbor also drag the garbage can back down to your house once the garbage has been picked up. This is assuming you have taken all the garbage out of your home before leaving.
Do you have a dog walker that comes to take care of your dogs while you are traveling? Make sure you leave your vet’s number for them in case the need arises.
KIDS AND THE ELDERS
If you are leaving your kids or an elder behind, make sure your babysitter or caregiver has your full itinerary and your phone numbers, along with any other emergency numbers you may want them to have. They should also have your medical directives from you for your kids or your elder. This will help if something happens and someone needs medical attention before you can get back home.
TRAVEL TIPS & TRICKS FOR SAFETY
Refrain from telling everyone on social media that you are going away, when and for how long. I know it’s hard, but seriously, this is a sure-fire way to let someone who may be scouting, know that you won’t be home—so come on! Social media can wait until you get home.
Make sure to put phone numbers you may need somewhere safe in your luggage. I know many of us carry that kind of info in our phones today, but if you lose your phone or it gets stolen—then what?
For your credit cards—before leaving, take a pic of the front and back of any cards you are taking with you and put copies of these somewhere other than your wallet or purse. If your wallet is stolen, you will have the images to fall back on when needing to call creditors to tell them about a lost or stolen credit card. If you are really tech savvy, you could save the images in a cloud account so that you could bring the info up anywhere you may need it.
TRAVEL TIPS AND TRICKS : NEW LAWS/RULES WHEN FLYING
If you are 18 years old and/or older, as of October 1, 2020, you will not be able to get on a plane to fly anywhere without a “Real ID” compliant driver’s license or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
A word of warning here. I know I just wrote that this new law doesn’t really come into play until October 1, 2020; however, I have friends that were recently told when they purchased plane tickets that they would need this new ID.
Apparently, airports can already make this requirement. The October 1, date is when the government can really start to actually enforce the requirement of needing a “Real ID”. Until then, government agencies can decide to start requiring the new ID before then. So better safe than sorry. Get the new “Real ID” now or make sure you have one or two of the other acceptable ID’s. See link above.
CHECK YOUR CURRENT LICENSE
Check for the Star
REAL ID-compliant cards are usually marked with a star located in the upper portion of the card. You can contact your state driver’s license agency on how to obtain a REAL ID compliant card.
It’s the Law
Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.”
The Act and regulations establish security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. This Act also prohibits federal agencies, like TSA, from accepting regular licenses and identification cards from anyone from states that do not meet these standards for official purposes, such as getting through the airport security checkpoint to board a plane. Learn more about REAL ID enforcement.
After making sure you have the correct license, be sure to put all your travel documents in one organized place. It’s not fun going crazy because you can’t find your plane ticket or passport. Try something like a travel document pouch.
BE EASIER ON YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
To make things easier for yourself, about a month before leaving, start making a list of things you want to do, need to do, want to take, etc., for your trip. Keep the running list handy so it is easier to add to when you think of something. Making a list as you think of things is much easier than trying to remember everything all in one sitting and then you can cross things off as you do them.
And don’t forget, you are not the only one going somewhere (most of the time), so delegate some of those “to do” items to other members of the family.
When it becomes time to start packing, here are a few tips to think about. About a week before departure, pull a suitcase out for everyone going and set it somewhere out of the way, but present and leave it open. As clothes get washed or other items collected, put them into the suitcase right then. You can do the “actual” packing when it’s really time to do so. I start at the top of my head and work my way down for clothes, shoes and accessories I might need, then I move on to bedtime and then other types of things I might need; such as swimsuits or heavy coat and gloves.
Need an Organized Travel Checklist
You can also use the Family Travel Checklist that I’ve included for you. It can be used over and over again. You won’t have to try and remember everything to pack by yourself. Having items written down is much easier and certainly easier to remember items you’ll need.
TRICK: TRAVEL SIZE IT!
I like to pick up and just go—usually on the weekends; so several years ago, I got into the habit of getting travel size items for everything I could think of. And items that I can’t get travel size, I have gotten “travel” containers and filled them with what I needed.
Along with travel sizing everything, I’ve gotten duplicates of things, to keep ready to go, in my travel make up case. Some of the things I’ve done this with are brushes, combs, eye shadow, tweezers, razors, etc. I’m sure you get the idea.
So, between these items and my travel size items that I also keep in my make-up case, I really can be ready to “hit the road” on the weekends whenever we want. This way I only have to put a few last- minute toiletries in my make-up bag. Hubby could also do this, and my kids also keep toiletries ready to go. Remember, most of us are only gone for a week at a time, so travel size is plenty.
You can also get several other items travel sized. I have a travel size curling iron. It’s only about 8 inches long, much smaller than my everyday iron; but it does the trick for the week I may use it. And the travel size takes up a lot less room. You can get travel size blow dryers and irons just to name a few other items. I don’t have either of those because I figure I can borrow the hotel’s items–if I even iron.
TRAVEL TIPS & TRICKS-TIME TO PACK !
When you truly start packing, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, is what kind of luggage will you need. Can you make due with a weekender that will fit under your seat if you are flying. A week or longer will certainly take a much larger suitcase. I wouldn’t get anything that didn’t have a good pull handle and heavy duty swivel wheels. The are needed especially if you travel a lot or even just several times a year.
Packing Tips
Try packing your heavier items, i.e. make up case, blow dryer, shoes (in plastic bags) where the bottom of your suitcase will be once it is shut and being carried. This will ensure that these heavier items do not squish your clothes when you turn the case up to carry. Less wrinkled clothes are a good thing.
Some other things to try are; rolling your clothes rather than folding. Why? Because the rolled items actually take up less space. And when unpacking, you will find that rolling has helped keep your clothes from getting so wrinkled.
Try and think about other things you can do to make packing easier. For instance, you could put your jewelry in a rolled up sock. I actually use a large eyeglass case to put my jewelry in. The one I use is wide enough to put my bracelets in. Because it’s a hard case, my items have less chance of getting broken if my suitcase is thrown around. I also have a see-through plastic make-up case. This is so that if any of the liquids I carry in the case spills, my clothes won’t get harmed. I can also see everything in it and so can the TSA–I love it!
One last tip on packing, that I’m going to be trying the next time my family and I travel. I will be putting one or two sachets in my suitcase. If I don’t have those, I’ll try a dryer sheet or two. Your clothes will certainly smell better when you open your suitcase to unpack.
Oh, and don’t forget some type of plastic bag for dirty clothes.
TRAVEL TIPS & TRICKS-BEING ORGANIZED
There are two other things that I consider essential and use to give me peace of mind. These items make sense to me and also make it easier for me to find something when needed. And that is a RFID document organizer and electronic accessory organizer. The document organizer will carry your itinerary, passports, etc. all in one handy place. This makes it easier for you to know where they are.
Same thing for the electronics organizer. I don’t know about your family, but we are over-run with chargers, cords, etc. The organizer keeps all that together where everyone knows where it is. If your kids are old enough, the electronic organizer comes in smaller sizes so each traveler can carry their own.
HACK ANYONE?
And last, but certainly not least—when traveling, especially with little ones, snacks are needed. One of the best ideas I’ve ever come across is using a craft organizing container for snacks on the road or plane.
Because these containers are so thin—they easily fit in a back pack or large tote. One of these containers could also be used for little toys or crayon and colored pens to keep the kids busy. Or fill it with all kinds of goodies to eat—grapes, carrots, celery, crackers, cheese, fruits, candies.
There you have it—the myriad number of things to think about when wanting to do some traveling. It’s seems like a lot, but with a little planning, it’s definitely doable. Think about the fun you’ll have while away.
Travel Tips & Tricks–In order to help, I’ve put together a checklist for you. I’ve tried to include everything but the kitchen sink, and I’m sure it’s still missing something. Did I ever mention that I’m a detail person……….Anyway, sign up for the list, download it and print it out whenever you are planning a get-a-way. I know it will come in handy for you.
Let’s Own Our Awesome!
