What I do to make travel prep easier
Lately I’ve been traveling a lot for work. In the past four days I’ve been to about as many cities. I left for Indianapolis on Friday, Saturday I was back in New York, Sunday I left for Milwaukee, yesterday I was on my way to Cincinnati, and today I’m headed back to Milwaukee for one more night.
It’s so exciting to be whisking off to a different state every day; I can almost imagine myself as a fugitive on the run, assuming new identities in every town I pass through for the night. But in order to make sure these travels have gone off as smoothly as they have so far, I needed to do some work on the back end before I left.
The Prep Work
I thrive on being proactive. There’s nothing I love more than getting something done now so I don’t have to do it later. When it comes to traveling, even more so. As much as I enjoy it, I know I’ll be tired when I get home and just crash like a dog driving a car.
So before I leave, I like to make sure I clean my house. Bathroom, floors, and kitchen are the big areas for me. I don’t want to come home to stressful messes. I also like to make sure the laundry is done. Not only does this help me pack clean clothes, it also frees up space in the washer to immediately throw in my dirty clothes from the past few days.
Check, Check(list)
Raise your hand if you have an abundance of checklists and to-dos in your notes app or on Notion. I’ll go first (🙋♀️). I love checklists for an abundance of reasons, mainly because I have the short term memory of a 90-year-old and I’m prone to forgetting little things like my phone charger. Writing these things down (preferably as soon as I think of them) helps reduce the likelihood I leave without something important.
I also plan out my outfits so I know exactly what clothes I’m taking with me. This is also when I calculate how many pairs of underwear I need (4 days x 2 pairs/day + 2 extra (just in case) = 10 pairs!). Knowing what I’m taking helps me to begin packing early so I’m not rushing the night before or the day of to stuff all my crap into my suitcase.
Getting the Sh*t in the Bag
It’s easy to just throw it all in your suitcase and pray it fits. But it’s easier to keep it organized throughout your trip if you have a system. I always start by trying to get the bulkier items in first then filling in the spaces with smaller items. If you’re taking multiple pairs of shoes, like sneakers and sandals for example, wear the sneakers and pack the sandals since they take up less space in your luggage.
If you can travel with multiple bags, I love having a tote bag or backpack to keep all of my little essential items on hand in case I need them. Things like hand sanitizer, my laptop, water bottle, and tissues are good to have quick access to rather than trying to dig through a suitcase. Check out some of my favorite travel essentials above!