Traveling With Children: I Will Not Over-Pack This Time!

I've said it before but this time I am determined!

I will not over-pack for our family vacation. What makes this year different from the last 11 years? This year I have a plan and I'm sticking to it!






Here's My Simple Plan:

1. Use my packing list.


2. Stick to my packing list.


3. Resist the urge to pack one more thing "just in case."


4. Blog about my plan to give myself some accountability.


5. Reflect on the benefits of not over-packing.

We have been going on this "Up North" vacation by the lake for 11 years now (8 with years with children) and I have perfectly clear idea of what we need and what we don't need. So no more excuses for me! I'm just going to focus on why I don't need to or want to over pack.

The less stuff I take with, the less I have to deal with going and coming home. That means more time to focus on the important stuff...family!

Don't Over-Schedule your Summer and Family

Allow for an adequate amount of free time this summer and be flexible. It's not your job to entertain your children every minute of every day. Empower them to think of possibilities and to be creative.

Richard Carlson Ph.D, states in his book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Family, "Children who have too many opportunities, choices, scheduled activities, and things to do are often the ones who are the most susceptible to boredom." He adds, "You'll be doing your kids a tremendous favor by teaching them that there's nothing wrong with not having something to do every minute of every day."

What about you? I admit, I'm keeping my kids pretty busy this summer, but we do have down time, too. I find that if I don't plan ahead for certain activities, they just won't get on the calendar. I also love last minute surprises and I can be flexible. Yesterday as a special treat, I took the kids to see Ice Age 3. Swim lessons were cancelled because of the cold!

Top 5 Organizing Tips to Ease the Stress from Your Family Vacation...July Newsletter Article

Family vacations are a great time to have fun, take a break from the everyday routine, see new sites and recharge. It can also be a time of stress - preparing and planning, traveling and returning home are all high stress points for many. I'm sharing my top five organizing tips to help ease some of the stress that comes along with taking a family vacation.

Tip #1: Make Lists

Lists will definitely help you reduce your stress while you are planning your family vacation. Rather than trying to remember it all, I suggest creating master lists on your computer that you can print and use each time you take a trip. You will be able to greatly reduce your planning time and stress for the next vacation and lessen the chance of forgetting any details.

Start with the list of the things you need to do to get ready to leave on your vacation. Do you have to make arrangement for the mail and paper? What about pets and plant watering? Will you be using a house sitter?

Next, make lists for the items you need to pack. Give children their own lists to be responsible for. Help create lists for younger children by using pictures, numbers, and words of the items they can gather.Keep your printed lists with you so you can easily jot down ideas whenever they come to you. Take time to update the master lists as needed.

Tip #2: Clean and Organize that Vehicle
If you will be taking to the road, be sure to take the time to clean out that messy van or car. Pick a day, preferably the week before you will depart, to get your vehicle fresh and ready to go. Most people tend to feel more relaxed in a clean and organized space. There are some neat car organizers that make it easy for the kids to have items, such as coloring books, crayons and games close at hand.

Tip #3: Set a Budget and Stick to it!

Take time to create a budget for your vacation. How much will you spend on lodging, fuel, travel expenses, food and souvenirs? It's so easy to say yes to unplanned purchases when you are in the joyful moments of your vacation, but can that expense be justified when you get back home or get your credit card statement? Keep in mind that kids will remember the experiences, not the stuff.

Tip #4: Copy the Contents of Your Purse and Wallet

Photocopy the credit cards, driver license and other documents that you are carrying with you while on vacation. Keep this information in another location. If your purse or wallet were lost or stolen, you would have that information at your finger tips. I also try to limit the items in my purse I take with me on vacation.

Tip #5: Schedule Returning Home and Downtime

I think this is an area that many families overlook. I would suggest allowing at least one full day of recovery time before you get back to your normal schedules. Just think about the tasks there are to do when you return home. How long will it take you to complete those? There's laundry to wash, the car to unpack, mail and email to go through and you barely have the energy.

Remember to focus on one task at a time. If you look at the big picture, you'll get overwhelmed and that's when that stress level rises. Don't schedule appointments or play dates in the first few days after your return. Give your family time to adjust and get caught up.

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Trekaroo: Site Dedicated to Family Travel

Trekaroo, the first review site dedicated to family travel, is helping families build memories and save money, by enabling parents to connect, share resources, and offer tips on how to plan family travel in a recession.


In honor of summer travel, Trekaroo has compiled the top five tips most commonly shared among parents around summer travel.

1. Ride Don’t Fly – Between the staggering cost of airfare and car rentals, ride, don’t fly. When planning your family vacation, pick cities or destinations that are close to home and close to the beach, a lake, the mountains, or a river. Whether high in the mountains, or lying low at the beach, chose destinations where you can take advantage of what Mother Nature has given you. Trekaroo makes it easy to find places both on and off the beaten path that are just a gas tank or two away.



2. Maximize the Fun – So, you’ve cut down on travel costs. But the next question is what family attraction will make the most of budget and memory making. Trekaroo’s database of 6,000 activities has thousands of reviews on kid friendly and family worthy attractions. On Trekaroo, families share the honest truth on what attractions and activities are best for your kids at a certain age.
   


3. Stay in Budget, Mix and Match Activities - Whether heading to the city or the mountains, there are plenty of ways for a family of four to spend less than $100 per day. If there are too many attractions and too many admission prices to consider, it’s easy to cut costs by doing something together that’s free (or close to it), such as a day at the beach or visiting a candy factory. Trekaroo can help parents find activities -- popular destinations include San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Orlando -- by price, age, and type.
   


4. Sleep in Style – Make the recession work for you. With business travel down significantly, hotels are offering low cost deals on high cost rooms and suites. Suites are perfect for families in many ways, including multiple beds, living space, and in some cases, small or full kitchens, which can help save money on eating out and even accommodate special meal needs. Trekaroo is partnered with Hotels.com to provide the lowest prices for more than 33,000 hotels – guaranteed.
   


5. Sign Up for Alerts, Deals – Many airlines offer “deals of the week” specials, or affordable one way fares, but it’s not easy to stay on top of them all. Through partnerships with Expedia and others, Trekaroo will announce deals through Twitter (@Trekaroo), as well as a monthly newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, visit Join.

Family Vacations: Sressful?

What stresses you out the most about family vacations?

Is it the packing?

What about the traveling?

Is it the retuning home part?

Maybe it's just the family?

Do you take vacations on a regular basis?

I'm putting together my next newsletter article and want to know what areas you could use some organizational tips to help reduce some of the vacation stress. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, right?!

We Made It!

Just a quick post to say our family enjoyed our first Disney World vacation. Thanks for all the great tips you shared with me. The weather was great, except for the first day. We arrived and it was in the mid 50's and windy. I'm used to that weather living in Wisconsin, but I was hoping for a heat wave once we got to Florida. It did warm up and the sun felt great!

The kids had a great time and so did we. It was a lot of walking and waiting as expected. The food was pretty good and the rides and attractions were wonderful. Our 7 year old loved the roller coaster rides and our 5 year old kept asking when we would go back to the hotel to swim.

Now it's back to the old routine. Did I tell you I don't like to do laundry? That's the downside of vacations, but I'll take it. Luckily, I have a pretty clear week to recover.

A Call for Disney World Tips

Well, we did it. We booked a spring vacation to Disney World. Our first. Believe it or not, I am not one who likes to plan out every second of a vacation. In fact, the more spontaneous, the better.

I know, I'm an organizer and so planning should be my thing. Not so for vacations with me. If I would go that route, I would suck all the fun out of it for my family and me. Our priority for this trip to get away from it all and have fun! (Can I resist doing work on the airplane. I don't know about that yet.)

That being said, I know there are Disney World experts out there. I would love to hear your tips. Go for it. What are you top Disney World trip tips?

Oh yeah, we are not telling the kids until we get to the airport.

Returning Home From the Family Vacation

I haven't posted in a while; I've been gone and now it's back to work! My family and I enjoyed a nice vacation in the north woods of Wisconsin. My husband's family has been visiting the same area for over 30 years! This is a picture of us from last year.

I enjoyed spending the week with family and friends and especially the break from everyday responsibilities around the house. Now it's back to normal, including all the laundry (only one more load to go!).

As we started the dreaded job of unpacking the van and suitcases, I found it so much easier to look at the smaller steps to getting this big job done rather than the overwhelming task. Breaking down the larger project into bite-sized portions gives me motivation. You've heard me say that several times before when talking about organization, right? One suitcase at a time, one load of laundry at a time and pretty soon the household is back to normal.

What helps you get through overwhelming projects?

July Newsletter Article.........Tips for an Organized Family Vacation

Do you have a vacation coming up that you have been looking forward to? As it gets closer, are you starting to feel a little stressed? Are you thinking of all the planning, packing and travel and feel overwhelmed? Do you think to yourself, "Why is this called a vacation again?"

There are some steps that you can take to help you get the most fun out of your family vacation, while also minimizing the stress. After all, we take vacations for enjoyment and relaxation, right?

Planning
Assuming you have already chosen your destination and travel dates, it's onto planning what you will be doing on your vacation and what you need to do to get ready for it. Consider creating an itinerary for your travels but be flexible. Keep alternative activities in mind to allow for unexpected changes. The main goal is to have fun, even if things don't go as planned.

Get the whole family involved in the planning. You may want to hold a couple of family meetings to let everyone know what is going on and what part they need to do in order to get ready for the trip. What major activities does the family want to do and what are some of the smaller activities? Get everyone's input.

Finalize and confirm your reservations. Always be sure to ask, "Am I getting the best rate?" Or, "Do you have any specials right now that I can take advantage of?" You'd be surprised by what you can get just by asking. Take advantage of any discounts through your AAA membership if you have one.

Make Lists
Lists will definitely help you reduce your stress while you are planning your family vacation. Rather than trying to remember it all, I suggest creating master lists on your computer that you can print and use each time you take a trip. You will be able to greatly reduce your planning time for the next vacation and lessen the chance of forgetting any details.

Start with the list of the things you need to do to get ready to leave on your vacation. Do you have to make arrangement for the mail and paper? What about pets and plant watering? Will you be using a house sitter?

Next, make lists for the items you need to pack. Give children their own lists to be responsible for. Help create lists for younger children by using pictures, numbers, and words of the items they can gather.

Keep your printed lists with you so you can easily jot down ideas whenever they come to you. Take time to update the master lists as needed.


Start Packing
Have a designated packing area and let the kids help pack their things. Many times I have to go back and redo some of my kids' efforts, but they love to feel helpful and they are learning life skills. One tip is to pack the kids' clothes together by outfits. Roll each outfit together or use gallon-sized plastic bags and label them.

Limited on space? Plan to stop at a laundry mat during your trip. This is a good way to cut the amount of clothing you will need to pack by at least half. Remember to allow space for souvenirs. Have the suitcases ready to go one day prior to departure.

Don't forget the books, crayons, and games to help keep children entertained in the car or on the airplane. Create a vacation scavenger list that children can either draw, take pictures, or buy postcards of the items on a list throughout the trip. They can add journaling and then they will end up with their own vacation scrapbook. I also like to bring a few surprises along. I remember when my parents did this for me and my brother; it added to the fun and excitement of our family vacations.

Relax!
It's vacation after all! Remember your objective of taking the trip. If things don't go as planned, be determined to have fun regardless. Traveling with children can be a trying event at times. Allow for some time that you might be able to get a few quiet moments. For example, when we go camping, I try to get my morning walk in before everyone is awake. I love this routine at home and on vacation because it gives me time to think, pray, and reflect. I find this helps me ready my heart and perspective for the day (I am not the best morning person!).

Returning Home
Allow at least one day for everyone to readjust before returning to their normal schedules. Start unpacking and get clothes washed. Or, leave the dirty clothes in the suitcases and plan a trip to the laundry mat to tackle several loads of wash at once. While you wait, you could even get those developed vacation pictures labeled and into an album. As you are unpacking, gather all the memorabilia in one place. That way, if you plan to put together a scrapbook, it's all together - just add pictures.

Make arrangements to keep your first few days home after a vacation low-key. Avoid making appointments and other commitments if you can help it. You'll be busy with laundry, putting items away, grocery shopping, and probably a little bit of recovery. Allowing this extra time in your schedule will help you get those post-vacation tasks done in a reduced-stress environment.

Enjoy your summer, vacations, and family!