Packing for a trip? Oh, it’s not just about clothes and toiletries—trust me, I’ve got a list for everything. (Note from his wife, Sharon: OMG, is he a list writer!) Sure, I still cling to my old-school packing list (yes, I write down underwear and toothpaste—don’t judge).
(Note from Sharon – posted with Joe’s permission. But still…he has to write down to bring underwear and toothpaste? Really? #rolleyes #giggle)
But over the years, I’ve realized that a pre-trip checklist is more than just packing your suitcase. There’s a lot more to juggle—like double-checking reservations and making sure your pet’s staycation is set up. As life gets busier, that list keeps growing. So here’s the stuff you definitely don’t want to remember at the last minute, especially not on the day of your vacation!
Things to do one week before the trip
- Double-check reservations – make sure everything is still in line. Plane reservations, hotel booking, rental car.
- Speaking of those reservations – do you have a plan for getting to the airport or train station? Whether you have someone who’s going to drive you or if you’re driving yourself, confirm those plans. Do you need to arrange to park your car? Did your friend/relative forget they were picking you up at 5AM for your flight? Better to find out now.
- If we’re driving instead of flying, do I have our route mapped out beforehand? I know from experience that I can’t depend on Waze or Maps if I don’t have a cell phone signal for part of the trip.
- Make sure to have plans for your pets – we’re lax at this one because we’re on good terms with Dobby’s “camp” (Dobby is our toy poodle), but we’ve gone up until a few days before a trip and had to call and ask, “Is there still room?”
- Put mail and package delivery on hold (here are the updated ways of how to do this with the major shippers [UPS, USPS, FedEx])
- Alert your credit cards – While most of them now say it’s not necessary, some of them still have a place on their websites where you can tell them, just in case.
Things to do a few days before the trip
- Make sure you have enough of your medications for the trip, plus another day or two worth, just in case. Make sure your prescriptions are all refilled. I also have a list of over-the-counter drugs I need to bring when we travel, and this is when I’ll restock any OTCs that I’m low on (if I haven’t done so already).
- Laundry – You don’t want to start packing and find out that the shirt or the pair of jeans you want to bring is still in the laundry pile. There is nothing like putting in a washing machine of clothes at 11 PM the night before a trip (we’ve done that before) (Note from Sharon: No dear, YOU’VE done that before).
- Tell your neighbors you’ll be out of town. We like to alert them that we’ll be traveling, so if a moving truck arrives at the house, it’s time to call the cops. (Note from Sharon: I also ask them to water my flowers in the summer).
- Stock up on anything else you need – for example, I need to make sure to bring AAA batteries for my Bose headphones.
- Update and verify your tech – Your phone is probably the most useful item you have for most trips. Make sure it’s updated. You don’t want to be downloading the new OS the night before you leave. Also, open up the apps you’ll need on your trip, especially if they have a login. Those can disappear when you update, and you don’t want to be at the airport checking in for a flight and not remembering the password or user name you made for the airline.
- Get the most important thing you need to bring with you when traveling in the U.S., tip money.
Things to do the day before the trip
- Pack up your cables and plugs—because let’s be real, the last thing you want is to be stuck without the correct charger. If we’re traveling domestically, it’s usually just a few USB cables tossed into the backpack. But when we head overseas? Oh, it’s a whole different story. We’ve got an entire bag of adapters, converters, and extra plugs—because nothing says vacation disappointment like frying your electronics on day one.
- Load up your media players – download music, movies, books or whatever else you need to keep you occupied for your trip.
- Charge your electronics, including your power banks – your tablet, phone, reader and computer are all no good if the battery’s dead. Don’t depend on the power jacks on the plane because they might not work. You also shouldn’t depend on public charging stations. Oh, and don’t be fooled by these at the airport.
- Do the pre-trip wallet shuffle.
- Empty the fridge of anything that will go bad while you’re gone. You might not want to dump that milk down the drain but trust me, it’s better than dumping it after you get home when it’s a week past the expiration date. Not that I’ve ever had to do that either, or anything… (Note from Sharon: Mmmm hmmm…)
Things to do on the day of the trip
If you’ve done everything else, there are only a few things left:
- Enjoy your trip!!!!!!
- Go to step 1
Did I miss anything? Let me know…
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8 comments
After breaking a shoelace while putting my shoes back on after going through security, and then having to run across a large airport (with one shoe basically untied) to catch a very tight connecting flight, I learned to always keep a spare pair of shoelaces in my carry-on.
sunglasses, You’re only issued one original set of eyes. : )
If I told you that I broke my favorite sunglasses on our last trip and hadn’t replaced them yet, would I get a pass?
harsh, but you’ve only got one pair. 😉
you’re all good as long as you add it to the list. pronto.
(I have forgotten them many times, thus my evangelism)
Probably always as being a traveler while shifting from one country to another we always need a guide about what should we pick up the things what kind of information.Sometimes when we are on hurry we get messed up with these things and automatically gets problem.So thank you for such a readable article about the things we shouldn’t forget while travelling.
We forgot to flush the toilet before we left for a 2 week trip. Ewwww.
I always check the toilets before we leave and occasionally dump in some bleach or other toiler cleaner. I just didn’t put it on the list 🙂
Now that EZ Pass is usable in Florida I have added to my carryon list my EZ Pass tag and the suction cup holder thingy for it that I got on Amazon. NOTE: if you take a toll road to the airport remember to bring the tag from the car you are NOT driving to the airport.