10 Travel Tips to Help You Enjoy More of Your Time

airplane wing Who loves to travel?

I love to travel. No matter what the reason, I absolutely LOVE to travel. I get so excited at the opportunity to see new places. If I could afford to travel more, I would be booking trips every month….or every week! I get excited just thinking about our next vacation.

The excitement can turn into anxiety pretty quickly for me. I am notorious for over-packing. Weekend trip, you say? Well, I will pack enough for a week. The ‘what ifs’ are what get me.

What if the weather forecast is wrong?

What if it really does snow in the tropics?

What if this shirt that I wear all of the time doesn’t actually fit right when I put it on?

What if I rip my pants? overpacked suitcase

What if we get invited to a formal event by people that we meet there? (Because that happens EVERY time when traveling with kids!)

What if….?

What if…?

The madness must stop. Life is so much less stressful when following a simple process for planning and packing for travel. I have found that this also makes the trip START even more enjoyable. I have missed so many first days of vacation because I was so stressed about whether or not everything was packed and trying to plan how many checked bags and what would fit where.

Following these 10 simple steps, getting out the door and to my destination has become so much easier and less stressful:

Plan your outfits ahead of time. Lay them all out and then put half of them back. Seriously. For real. Put half of them back. No questioning. Just do it.
Roll your clothes and use packing cubes. Rolled clothes take up much less space than folded clothes. Packing the clothes in packing cubes brings order the suitcase, allows for efficient use of space in the suitcase, and makes unpacking a breeze when you arrive to your destination. On that note, ALWAYS unpack at your destination. Things just go so much smoother in the morning when getting the family ready to take on the day of adventure when it is easy to find clothes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. I was skeptical until I did it. Now I unpack every single time…even if it is a one night trip
Use vacuum seal bags to save even more space in the suitcase. If the airline that you are traveling charges for checked bags and you are going on a short trip, save the money by using the vacuum seal bags for your clothes, and pack them in your carry-on luggage. Check out this video of how many clothes you can fit in a vacuum seal bag for packing into carry-on luggage Clever Cache Bag Demo
Pack a laundry bag to keep dirty clothes separate from clean clothes. This also makes it easy to wash clothes if laundry center available
Pack a dryer sheet to help keep clothes smelling fresh. Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly washed laundry?
Use a shower cap to cover your shoes to keep clothes clean. No one wants dirty shoes all over clean clothes. Also, pack shoes that will go with multiple outfits. It will always save space to only pack one pair of shoes.
Pack your favorite hygiene products by using refillable travel size bottles. This will save you money as you will pack the shampoo and conditioner that you already have at home and love to use.
Utilize separate bags for your hygiene products. When you arrive at hotel, take the bag into the bathroom. All of the things that you need will be right there where you need them when you need them.
Pack a duffel bag that folds into itself if you plan to take any day adventures. I love to explore the area when we visit a new place. Maybe we are not exploring a new place, but want to spend the day out with our boys. Maybe we plan to spend the day at the beach. Having a duffel bag makes it so much easier to pack up the things that we need, including a change of clothes, if needed.
Pack a wallet with see-through compartments to quickly and easily find what you need, such as ID when going through security or cash when needing to pay for something. Getting through security can be stressful enough, especially with children. Anything to make that easier and faster is key. I hate getting to the stand and not be able to find the ID that I know should be right….here….