When I was a kidAre used to think my mother was crazy on how insanely OCD she was before each and everyone of our family vacations. She would literally stay up the night before we left until almost 2 o’clock in the morning making sure we had every single item we would need on our vacation. I swore that when I became a mom I would not be that OCD.
WRONG!!!!! I think I’m worse.
Course it is because I start packing and getting things ready the week before. While my mom just waits until the last minute. Lol. I think that’s why I am worse. I have a strict packing system and a huge packing list that has to get done. If it is not done by two days before, I go into my own panic mode.
My husband usually tells me that I am crazy for all of things i plan to pack. Course as a mother you have to start thinking about the worst that can happen before it happens.
Every human being on this planet that has gone on a vacation has forgotten at least one thing in their suit case a time and again. Don’t be ashamed to admit it, cuz its just a common thing. When I was a kid, traveling to Hawaii or California we always forgot something. It was either my teddy bear, or a blanket. However there is always the case of going on vacation and leaving something there too.
Just as I got older, I was more responsible for packing my own suitcase. I either forgot shampoo, soap, a charger for my very old school phone.
It happens even now, I forget something of the kids. Its an endless cycle.
Course I have learned the hard way and now have a perfect system. We are leaving in a few weeks on a vacation and I am already prepping for it. prepping the car for the long drive, getting it looked at, oil changed, tired rotated and aligned. Getting the things organized, etc.
As far as the kids stuff and mine goes, I have found a very efficient way of getting ready all the way up leading to the day before. My mother used to wait until the last minute to pack everything, but me, I am packing a week before as I said. Don’t know if that makes me worse or not.
Okay, Everyone knows how to pack for a specific trip. If you go with a summer vacation, you pack the summer stuff. If you go towards the winter trip, you pack the snow stuff.
I’m talking about how to prepare for a vacation.
About two weeks before we leave, I start grocery shopping for groceries that will last us until the day we leave. That way, when we leave, there is nothing that can go bad in the refrigerator. I got to Costco, or Sam’s club and stock up on eggs (since my whole family eats them) water, milk, bread, even pull ups. Pull ups at Sam’s Club are the best, cuz its cheapest and it lasts longer, even through a vacation. I also go to Walmart and Safeway and pick out our meals for the next two weeks. What can be frozen and what can’t.
As far as laundry goes, I wait until the week before and wash everything I want to take with us, and then once its cleaned, I pack it in their suitcases already so its out of the way. So it doesn’t get dirty, and I would have to clean it last minute. I just use the leftover clothes the kids have in their drawers and when I get home, I have laundry to do with both the trip and the stuff from the week before we left.
If we go on vacation that has a washer and dryer in it, I take full advantage, but if now, I make sure I am taking enough supplies for that amount of days and more. I learned my lesson the hard way on one of our craziest trips.
We were getting three things done in one trip to California. We went to my cousins wedding for two days in Irvine, then went to Disneyland for two days, and then finished at the beach in Dana Point. I didn’t pack enough undies for my daughter who was potty training at the time. So I had to clean her undies in the sink at the hotels and dry them until I could have time to make my way to the target close by and get her more. According to my mother, every mom has done that once or twice too, especially when camping.
So I pack their suitcases a week early, and mine about 4-5 days before, because I have a limited amount of clothes right now, since our flood. So I will do my laundry on the Wednesday before we leave and then I will wear my back up clothes until then. My hubby packs his own suit case. I dont even do his laundry. LOL>
As far as plane rides go, we haven’t been on one since Live was 1. Well technically that isn’t true. We went to my Cousins wedding shower for the weekend and Livi got her second taste of flying. She loved it. Course now that covid is around, we aren’t flying anytime soon. We drive everywhere.
Two years ago in October we had our longest road trip yet as a family. We drove all the way from here to Colorado for my sisters wedding. That’s where her and my brother in law wanted to get married. So we caravanned with my parents out there, to take stuff for the wedding and we didn’t want to take the kids on a plane and have to worry about car seats. I will go into more detail on long car rides in my next blog after this, but lets just say, I had everything i needed.
This blog is to encourage my mothers out there ( fathers too) to be ahead of the game) when it comes to vacations. You need to think of the possibilities on a vacation, what can go wrong, and get the item done ahead of time so you aren’t in a pickle when you get there. Especially if you aren’t familiar with the area.
Buy all of your products and bottle the up accordingly. If your flying you might want to think of getting the already packed bottles, so you know what everyone is allowed in their carry on cases.
If your driving you can take the original size bottles.
As a mom, you can never have enough wipes. Even with older kids, they are good for just about everything. Wiping hands, cleaning the car. Ill go into more about this on my next blog. LONG CAR RIDES, AND HOW TO PACK YOUR CAR.
Just make a giant list of everything you’ll need on your vacation about two weeks before. Even Pinterest or Google recommended ideas to add to your list.
I know I am. RIGHT NOW EVEN.
The TAWL Mom 