Thrifty Thursday: Travel Checklists

Welcome Back to the Thrifty Thursday Series!

We just got home from a wonderful week in Florida. You couldn’t have wished for better weather. Vacations are always something I look forward to….

I mean, don’t we all??

But there are two aspects of vacationing that I DO NOT get excited about.

In fact, I shudder at the very thought of it.

PACKING and UNPACKING.

I am the notorious over packer. I never wind up wearing 1/3 of the items I pack, but for some reason, I always feel like I need to bring everything I own into my one and only suitcase. 6 pairs of shoes when I will be at the pool or beach all day?!? Sure, why not….

Now, enter a child into the mix and the packing struggle becomes even more ridiculous. Sooner or later I will realize I have to pack minimally. A bathing suit is my typical wardrobe for 75% of the trip anyway. If I packed less, I would save myself a whole lot of time, stress, and organizing!

After all is said and done, your only concern should be remembering to bring the important stuff….the necessities that you can’t or shouldn’t go without. You just have to find clever ways to condense.

Most of us have the packing stage at the beginning of the trip covered. We’ve mastered the aspect of packing FOR the trip, typically using some sort of check list to make sure we don’t miss anything. However, many of us dismiss the END of the trip and this shouldn’t be the case!

Instead of neatly folding our clothes and keeping careful track of what is there, we just cram all of our crumpled belongings into the suitcase, close our eyes in hopes that it zippers shut, and cross our fingers that it passes the weight limit test at check-in. We don’t typically pay as close attention about what goes into the suitcase. It’s just not that big of a deal.

But, I beg to differ. I think it’s very important to keep organized at the end of your trip. I can’t stand when I get home and realize something got passed up…..it was left on the bathroom vanity, or hanging in the closet, or sitting in a drawer, or got lost under the bed somewhere. You kick yourself wishing you had paid more attention to ensure nothing was left behind!

So, this brings me to this week’s Thrifty Thursday:

Travel Checklists

These handy Travel Checklists will help you stay organized at the beginning AND end of your vacation! You can print out the blank templates below and fill in as you would like!

One particular way I like to use the checklist is to mark the mini boxes for when I am packing to go on vacation. When I am packing my suitcase to come back home, I usually highlight the entire box to be sure I have the items I came with! This ensures you haven’t bypassed any of your belongings and have everything you brought along!