Don’t forget that needed cable….again!

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For many, packing and/or unpacking are the dreaded part of travel. Remembering everything, picking clothes and coordinating outfits, overpacking before your trip, and laundry add to the dread of returning. What if you could make packing and unpacking easier?

Traveling multiple times a year to different destinations and for different reasons, the risk and/or inconvenience of forgetting something increases, and then so this preparation becomes more of a chore. Now I reduce the risk by having some items packed all the time. Purchasing duplicates or extras of some items means that I can leave these items packed, reducing the time needed to pack and unpack.

Following are some of the items suggested to leave in your suitcase or other bags all the time.

  • Toiletries (toothbrush and paste, deodorant, brush/comb, contact lens solution/case and an extra lens, makeup, pill cases to remind me to fill) and more.
  • Umbrella
  • Phone charger
  • Laptop cord
  • Pajamas
  • Underwear
  • Socks
  • Electronics accessories, including battery pack, mini and regular usb cables, earphones, adapter plugs
  • Lightweight sweater
  • Swimsuit

When unpacking, put the clothing items from the trip in the laundry and immediately place clean items from your wardrobe. Check/refill toiletries and other items for wear and tear, replacing them as soon as possible, if necessary.

Depending on your frequency of travel and your budget, this strategy can save a fair amount of time and reduce the chance of forgetting a needed item. When behind schedule or on a last-minute trip, the less you have to pull together, the less stressful the departure.

Travel should be about joy, but few genuinely enjoy the job of packing. Making things easier means starting your vacation more relaxed and able to start enjoying your time away sooner.

Pat Ogle-CollinsDon’t forget that needed cable….again!
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Plan you way out of post vacation blues!

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You just returned home from a great trip and a heaviness, a dread, a sadness pervades.  Other symptoms include lethargy, lack of motivation, feelings of nostalgia.  Have you ever felt these?  The months ahead look bleak as you start returning to your normal routine.

This isn’t unusual and it is documented as a form of depression called post-travel depression.  Should these feelings last longer than a week or two, consult a professional.

In the short term there are things you can do to feel better.

  • First, deal with the chores that come with returning home as soon as possible. Unpack, do the laundry, go thru the mail, mow the lawn.  Getting them done will help you overcome the dread of having to do them.  Sounds easy, but getting yourself to do them can be a chore in itself.
  • Do something special. Go out for breakfast, have dinner with friends, go to a movie.  Little treats remind us that there are special things that happen in normal life too.
  • Get up, take a shower and get moving the first morning back. Just taking action and getting back to routine can help you move forward transitioning back to normal.
  • Get up, take a shower and get moving the first morning back. Just taking action and getting back to routine can help you move forward transitioning back to normal.
  • Start a book or watch a movie that takes place in a desired destination or is about the destination.
  • My favorite way to deal with return from a trip – start planning your next trip. Planning a trip for many provides its own form of excitement by focusing on what you need to take to make the trip happen.  Knowing that trip is out there provides a positive energizing booster to counter those negative feelings.

Having a travel plan, similar to a retirement or financial plan, helps make putting a stake in the ground for your next trip easier (see my post about traveling planning).  In addition to the excitement of upcoming travel, the accomplishment of having your travel goals become a reality gives an additional boost.   Should a next destination/experience feel too far away, consider a shorter getaway in the meantime, but if you are working from a travel plan make sure to factor in the impact to your next goal.

Travel should be about happiness, before, during and after your trip.  Take the steps you need to ensure that exists for you.  Call us to put that stake in the ground for your next trip.  The excitement builds as you start planning and talking to others about your next trip.  Sure helps those get rid of those blues!

Pat Ogle-CollinsPlan you way out of post vacation blues!
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