15 things I do the week before a trip

Cape Town, South Africa, January 2016

The best time to talk about how you wore yourself out preparing for a trip is when you're on the trip. I don't wear myself out exactly, but you know what I mean - the week before vacation, everything at work becomes extremely urgent and errands become fraught with peril in a race against the clock.

Some things I do the week before a trip:

1. Print out my big ass list of instructions for my dogsitter(s). My brother Sean is holding down the fort this week and he came over last Monday to get the low down and see my crazy lady list and supplement/medication labeling.

2. Yell at MFD about various things. I've been asking for that light to be fixed forever! When are you packing? Why is this here? Are you ready? It's sort of amazing that he's not killed me and gone on trips alone. Leaving For Vacation Day is fraught with peril in our house.

3. Clean myself up. Last week that meant getting my hair done, a gel manicure, and a brow wax. Not a huge fan of the gel nails, I get annoyed and my nails feel weird, but you can't beat them when you want your manicure to last for many days. I didn't need a pedicure or I'd get one of those too.

4. Pack, unpack, and pack again. I packed for this trip in a carry on size suitcase so I actually did this a number of times in the weeks leading up to this trip. I am shocked as shit that it all fit. I might need help getting souvenirs home, but for now, we're going with it.

5. Pick up and change the sheets on all beds. Since we always have someone stay with the dogs in our house, we cannot leave vacation preparation hurricane debris behind when we run out the door. Thank God our cleaning captain Linda was scheduled to come the Friday before we left.

6. Call the cards. I inform my bank and credit card company where I'll be. I also take photos of my cards (front and back) and our passports and store them in my dropbox. If we're traveling abroad, I usually get $100-300 in foreign currency so I don't have to dick around at the airport when I get there and can just be on my way and into a cab or onto a transportation system.

7. Swear I will clean out my travel stuff when I get back. I have too much of it and it needs to be culled. Since this is an item on this list, you can tell it doesn't happen.

8. Buy new shoes. Despite my personal knowledge that new shoes should not ever be taken on a trip, I buy them anyway. Then I get my head out of my ass, stow the bag in the closet, and return them when I get back.

9. Pay bills. Least fun thing on the list.

10. Confirm reservations. In order to be somewhere, you have to confirm that you really are set to be there. I also print everything out and carry it with me in a binder because there's no cell access in some areas so i can't rely on electronic copies of everything.

11. Stock the books. If traveling by air, I have at least one paperback that I am okay leaving behind somewhere and a lot of books on my kindle. If I'm traveling by car, library books are taken along for the ride.

12. Clean out my purse. Anything that is not essential for travel gets the boot.

13.Order from Amazon. There is absolutely always something I need at the last minute. This time it was plug adapters.

14. Stare at my dogs a lot and try not to think about how much I'll miss them. No need to elaborate. I also may or may not take 498 photos of them in the six hours before I leave.

15. Prepare for my return. I schedule a massage for one to two days after vacation and a grocery delivery for the day we get back.

We are here in Ireland for my Dad's 60th, and today is his actual 60th. Happy birthday Dad!

What do you do to prepare for vacation?

I am travelling and will reply to comments when I return. 

Thanks for stopping by!