Painless Unpacking

After a vacation, do the remnants hang around the house for weeks, cluttering up your space? Follow these steps to remove the vacation remnants before they become clutter.

As soon as possible after arriving at home:

1. Unpack the car completely, including the trash.

2. Gather laundry baskets or large containers to use for sorting.

3. Empty all luggage, sorting the contents into containers. Suggested categories:

• Laundry
• Clean clothing
• Toiletries
• Memorabilia

4. Return the items to where they belong.

5. Return luggage to storage area.

Shortly after the vacation:

1. Replenish depleted items from your toiletry bag and store with your luggage.

2. Memorabilia: Process photos in your preferred method. Sort through memorabilia: get rid of duplicates and keep only what has significance for you. Store in a large envelope or small memorabilia box, labeled with the location of the vacation and the date.

Now that you're unpacked, you can enjoy "home sweet home" and the memories of your wonderful vacation!

What's In Your Wallet?

Several years ago, while on vacation, my husband’s wallet was stolen. He had credit cards, checks, photos, and a special note his mom had written to him 15 years earlier. He spent an entire afternoon calling credit card companies to report the loss. After we got home, I spent 8 hours calling every company we get a monthly bill from. We have many our bills set up on automatic debits, so I had to complete new forms with our new bank account number. And of course, losing the special note was the biggest loss of all. That was irreplaceable. My family & I are leaving for our summer vacation tomorrow. You can bet our wallets will be down to the bare minimum!

Yes, even something as small as a wallet needs to be organized, and right before vacation is the perfect time to take care of this task.

1. Remove items you don’t need.
2. Carry few credit cards.
3. Make copies of the front & back of credit cards, so you have all necessary info if your wallet gets lost or stolen.
4. Health insurance theft is the newest form of identity theft. Experts suggest you do not carry your health insurance card, and instead carry a copy of the card with the group number blocked out.
5. Never carry your Social Security Card.
6. Have duplicates of any photos you carry.

Now you can relax and enjoy your vacation!

Supply Kit for Traveling

If you’ve got an “on-the-go summer” planned, you may want to create a supply kit to keep in the car.

Include typical first aid supplies, such as:

• bandages in a variety of sizes
• gauze pads
• tape
• scissors
• antibiotic ointment
• antiseptic wipes
• tweezers
• instant cold compress
  
  If you already have a first aid kit, check supplies. See what needs to be added and replace any item that has past its expiration date.

You may also want to include:

• hand sanitizer
• baby wipes
• sunscreen
• bug spray
• after-bite gel
• blanket
• snacks

Preparing the supply kit means you’ll be ready for the unexpected, leaving more time for summer fun!

Keeping the Car Clutter Free

Like the rest of the home, the car, too, can be organized to make your travel time a bit more relaxing.

1. When putting gas in the car, empty out the trash. (Not while the gas is pumping – safety first!)


2. When arriving at home, remove all items from the car that do not belong in the car – coffee mugs, soda cans, water bottles, children’s games/toys (unless they are containerized and are used for travel time entertainment only), etc – and return them to their rightful home.


3. Convenient items to keep in the car: first aid kit, phone book, coupons, snacks, items needed for errands, such as, purchases to be returned/exchanged, library books to be returned, and of course, maps.


4. Have a wastebasket (Velcro on the bottom of a small wastebasket will hold it in place) or a bag (looped over the arm of a seat) available for garbage.

Traveling with Children

When planning a summer vacation with children, preparing for the travel is almost as important as planning the actual vacation. I recently took a 13-hour road trip with my three children. I was nervous about being the only adult with a 9-year old and two 11-year olds. Here are a few ideas that helped make the car ride go more smoothly.

1. Listen to a book on tape/CD checked out from your local library.

2. Play car games: travel bingo, the alphabet game (find each letter of the alphabet on signs), 20 Questions… The list is endless. If you need ideas, check out www.momsminivan.com/.

3. Pack snacks & beverages.

4. Set up a reward system. For each hour that the children get along and are pleasant, they earn a reward. Young children need rewards more often, possibly a quarter for each half hour. Older children may be motivated by the opportunity of earning $1-2 per hour.

5. Can the “How much longer” question be avoided? Prior to the trip, have each child make a chart counting down the number of hours the trip is expected to be. If the trip takes 10 hours, have the child write the numbers 10 down to 0 on a paper. After each hour of driving, announce that an hour has gone by. Have the child cross off the number 10. Now the child can see there are 9 hours left. Continue the countdown until you've arrived at your destination!

So, as you are preparing for your summer vacation, be sure to plan for the travel times. Good planning will help to make the trip a memorable experience. Happy Traveling!!!

Packing for Travel

Over the summer, millions of Americans will be traveling: vacations, weekend getaways, and visiting relatives.

Making a master list of what is needed will help the packing go smoothly and prevent emergency shopping trips. This list can be used as a reference for every trip. Include personal care items (purchase travel size containers of items and keep them in a shaving kit/makeup bag, so the items are already packed for the next trip.), clothing & accessories, medications, travel activities, recreation items, bedtime needs, and snacks. Email Pam at simplespaces@earthlink.net to request a checklist that can be customized to fit your needs.

Children can be taught to pack their own bags. At age 4-6, have your child help you pack his/her bag. Have a list (with pictures). Ask the child to get each needed item and show him/her how to check off each item as it is packed. Slowly increase the child’s participation in the activity. By age 8-10, your child can be packing his/her own bag, when given a list.

Having a master list as a guide while packing makes the packing go faster and requires less focused attention. Give it a try!