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| Five Things to NOT Do the Day Before a Trip
by Paula Farris There are many sources of information on things to do to prepare for a trip, but this article tells you about five things to NOT do--especially the day before you are scheduled to leave. Do not save all your packing for the last day before a trip. This is extremely important if you are traveling with young children. No matter how much you have hyped up the wonders of the theme park you will be visiting or how exciting it will be to see all their cousins, young children still behave best when they have a normal routine. Plan your shopping for your trip along with your regular errand running for some time in the few weeks before you depart so that you will be ready to start packing early. Start packing a week or so ahead of time. If you are going to a location with a different climate than your own it will be easy to pack even your clothes. Don’t worry about wrinkles; you can either iron your clothes or run them through a wash and dry cycle when you arrive at your destination. Do not skimp on your sleep. It will be tempting to save all the details that need to be done until the night before you leave, but this can lead to a very late bedtime. If you also need to get up early you are not going to get enough sleep. While it is easy to reason that you will be vacationing and will have plenty of time to catch up on your rest, it will be more enjoyable to relax while on vacation if you aren’t overly tired to begin with.
Work from a list of things to do starting several weeks before your travel date so that necessities like finding a pet sitter and mowing your lawn get done before the last minute. Do not expect your children to forgo their nap time or regular meal times. You can get away with skipping a playgroup session, but if you are too busy to take care of the basics for your children your work will be slowed down considerably. Allow enough time in your schedule to have a regular time for meals and rest and you will accomplish much more. Do not put off things like finding a pet sitter or finding someone to gather your mail. Certain things MUST be done before you can leave. Using the list that was mentioned above can assure that you don’t have to delay your trip because you forgot to find a friend to feed Fido. Do not wait to figure out what you need to pack. It is no fun to arrive at a motel tired and ready to rest only to find that you left your toothbrush at home. Start at least a week before you leave to write down everything you can think of that you use and will need on your trip. Click here for a comprehensive packing list. If you do NOT do these things you will be prepared, rested and in a better mood when the big day arrives. DO have a great trip! StressFreeFamilyTravel.com |