the loveliest request from y’all, so here it is: a full list of things I like to do before a trip to make both our trip AND coming home just a little bit easier.
and, as always, this is just what works really well for us. you do whatever works best for you!
figure out what food we need
This may sound odd, but the first thing I do for a trip is plan out our food.
What food do we need to get - either before we leave and/or once we arrive?
Because I personally don’t like to spend my limited time on my vacation figuring out food.
(And, more importantly, I don’t like getting to my vacation and realizing I don’t have my beloved half and half for my coffee.)
Because even in our pre-baby days of traveling the world, I’d first figure out what food we needed for that trip.
Like, for this trip, are we, say, cooking breakfasts at our rental and splurging on eating lunch and dinners out? Are we planning on eating out every meal but I just need to make sure we have airplane snacks, hiking snacks and coffee stuff?
You get the picture.
My first travel routine is figuring out what food I need to get.
What food do we need?
Car/plane snacks? Hiking snacks? Toddler snacks? Pool snacks? Beach snacks?
Breakfasts? Lunches? Dinners?
Are we eating out? Cooking?
What do we need for KK? For the dogs (if applicable)?
What are we doing about coffee? Beer? Wine? Margs?
And I write it all down. Consider it a massive brain dump. Because this is harder than my typical weekly meal plan. Because, say, if I need to bring dog food, I also need to make sure we pack dog bowls. Or, say, if I decide we’re going to do sandwiches for lunches every day, I need to make sure 1) we get condiments we normally take for granted that we have on hand, 2) we need to check to see if the place we’re staying has, say, knives and a toaster, and 3) are we taking these sandwiches to go? Because if so, what containers are we using to do that?
And depending on what food we need, I may place a grocery order for here.
Or I may place it for a grocery store at our destination.
Or I may do both.
Because while pre-baby Haley loveddddd going to grocery stores in different cities, these days I prefer not spending my limited time on vacation wrangling a mobile toddler in a grocery store. Like, pass. Hard pass.
So this routine works really well for us in this season.
side note: where we stay must have…
because we’re currently in a season of both a mobile toddler (who sleeps 16 hours a day) and a pandemic, we only book places that have three things:
a kitchen
a nice patio/balcony with a lovely seating situation
bonus points if there’s a hot tub. serious bonus points here.
also bonus points for a washer/dryer
a great view
so while this usually comes with a higher price tag, for us it’s worth it. we usually bring along coffee/breakfast things whenever possible, and we enjoy slow mornings while KK plays and we sip our coffee while enjoying the view. and when KK naps or goes to bed at seven, that view and that patio/balcony (along with whatever fun drinks we’re having) means we still feel like we’re on vacation.
and that kitchen? means we can bring along whatever food will make our stay more pleasant. like, drinks for those patio dates. or our go-to coffee things for the aforementioned slow mornings. or food so that we’re able to feed KK at an ungodly early hour and not have to run out and find something.
it also means - again, given that we’re in a season of a toddler and a pandemic - that we can get some awesome takeout, and enjoy it awhile staring at a great view - while KK runs amuck and makes all her weird noises, stress-free.
now that’s vacation.
scout out some restaurants
we definitely do not stick to this rigidly.
but i do like having a list of potential restaurants ahead of time that may look good.
i google restaurants at our destination, I throw them in a Google Keep list, and I usually also add a link to their menu and/or their ordering online page. bonus points if the restaurant mentions takeout or family-style meals - aka almost everyone in these days of Covid.
because, like I just mentioned, we’re in a season where we really like to get good takeout as opposed to wrangling KK in a restaurant. so while we may see a place we want to try as we’re out and about, I also like having a list of possible ideas.
so that, say, when we’re on the beach and we start to get hungry, I can ask Brett if anything from The List sounds good.
and before I know it, we’re enjoying the view on our patio with some good food. and KK can eat with us, and she can go play when she’s done. and she can be as loud - and as wiggly! - as she wants. and I can stay seated and eating no matter what. bliss.
scrub the car
especially if we’re about to go road tripping, the car gets a gooooooood wash. we wash the exterior, we vacuum the inside, we wipe everything down, the whole nine yards.
(The car seat gets a good scrub too, if we have the time.)
brett will usually check the tires and the oil level and all that good stuff, too.
i will take inventory of the car - does anything need to be replenished? I check our emergency kit, our first aid kit, our changing station. everything gets restocked.
and just like that, the car is cleannnn and ready for vacay.
plan a week of easyyy meals for when we get back
because I know this about Vacation Haley: she does not want to menu plan.
and I especially know this about Post-Vacation Haley: she is so strung out on laundry and unpacking, that she 10000% cannot handle dinner.
so I menu plan before the trip. and I make the meals suuuuuper easy.
and I place the grocery order - usually I’ll splurge on delivery, but I may just do a curbside pick-up if I know I’ll be out and about anyway - ahead of time.
usually I just place the items in my online cart before I leave for the trip, and I don’t place the actual order until a few days before I come home, just because I know our coming home plans can change. but if I know our plans won’t change (or if I’m afraid placing the order while on vacation may be difficult for whatever reason), I’ll place the order before the trip.
and I make sure our menu plan and our grocery order has lotsssss of produce.
because we always crave lotsssss of produce after a good vacation.
figure out kk’s stuff
of course, I figure out what we need to bring for KK. what do we use on a daily basis for her? what does she need for this destination (and the journey to get there) in particular? what food would be helpful to have?
our travel favorites:
her stroller or her wagon, depending on where we’re going
we’ve only taken road trips with KK, so I bring all our favorite things, no matter how bulky
my old ipad + this car ipad holder + downloaded episodes of sesame street
for when times get rough
usually we turn it on lowwww so that Brett and I can’t hear it, but KK can. for our sanity, and so we can still talk or listen to music without being interrupted by Elmo.
a few toys
KK does lots of independent play at home as apart of her daily routine, so we like to bring a few toys so that she can independently play where we’re staying. that way, in the mornings while we drink our coffee, or at the end of the day to wind down, she can play. keeps things consistent and normal for her - and us!
(it also serves as a great thing to have in case the weather is bad)
here’s our list of favorite toys (and favorite things!):
our beach favorites (and why we have toys specifically saved for our beach trip)
clean the house
bear with me here, y’all.
this one only happens if we have both the time and energy.
but I will say, we’re always so happy when we do it.
because there is absolutely nothing better than coming home to a clean, tidy house.
so before the trip, I make sure to follow our cleaning schedule the entire week before. I make sure our bathrooms are cleaned, our beds are made, our laundry is done, our counters are cleared, our things are picked up, and our house smells clean.
side note: when we had housecleaners we trusted, we would schedule them to come while we were gone. the best.
I swear, nothing is better than coming home to a clean, tidy house. especially after vacation.
and it makes laundry and unpacking so much better - at least that’s what I tell myself.
delegate
if at any point I think of things I need Brett to do, I add it to our blessed whiteboard.
like, for our recent beach trip, “our condo has drip coffee - do you need to bring anything?” “install sun shade on car,” and “buy beer” were added to the whiteboard for him.
pack
I don’t have really any packing tips, other than the fact I do a little bit at a time.
(my clothes? easy. I do that the night before. all my clothes mix and match, so packing is a cinch. see more about my clothing philosophy and my favorite things here.)
but packing the stuff for the family? for kk? for adventures?
that I do a little bit at a time. really the entire week before a trip, as I think of something we should bring, I take it out and set it in our entryway. so by the time we actually pack up, I have a big parking lot of stuff we need to bring.
(not saying this is the best way - this is just what works for me.)
what also helps is a lotttt of our travel stuff is kept near our emergency stuff. because in the case of an emergency evacuation, we would need a lot of our travel stuff - like kk’s travel crib. this also makes it extremely easy for vacations - it’s all corralled together.
and we also have toiletry bags we keep packed 24/7 - one for me, one for brett, one for KK, and one for shower stuff. because yeah, it’s nice for an emergency evacuation to be able to grab these - and it was nice when I gave birth to KK - but it also makes packing for trips easy. we just grab our toiletry bags and go.
similarly, we have a small first aid kit we keep packed, ready to grab and go.
so really, we just have to figure out clothes and food when it comes time for a trip - and, you know, getting it all to fit in the car.
here’s my list of summer essentials, like my swimsuit formula and my favorite swimsuits of all time.
here’s my list of our beach favorites, like what we can’t live without.
space it all out
and let me say this: these routines truly happen the entire week before we leave.
yes, an entire week.
I am not the kind of human that can run around the day before a trip doing everything under the sun.
i just can’t.
i do a little each day. always have.
so, for example, we left for the beach sunday morning.
the tuesday before, I listed out our food. and i placed a grocery order to be picked up on friday for a time I knew we’d be out and about anyway. wednesday I menu planned for the week we get home and I placed a grocery order to be picked up the morning after we got home. thursday and friday, I packed. thursday I downloaded Sesame Street to our iPad for the car, should some desperate times arrive. friday I picked up our food. friday I packed the shelf-stable food. saturday we washed the car. saturday I did all laundry. saturday we dropped our dogs off with my sister. sunday morning we packed the car and left during KK’s nap. DONE!
small chunks of prep is what works for me.
as always, you do whatever works for you.
happy traveling!
and, in the meantime, come say hi on instagram. there i’m always sharing our systems, our routines, and - most importantly - our dinners.
