Tuesday, May 22, 2012

GET ME THE EFF OUT OF HERE

     I’m going on vacation for the holiday weekend because I want to, deserve to, NEED to or I just might snap.  I haven’t had a real deal vacation in a while and after the year I’ve had, frankly, I’m due.  I booked myself a great hotel on the beach in Rhode Island and, while I’m not looking forward to the holiday traffic, I am looking forward to the peace and quiet of a long weekend, lots of sun, good food, and some new memories.
     Some of you might stress over packing causing your vacation to start off on the wrong foot so I’ve come up with a few pointers since I’m assuming many of you have trips planned as well.  If you follow these strategies I promise the process won’t be as overwhelming as it typically can be.  And, yes it’s in list form because lists are my friends.  So here you go and you’re welcome.

1) Don’t wait until the night before you’re leaving to pack.  You’ll end up with a snow suit and ski goggles for the beach or a bikini for the slopes because you’ll be so stressed slash annoyed that you waited until the night before that you’ll throw anything in your bag just to get the packing over with.

2) Go shopping for new clothes to cover what’s missing from your wardrobe but don’t go overboard.  If you’re not a hat person for example (I look like a 14 year old boy when I wear hats) then don’t buy freaking hats just because you’re going on vacation.  It’s stupid and it’s not you.

3) Plan your outfits ahead of time and pack only those outfits.  Sounds crazy but if you lay everything out: day #1) beach outfit, daytime outfit, dinner outfit, day #2) beach outfit, daytime outfit, dinner outfit, and so on – then there’s not a chance of over packing and bringing stuff that you’ll never ever, ever wear.  Oh, and bonus, you’ll have pre-made outfits so there’s one less thing to think about while on vaca.

4) Speaking of stuff you’ll never wear.  If you don’t wear the “super-fun-dressy-but-casual-tank-that-makes-others-think-I’m-laid-back-while-still-being-stylish” in your real life then you’re not going to wear it on vacation.  Don’t pack it.  As a matter of fact, donate it.  Today.

5) Don’t overdo it on the “stuff” because that just means you’ll have extra bags to schlep around.  Whether flying or driving, once you get to your destination you’ll have to unpack and deal with everything.  You’re going on vacation, let go of the crap for a little bit.  My son has 5,000 cars that he loves to play with every single day but I refuse to bring them all with us.  I’ll allow 10, plus some beach toys and I’m calling it a day.  1 toy bag max.  It’s 3 days people.

6) Check with your hotel to see if you can save on packing some things.  I know my place has beach towels, a hair dryer, things like that that I don’t need to worry about jamming into my bags.  It’s worth a call/website stalk in my book.

It’s vacation, start the relaxing off on the right foot by packing early and packing properly.  I know kids need their toys, women need their accessories and guys need their gadgets but try to leave some things at home this time around and actually be with your travel companions.  You might realize you enjoy the simple time away with them…not the stuff.

packing made simple

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