by CS Team
Want to take the STRESS out of packing? Wouldn’t it feel great to be all ready the day it is time to leave?
Get Ruth Hadlock’s 4 simple, yet powerful Tips for Travel. We are here to tell you they work!! Ruth is the owner of Streamlined Space and has a gift for making everything SIMPLER! Use these travel tips and ENJOY!
Watch the VIDEO below along with reading the TIPS!
My clients tell me they spend the day before their vacation running around in circle, frantically trying to pack for their trip! How can you make this process stress-free? Here are 4 suggestions.
- Create a packing list. This sounds so remedial, but do you actually do it? It’s easy nowadays to keep a checklist in an app on your phone. It’s not that I’m trying to convince you to pack lighter; I’m simply encouraging people to pack the appropriate items for the trip you will be experiencing!
- Staging. As with so many organizing projects, you need a place to lay out all your clothes and items. Do this at least 48 hours in advance. I’ve found that my clients pack too little or too much or not the right items because they do it last minute without thinking clearly.
- Pack Correctly. Pack shoes against the edges of the suitcase. Roll your clothes rightly, placing larger, bulkier items at the bottom and ending with smaller, lighter ones. Put your toiletry kit and accessories on top. This way, you won’t have to sit on your suitcase anymore to be able to zip it! if you have dress clothes you don’t want wrinkled, lay them a the bottom of the suitcase, with the ends hanging out over the suitcase edge. Then fill the space with your rolled items and carefully fold the dress clothes ends on top. You can even use dry-cleaning bags to decrease wrinkles. Because the bag is slippery, creases won’t set in as much.
- Get the right luggage and accessories. Here are some of my favorite items, in no particular order:
Compression Bag | Bag Bungee | Toiletry Kit
VIEWER HOMEWORK: On your next upcoming trip, commit to using a packing list and staging your items ahead of time. You can view my favorite items on the Resource Page of my website streamlinedspace.com.
Ruth is a Clear & SIMPLE Certified Organizer™ (CSCO). Read about our 3-tiered training program.
We are all having adventures this summer and embracing tips that make traveling simpler. Let us know if these helped and what you are up to.
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Let TripIt keep it all together for you!
It’s time to go on vacation, yay! And then you are flooded with overwhelm. The vital details for the trip are scattered everywhere! The confirmations are in your email. The schedule of events is on your calendar. Notifications of flight delays come to you by text, if at all. Reminder to check-in for flights is sent to your email. When someone needs a copy of your flight info or itinerary, you have to go searching to find it in order to forward it. And so on…
When we first heard about TripIt, we were ecstatic…but could it really make things that much easier?! We found out it helps more than we imagined. After you book a trip, you simply forward the confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and the system builds an itinerary for you. If you make changes, simply forward that confirmation email and TripIt updates the plan for you. Once the itinerary is built, you can go in and add, change, and/or delete things. If you prefer to not send your emails, you can input the itinerary yourself.
Our favorite things are…
- Being able to check in and check flight status in.
- It syncs to our phone calendars.
- Once you’ve entered places you are staying, maps are attached for easy navigating.
- Being able to use the app along with logging in online.
For more information and to download it for your mobile device go HERE. Happy traveling!
Marla
by CS Team
Love traveling, but hate packing? Leave OUT the “just in case”…
Most of us say it and do it… “I’ll take that just in case. I’ll keep that just in case. I’ll buy that just in case.” When we live in this energy, we end up with far more than we need. Rather than helping us the just in case stuff just weighs us down. Our homes, offices and cars are bursting at the seams.
When we travel the just-in-case-items add bulk, weight and stress. And guess what, most of the time they do not get used. Extra clothes, shoes, accessories, toiletries, technology, and more get stuffed into luggage that we have to lug around and often have to pay more money for. Why do we do this to ourselves? The answer is obvious yet we can’t seem to break out of the cycle.
TRUE STORY from Marla – The last trip I took I had to ask my daughter Jessica to come help me lighten my load. Jessica is the one who finally got through to me about my just-in-case syndrome. She kept pointing it out to me until I could no longer stay in denial. So, even though I had done my very best packing my suitcase, I knew it was still too much! Jessica came over and helped me see three things I really didn’t need to take. After removing them, my suitcase was just right!! i let myself relish the free feeling all week long on my trip. Have fun with this.
Focus on what you most need and remember that less is more when traveling.
Here are 3 tips to help you lighten your load when packing:
- Only pack enough clothes for half the number of days you will be gone. You can re-wear combinations and even hand wash items if necessary.
- Wear the bulkiest, heaviest items to free up space in your luggage.
- Be realistic about what you will actually need and want. Try asking yourself questions as you map it out. Will you really straight-iron your hair? Will you really need 3 different pairs of shoes? Will you really read 3 books? Get honest.
We would love to hear any other TIPS you have or stories you wish to share!
Marla, Kate & Team
by CS Team
Want to travel simply, but still feel prepared?
After Marla and Kate experienced their first international trip ever and were overwhelmed with too much stuff they wrote about Traveling with Less. Since then they’ve research and practiced even more to get this business of traveling lightly conquered. And wouldn’t you know it, they usually end up having all they need.
Here are their Top 3 Tips…
1. Spend the time & money to complete a toiletry kit that is carry-on approved.
Kate’s Toiletry Kit
2. Plan out clothing options that are easy to mix-n-match. Less pieces, more combinations.
3. Let go of the “just in case” items. This extra 10% is what makes it too much.
We are constantly trying new things out and looking for better solutions. We would love to hear what you’ve learned or come up with to make your trips simple and joyful. Please share with us!
How about a meet-up across the globe?!
Marla, Kate & Team
by Kate Fehr
What are we supposed to do when “traveling with less” just isn’t in the cards?
Last week I was preparing for a road trip back home to Salt Lake for two weeks, including a 4-day camping excursion. As I Mind Mapped packing the car for 3 people & one sweet little rat, the list began to get pretty long.
- Myself – suitcase, camping bag, mobile office
- My man – suitcase, camping bag, mobile office
- Son – suitcase, camping bag
- Family Pet “Remy” – food, bedding, treats, cage
- Travel cooler – lunch, snacks, water
- Camping gear – tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, cooler, chairs, large bin full of smaller items
Needless to say I knew that the car was going to be FULL, but there was not much I could do about that. So I used the Clear & SIMPLE Systems SEE IT. MAP IT. DO IT. and S.T.A.C.K.S.© to ensure organization and peace throughout the process. Many times in life this is reality, which is why our systems are not just designed to clear excess, unsupportive stuff, but also to “MAP” and “Simplify.”
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