This is how I pre-travel

I think I have found the ultimate way to pre-travel, actually I think it is the only and perfect way to travel. What's pre-travel, you might ask. Let me share my secret, and feel free to try this out on your next travel. It will change your life, and you will never go back to your old ways. Those of you who know me, know what's coming next, and I can hear the snicker from Katie and Rod (he doesn't read my blog, so I'm safe there). Here it goes:

Two weeks before your planned trip, take out a piece of paper and plan your days you are going to be gone. You will list the days, and under the days you list what activities you are going to be doing while gone and then the outfits you are going to wear. You include everything down to underwear, pyjamas, socks, jewelry etc.

One week before you take out the paper, and pack your things. I understand this might be difficult because usually you wear the clothes the week before that might be on the list. This is ok, because they are on the list, and you know that you have to do a wash right before you leave.

Then every day up to the trip, you remove one item from your suitcase, and revisit the list. When you finally leave on your trip, you have only the necessary items in your bag and you might notice that you don't need the huge suitcase anymore, but can take the carry-on instead, of course, depending on the lenght of the trip.

So far, everytime I do this, I get laughed at by many people (mostly by Rod and Alex), but I don't care because I'm totally organized this way, and I feel good about the way I pre-travel. When I get to the destination, I don't have to think what to wear each day.

Usually, when I come back, I have only one t-shirt that was extra. That's all. I have also started to downsize my make-up bag and what's in my "shaving kit" bag. The hotels always have soaps and shampoo, so I take only the necessary items that I can't be without, and the rest I slip into Alex's shaving kit (no, he is not shaving yet).

Yesterday when I was sitting at church, there was a couple sitting in front of us, and the woman took a piece of paper out and wrote on top of the paper "TRIP TO CANADA", and under the heading she listed all the days that they would be gone. I was SO happy to see this. I realized that this woman, in her early 20s, was so totally organized already. I told Rod to see what she was doing. He glanced over and just smiled. I told him:"See, I'm NOT the only one who does this". After the closing song, I leaned over to this woman and asked her if her husband laughs at her for doing this pre-travel ritual. She looked at me and then to her husband, and said:"I don't know". Obviously this was so natural to her that she didn't even think that maybe rest of the world was not doing the same thing she was.

We are leaving for New Mexico this Wednesday, and guess what, yes, I have my list ready. It has been ready for 2 weeks now. Tonight I will pack, and on Tuesday night, I can pull my suitcase downstairs and wake up at 3am on Wednesday morning and be ready to go when Rod will be packing his bag, which will include everything in his closet.