The desire to experience new places motivates people around the world to travel. Whether by foot, car, boat or plane, travel can be a relaxing and adventurous experience, but it can also be stressful and filled with angst about things forgotten, done or undone. Getting ready to travel is made easier by getting organized. Although no one wants to spend their travel time poring over lists and inspecting different items, a good travel organizer can do wonders to set the mind at ease and make the miles go by quicker.
The easiest travel organizer is a checklist of things to do before departure. When making your list first, determine the kind of travel (walking or hiking, automobile, plane, boat cruise) and then make your list accordingly. Include the smallest details or leaving your location. A list of what appliances to turn off (stove, air conditioner, heat) means those items checked off are not something to second guess when miles down the road. Include on your list everything imaginable you need to pack from clothes, toiletries, accessories, personal computer devices, cameras, cell phones, map, plane tickets and boarding passes. Make it a point to include thing you think you will not need. Checking them off and having it on your list means you considered taking an overcoat to Bermuda, but decided there was no need this trip. When traveling by car alone, with family or friends, include snacks, games for children, picnic items, safety equipment such as flares and fire extinguishers and maps or a GPS device. Again, your list doesn't mean you pack and carry everything you consider, it means you've considered everything before you pack.
Once you have your checklist, use a pocket organizer during your trip for receipts, schedules and other paperwork gathered during the excursion. Coupon organizers work great for this. Business travelers can separate deductible and nondeductible expense. Families can immediately organize expenses into household budget items (paying for a trip can be a matter of saving and rearranging existing budgets for food, clothes and rent for restaurants, souvenirs and accommodations). Staying on budget when traveling is as important to peace of mind as remembering to put the pet in the kennel.
Organizer your luggage and other possessions when traveling for accessing what's needed the most the quickest. When traveling on a plane, carry on baggage; don't just take the smallest bag but the bag with things you'll need the most in case you're separated from the rest of your luggage. When traveling in a car, pack the trunk or cargo area with the last thing you'll need in the back and the things you'll need constantly in front on or top. No need wasting valuable time unpacking everything to get to what you need on the bottom. Make the packing priority order part of your travel checklist. Also, when packing, organize your items so they are evenly distributed throughout your luggage. Two bags weighing 50 lbs. can be much easier to handle than one 100-lb. behemoth.
