With more of us are traveling again, I thought I would look at organizing to travel. It’s great that we’re getting away more, but traveling can be pretty stressful IF you’re not organized. Here are some tips to help.

1. Pre-flight tips

Good planning will allow you to rest your mind on your vacation, starting with a reliable checklist.  Don’t reinvent the wheel every time. Keep a running checklist of last-minute things to do before the trip and things to be packed. Keep this list on your computer when organizing to travel. You  may have additions or subtractions to make, given the nature of each trip. However the majority of it won’t change. I find it helpful to print it out and put it on a clipboard with a pen. Before leaving, you focus on the trip ahead and you can easily forget key items you need. All your careful preparations for this trip and past trips will be summarized on that list. You just need to remember to review it and check off everything that’s “in the bag.”

Highlight the irreplaceable items in red, i.e.: prescriptions, passport, phone charging cord, etc. That way you bring special attention to focusing on what would become the biggest stressors. It will definitely put a damper on your trip to have to try and replace a passport or a contact lens prescription. Everything else can be replaced relatively easily if you forget it.

Finally, don’t forget to add mask to list!

2. Suitcase packing tips

When packing your suitcase, rolling clothes reduces creasing and is more space-efficient. Any rolling is more space-efficient, but to do a really small tight roll, check out my video. I show how to do an “army roll” or “ranger roll.”

For shoes, cover them in shower caps to protect your clean clothes from the dirty soles. Also, the inside of shoes are a great place to stuff rolled up socks.

As in the household a great organizing rule to follow while traveling is reveal don’t conceal. Here are some examples:

1. Clear toiletry bag. It can be disorienting in new locations, so make finding toiletry items as easy as possible.

2. Ziploc Bags. This is a favorite organizing tool for containing any small items and keeping them easily findable.

3.Clear envelope. These are great for collecting travel receipts all in one place.

3. Carry-on tips

Your carry-on bag should be reserved just the minimum so that it can fit comfortably under your airplane seat. It should be for things that you simply cannot be without for the duration of your journey. There are a lot of great carry-on bags available, but I use the eBag Pro Slim Jr. Laptop Backpack.

Traveling can be a great opportunity to catch up on reading, but books take up space. So if you bring a tablet instead, you never run out of reading space

Here are some tips from Kim our account manager, about traveling with kids.

1. Pick up plenty of trinkets from the Target “Dollar Bin” to keep your kids occupied during the trip.

2. Also pick up plenty of snacks for the kids’s backpacks.

3. Pack extra toothbrushes and other toiletries in your suitcase for the kids.

A multi-outlet, multi-port adapter can be a real lifesaver for multi electronic devices. Many older hotels and homes are not built for today’s electronic needs.

Don’t forget earbuds for music and videos in public places, like the airport.

The Grid-It by Cocoon is an ingenious packing tool to keep to organize all your electronics and more. I like to use toothbrush tubes to contain the cords further.

When organizing to travel, it’s a good idea to be prepared for the event of being separated from your suitcase. See my video for another folding hack, that keeps socks, underwear, and a t-shirt all in one. This tidy little bundle fits in your carry-on to cover the basics. It also doubles as a pillow, for the plane or train.

The less you worry about having all these things covered, the more you can focus on enjoying your trip. Bon voyage!