Whenever I travel, I have two traditions. First, I call or text my dad and tell him when my flight is and ask him when I should leave for the airport. The thing is, I know what time he will say every time. There is no algorithm. But it’s tradition. After years of living on my own and asking him, he finally asked me why I did it. Tradition, I proclaimed.
The second thing I do is call my mother, after I have packed, and ask my mom to run through a checklist. Yes, I am an adult. Or I am pretending to be. Unlike the call to my dad, my mom usually reminds me of things I have forgotten. Do you have deodorant, she asks. Undies? Sometimes it’s socks. Or shampoo and conditioner. I never forget the same thing. Once I forgot pajamas. And a lot of the time, I wake up the night before and scribble things down that I think I have forgotten. Needless to say, I sleep so well that night before.
So I finally made an all encompassing list (and one for you too; see the link below). And when I was finished, I ran it past my mom because she is the Packing Princess. Yes, it is tailored to my needs but I also tried to make it more general (For example, I don’t wear glasses and contacts anymore. Lasik was the best thing I ever did). I also tried to make it between seasons and left plenty of room for you to add your own items. Anything you don’t need simply cross out. I went back and forth with my mom: I left her idea of a travel umbrella but told her I wasn’t going to put down a travel poncho (in her defense, there have been several vacations where we felt like we were in the rainforest).
Also note that if you are traveling internationally, you’ll need adapters for your technology. And I always find it best to have euros before I leave because of the exchange rate.
Click here for your packing list, already set up for you to print out in black and white or color.
All I can say is that I will definitely be using this on my upcoming trips and I hope you will too. If you have suggestions, please let me know. I really enjoyed making something I know I will use and hopefully you will too.
Buon Viaggio!
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Great idea…Lord knows I have forgotten a thing or 2 (or more) many times!
Always for me. Always.
This is awesome! I’m always forgetting something when I pack, no matter how thorough I think I am!
Me too! I tried to be super thorough and ask several people to make sure I didn’t miss anything here!
Defintiely printing out that packing list!! Thanks for sharing girl! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
My pleasure, B!
you’ll be using this for your upcoming trip to florida, yes?
yes.
“Yes, I am an adult. Or I am pretending to be.” <– This goes through my mind every single time I have to call my mom about something. Which is all the time.
WORD.
Great tips! I’m always so flustered and unorganized when I travel and I need this system desperately. Pinning now!
I am the same way! Hopefully this helps us both!
that is so sweet you continue to phone your parents about your trips. =)
xo,
nancy
that is so sweet you continue to phone your parents about your upcoming trips. =)
xo,
nancy
Haha sometimes they like it, sometimes I can be a pain!
I made an all encompassing packing list a couple of years ago and it has been SUCH a life saver! We were always going back and forth to Michigan and it never failed that every single time I forgot something.
SO smart if you are going to the same place that often!
Ooo! Great list. We’re traveling a bit this summer, so I’ll need something to stay organized. 🙂 Thanks, Nina!
Thank you for coming here and supporting me!!
Great packing list! I saved it for my next trip! 🙂
Glad to help!
Such a great idea! We’re going on a little getaway next week and I forget something every time… it’s almost always underwear.
Haha. I feel that, sister.
Oh my how I needed this list I am printing it now as I am going back to New Zealand in August for another holiday.
Glad to help!
I’ve been meaning to make an actual packing list to go through every time for years, but haven’t got around to it. Yours is cute and color coded, I love it. I should probably make mine. I love that you call your mom because I will always call my mom even if it’s just for a weekend and go through what I packed and what I need and ask her if I forgot anything. It’s cute knowing I’m not alone in doing that. It’s mainly as you pointed out with your dad just for tradition now and it would feel weird not doing it.
I will probs still call my mom. I did this time!