Ordering Disorder
with Busy Mom
When you have kids, the battle between order and chaos at home can take place on many fronts. Ordering Disorder is about ways to fight domestic entropy with organizing tips, tricks, meal ideas and more.
To learn more about Elizabeth, visit Busy Mom Blog or check out her Work It, Mom! profile.
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I’m getting ready to go to San Diego for the BlogHer Conference this week, and I’m running around trying to get packed so I don’t have to do it all the night before.
OK, who am I kidding? I’ll be the one packing at 3am.
However, I do have a method to my madness, and since I travel a good bit, I’ve got my routine down and I have a few things I do/pack that make my life on the road a little easier:
1. Trash bag for dirty clothes - I always bring a trash bag for dirty clothes and I fold my dirty clothes as I go, especially if I’m flying and am gone several days, it really cuts down on the time spent trying to get it all back in the suitcase to come home the night before you leave.
2. Always have a power strip - Hotel rooms can have odd configuration of power outlets, and if you’re staying with other people, there may not be enough by the time everyone plugs in all their gadgets. I always carry a power strip (the longer cord the better), and it live in my suitcase when I’m not using it.
3. Conference bag - I have a sturdy tote bag that I take to all conferences and events. It’s large enough to hold everything I may need for an entire day, including my camera and mini-PC so I don’t look like a bag lady with several things slung across my shoulder.
I keep a set of business cards, pens, paper and and other doo-dads that I find myself transferring back and forth from my purse when I use that bag. They just live in there so they’re ready to go when I use the bag.
4. Contain cords and accessories - Since I have a lot of miscellaneous power cords and accessories, I keep a small make-up bag in my purse that houses ear phones, phone power cord, phone battery cases and screen wipes.
It’s a good way to make sure you have that stuff with you when you need it, and it disguises it from the shorter, cord-stealing iPod owners in the house.
5. Back-up phone power - I usually carry 2 charged battery cases for my iPhone, because, well…it’s an iPhone.
It may seem like overkill, but I tell ya, that compulsion saved me about a year ago when we were trapped in our neighborhood for 4 days during the Nashville flood, and we had no power.
Share some tips about your travel routine. What things have you discovered to make it simpler?
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I’ll be packing today - I get to San Diego tomorrow, mid-day. See you there!
Angella | August 2nd, 2011 at 10:14 am
Oooh, have fun!
My best tip: I have a toiletries bag that I always keep packed with travel-sized toiletries. It zips up completely but also has a hangar so I can hang it on a towel bar and have access to everything. I use the travel-sized bottles (I guess they’re 3 ounces?) and just refill them with shampoo, conditioner, etc. There’s even a razor and toothbrush in there that I use only while traveling. As an added bonus, I’ve used it several times for moving: I can pack up the bathroom completely and use the travel toiletries for a few days before and after the move.
I keep the toiletries bag, a travel-sized hair dryer, a laundry bag, and a small pouch of tampons and pads in my suitcase all the time. When it comes time for me to pack, all I have to throw in is clothes and makeup (which I keep in a zippered pouch in the bathroom all the time).
I know the toiletries bag sounds like overkill, but it was a little bit of extra expense and work about 10 years ago that has saved me TONS of time and stress since then. (Hint: it’s also a GREAT gift idea, especially if you know the products that the recipient uses. I’ve given fully-loaded toiletries bags to my mom, a boyfriend, and my best friend.)
Amelia | August 2nd, 2011 at 4:20 pm