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.
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The holidays are upon us, and for many of us it means travel.
I travel a moderate amount for holidays and various things, and I’m notorious for waiting until the last minute to pack, which sometimes results in forgetting things I need. Like, oh say…shoes. (Yes, that happened, and I became “that woman who always wears boots” one weekend.)
I’m not really a procrastinator, and I’m not usually scatterbrained, it’s just that I usually try to wait to pack when the kids aren’t around so I can concentrate on what I’m doing, and I may or may not run out of time, and that may or may not result in arriving without things I use.
Over the years, I’ve developed my own little packing routine, and part of it includes maintaining some items that are permanent residents of my suitcase. I have other things I stock in my make-up bag such as band-aids, safety pins, etc., but these are some non-toiletry items that stay in my bag:
iPhone dock/speakers - I have a iPhone dock that folds flat, and I keep it in my suitcase at all times. It’s handy for listening to music, watching movies as well as for the white noise app I use to help me sleep in a hotel room.
Power strip - this has been invaluable for many things. I’ve used it at conferences and in the hotel room where outlets are scarce when you you have women rooming together. However, I most frequently use it on the night stand in a hotel room because there never seems to be an outlet in a convenient place for keeping your phone or computer near you.
Extra cables/cords - I keep a small make-up bag with spare cords/chargers for electronics. We’ve always got extra phone cords, camera cords, etc. and I keep them there for the times I forget (or the kids have stolen) my regular ones.
Trash bags - I keep 2-3 tall kitchen can liners in the inside pocket that I use mostly for bagging dirty clothes, but they also make a good raincoat in a pinch. I keep a stash in there because that’s one of the items I tend to forget when packing, and it drives me crazy not to have a place to put dirty clothes.
Do you have any hints to make travel easier? What are your must-haves when you go out of town?
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I love the power strip idea, our family always has stuff to plug in.
deb | December 6th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I always take a power strip along, but never thought of having a dedicated one that lives in my suitcase. (Then again, I don’t travel much either). I do have a baggie with extra phone chargers, the dvd car adapter and a usb power doo-dad that I keep in my car at all times. So very handy and has saved me from a dead phone many times!
Cindy | December 6th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Now that I have the “flashlight” app on my iPhone, it’s not as important, but I always have a tiny flashlight with me.
I, too, carry some trash bags along, as well as a few Ziplocs. (one of those is dedicated to the TV remote) The trash bags are not just good for dirty laundry, but the kids’ wet suits from the pool, and separating your shoes from your clean laundry in the suitcase.
I leave a few extra pens in my bag that are there when I need them.
And then there are the antibacterial wipes (see note re: TV remote) and all faucets and door handles, light switches, and the phone get wiped down. As long as we’re (ok, I’m) talking hotels and germs, I take my own plastic cups. I’ve seen hidden camera video of the maids cleaning those glasses in the bathroom sink with the used wash cloths from the previous guests. Mmm, Mmm
The power strip is a great idea. Ditto a dedicated extra phone cable/charger.
I like the idea of phrasing it like I keep those items in my bag for the next trip rather than admitting that I just never finished unpacking.
amy324 | December 6th, 2011 at 9:17 pm