August 31, 2025 • 18 mins
Have you ever returned from a family holiday feeling like you need another vacation just to recover? The secret to truly enjoyable family travel isn't found in luxury destinations or perfect itineraries, it lies in thoughtful preparation that happens well before you even leave home.
As I prepare to embark on a cross-country road trip with my husband and four young children, I'm sharing my three-part system for stress-free family holidays that's evolved through years of trial and error. Creating a comprehensive master checklist weeks in advance has transformed my approach to family travel. By categorizing everything from clothing and toiletries to entertainment and technology needs, I've eliminated that last-minute panic of potentially forgetting something critical. The digital version serves as a reusable template, while the printed copy becomes my tactical guide during actual packing.
Batching similar tasks and meaningful delegation forms the second pillar of holiday preparation. Rather than spreading preparations thinly across weeks, grouping activities like laundry, document printing, and shopping creates efficiency. More importantly, involving children in age-appropriate aspects of preparation teaches valuable life skills while distributing the mental load. My sons each choose comfort items to bring, fostering autonomy and responsibility. The final component, often overlooked yet equally crucial, is preparing your home for your return. Coming back to clear countertops, empty bins, clean dishes and completed laundry transforms the end of your holiday from a dreaded return to responsibilities into a comfortable transition back to home life. I even prepare a frozen meal ready to heat upon our return, eliminating the immediate need for grocery shopping when everyone's tired from traveling.
Ready to transform your next family holiday experience? Connect with me on Instagram @shes.organised and implement these strategies for your next adventure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mel (00:18):
Welcome to Beyond Organised , the podcast that helps you
simplify your life and amplifyyour purpose.
I'm Mel Schenker, life coach,speaker, founder of She's
Organised, but, more importantly, a wife and mum of four little
kids.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed, like you're constantly
juggling everything but neverquite catching up, this is the
place for you.
Here we go beyond just thetidying up and creating systems.
(00:42):
We're talking about real lifestrategies that bring order to
your life, but also we talkabout the things beyond the
organizing, the things thatreally matter, like your
parenting relationships and somuch more.
So grab your coffee and let'sdive in.
Welcome back to another episode.
(01:02):
On this one, I actually wantedto talk about something a little
one.
I actually wanted to talk aboutsomething a little different,
and I wanted to talk aboutpreparing for a holiday or
vacation and, hopefully,removing the stress in the
process.
So, as some of you may know,I've been planning a big family
trip for a little while now, andwe're about ready to head off,
(01:25):
and so I thought I would sharethe things that I've been doing
in helping me prepare for thisholiday.
So a big part of actuallygetting the most out of the
experience is what you do beforethe holiday even starts.
So, yeah, you can wing it, yeah, you can be spontaneous.
(01:47):
I mean, the holiday is aholiday after all.
But when you've got four littlekids and I'm fully aware that
this may not be a relaxingholiday for me it is still a big
family holiday nonetheless, andit is something that I'm very
excited for my kids toexperience.
We're going to be drivingacross states and, yeah, just
(02:12):
getting to some warmer weather,hopefully, and having a great
time at the beach and all ofthat as well.
So I'm just very excited, veryexcited for my kids and the
memories that they will have fortheir life.
But a big part of making surethat that goes well is in the
preparation leading up to it,the things that kids are
(02:33):
completely oblivious to.
So I want to share sort of mythree main steps to make your
holiday easier and a bit moreenjoyable.
So there, hopefully, is alittle bit of downtime for you
too.
So my first big point to make iscreate a master checklist.
So everything that's in yourhead, get it out.
(02:55):
Get it out onto a piece ofpaper, because we don't want to
have that last minute panic ofoh what if I forget this and
what if I forget that Startcreating a checklist even weeks
in advance.
I know that probably sounds abit full on, but I have started
creating this list a number ofweeks before we're set to go.
And it's all the little thingslike taking some dishwashing
(03:20):
liquid or some washing powder sothat we can do some laundry on
the way.
It's making sure we've got somerolls of toilet paper.
So when we're stopping at apublic toilet spot we've got
some toilet paper.
It's all those things that youdon't necessarily think about
when you're about to go, butit's all the things that sort of
(03:41):
pop up every now and then asthe weeks build up.
Like if you're doing a big roadtrip, you want to have things
like toilet paper.
If you're flying on the plane,you might want to have some
activities for the kids to do,some drawing or coloring and
things like that.
So we want to create thatmaster checklist to try and
avoid that panic that comes fromthinking you've forgotten
(04:05):
something important.
So I've broken up my checklistinto sort of main categories.
So I've got clothing.
Now this is across all sixpeople.
I've got the clothing, gottoiletries, things like your
travel documents or evenentertainment for your travel,
(04:26):
so it could be things like iPadsand Nintendo switches or it
could be a coloring books andDVDs.
Even so, some places that we'restaying it has a DVD player so
we might sit and watch a moviefor the night, because we don't
have the internet or technologyavailable.
(04:48):
So it's all your travel sort ofneeds in terms of entertainment
and documents, all your chargesand tech related things.
I've got that in a category.
Uh, that's pretty important,especially when you've got kids.
We've got all the snacks andmain food items in one category.
(05:12):
Kids' needs again, that's kindof in with the travel documents
and entertainment, and then allthe home prep stuff, so all the
things to prepare around thehome before we leave and for
when we come back, things likeyour fridge and your bins and
(05:33):
all of that.
I then break it down and I kindof do like a mini checklist for
each kid, just making sure I'vegot particular clothing items,
nappies, formula, all that kindof stuff for each one.
And I keep both a digitalversion and I like my paper and
pen, so I do print it out too,but I have got a digital backup
(05:54):
that I can adjust and tweak inthe lead up and then I generally
print it the day before we'reset to go, and then that way,
having a digital version, youcan use it again in the future
for future holidays that you got.
So you're not having tocompletely redo a full checklist
each time and then I put it alltogether and then, a day or two
(06:16):
before we're set to go, that'swhen I can actually start
packing and getting everythingput together and I don't really
need to start packing.
Before that I used to besomeone that would pack a week
or two before we left foranywhere because I didn't want
to forget anything, but thensome of the things I needed I'd
already packed and it was just apain.
So by having this checklist andknowing that everything is
(06:39):
covered from clothing to nappies, to washing detergent, all that
kind of stuff I then don't haveto panic that I'm not going to
pack it or have it ready in time.
So then I just pack the daybefore and have everything we
need there, because then there'sless likely to actually pull
out again something that wemight need.
So that is sort of the mainthing having that master
(07:02):
checklist and covering sort ofthose main categories and you
can have whatever categorieswork for you.
They're just sort of the mainthings that work for me.
So again, the clothing, thetoiletries, travel documents and
entertainment, all your techand charges, snacks and food
Individually.
I set aside kids' needs in aseparate list.
(07:24):
It might have all the samethings as everything else, but
just making sure that I've gotthat covered and your home prep
got that covered and your homeprep.
So my next bit of advice thatmight help is I batch and
delegate tasks.
So batch all the thingstogether.
That can save me time andenergy in the lead up so I might
(07:48):
do a bigger laundry batch.
So, as many of you are aware, Isort of do one to two loads of
washing a day to just keep ontop of it.
But when I know we've got aholiday coming up, I kind of
speed track all the washing inthe last few days to make sure
all the kids stuff is done, eventhe sheets and towels and stuff
(08:08):
.
So when we come back everythingis clean and ready to go.
The last thing you want to dowhen you come back from a
holiday is have a whole pile ofwashing that you need to get
through because you're alreadygoing to be adding to that from
the stuff you've had on yourholiday.
So I want to try and cleareverything before we go, within
reason.
Sometimes there's towels orsheets that aren't that
(08:31):
important before you go, becausewhen you come back you've still
got other towels and sheets youcan use.
So still be wise with your time.
But I do like to batch taskstogether and I like to try and
smash out as much as I can inthe particular category.
So things like your laundry,but also your shopping.
I want to get snacks andsupplies before we go because
(08:53):
chances are once we're alreadyon the road or you're traveling
overseas, sometimes you'relimited with what you can take
if you're doing internationalflights and things like that.
But take what you can in thelead up so then you're not
stressing having to find a shopor particular items at your
(09:13):
destination or on the road.
So you want to try and plan andprepare and have what you need,
because sometimes things gowrong.
Sometimes you might get a flattire or I think it takes you a
lot longer to get there becausemaybe it's heavy rain or storms
have delayed a flight oranything can come up.
So if you can prepare to havefood and water and supplies that
(09:39):
you need before you leave, itcan potentially save a bigger
headache down the track.
I also print and save all mytravel documents and everything
in one go.
So for this particular tripwe're not flying, we are driving
across states and everything.
It's a very big drive andanyone that knows Australia our
country is huge so to even driveacross states it's going to
(10:04):
take us days.
But it is exciting because weare doing a lot of little stops
along the way and I've got allthe parks and playgrounds
prepared and the differentplaces we're staying at, which
is pretty much kid friendly, soit's going to be fantastic for
them.
But I've got all that printedout ready to go of the addresses
of all the places we're stayingand even the parks we want to
(10:25):
play at along the way.
I've got it all in a document,all printed out ready to go, but
even certain activities thatwe're doing, like theme parks
and whatever.
I've got that all sorted outtoo.
So having everything that youneed in one space is great.
Now you don't have to print itout like me.
Like I said, I like to have thephysical copies.
(10:47):
I also have a digital backup,but you might want to keep
everything digitally.
If you know, you've got accessto internet where you're going.
It's good to have that in,maybe in a digital file on your
phone or on your computer orsomething like that delegating.
So yeah, I could carry thewhole load and yes, I could
probably get it all done and itwill be efficient and good.
(11:10):
But I also want the kids tolearn something out of this too.
I want them to be involved inthe things that they're taking
and also involved in culling outsome of the things they want to
take, because no doubt theywill want to take everything,
including the kitchen sink.
But that is not reasonable,particularly when we're going in
(11:33):
a car and there's very limitedspace, or even if you're flying
and you've got limited weight.
You do have to be reasonablewith things.
But I want them to be part oftaking specific toys or books,
things that are important tothem along the way.
One of my boys he said hereally wants to take his pillow,
even though everywhere we'regoing has a pillow provided, he
(11:55):
still really wants to take hispillow and that's fine.
My other one wants to take hisblanket.
That's fine.
So it's just having them part ofthe process and not making all
the decisions for everyone, butlet them be part of it, and
sometimes that still means youhave to help them pack, because
maybe you're teaching them howto pack because this might be
(12:16):
one of the first time to doing afamily trip and they're old
enough to learn.
So it might still take a littlewhile.
But if your kids are old enoughand they know how to pack their
own bags and that, teach themthat.
But also teach them that ifthey forget something that's on
them, you're not necessarilygoing to be going out and buying
a whole lot of new stuff.
So make sure they follow thelist of pants and t-shirts and
(12:41):
underwear and everything elsethat they need so they're not
missing anything as well.
And then you can do what I doand probably just go through and
double check, before it is timeto go, all these other things
that are more adult typeresponsibilities.
Maybe your partner can handleit, so you can focus on the
things maybe around the home.
So then your partner can handlethings like pets and insurance
(13:02):
and all the other things thatisn't fun to do but necessary to
organize before you go.
Now, one thing that I know I'mgoing to have to deal with when
it's time for us to go is I'mgoing to have to let go of the
way that I would usually dothings to allow for my kids to
learn in this process, and thatgood enough is good enough.
It doesn't need to haveeverything completely packed in
(13:24):
tightly and everything like that, but the main thing is actually
being mindful of what we'retaking, not overpacking, but
making sure we've got theessentials of everything that we
need.
And sometimes, you know, divideand conquer can prove to be
better in the long run, soyou're not having to take on the
full load.
Now the third main part, andsomething I find equally
(13:47):
important to the holiday itself,is preparing your return.
There is nothing like thatfeeling of when you've been away
for a while, to coming home,coming home to a clean home, to
your own bed, with clean, freshsheets and everything sort of in
(14:08):
its place, and you can just sitdown and relax.
And, yes, you'll get to thewashing that needs to get done
and all this other stuff thatcomes from the holiday.
But your benches are clear,your dishes are done like, the
bins are empty, everything isreset, ready to go.
That is such a lovely feeling,but I'm sure there are plenty of
(14:32):
you that haven't really had achance to experience that
properly, maybe in your adultlives, since you're the one
that's in charge of the home,and in the lead up to going on a
holiday, you might be panickingand stressing, just trying to
get everything packed.
And you've still got thingslying around.
Okay, maybe the dishes are done, but you didn't get a chance to
(14:54):
go through and sort all thewashing out and everything else
before you left, and so you comehome to piles of things still
waiting to be done.
That's not a pleasant feeling.
The last thing you want is, whenyour holiday is ending to dread
coming home.
You want to enjoy coming hometoo.
So, yeah, the biggest stress isgenerally not wanting to come
(15:18):
home because you've got stuffyou need to do.
So we want to reset before wego.
We want to make sure that yourbenches, countertops are all
clear, your entryway is clear,so the first thing you see when
you come in it's not stuff thathasn't been dealt with.
Still, you want to make sureyour dishes are done, clean, put
(15:40):
away before you go.
Ideally, you want to make sureall your rubbish is out of the
house and done, because,especially if you're away for a
few weeks, if you've got rubbishstill sitting in the bins, it's
probably going to stink by thetime you come home and you do
not want to be overpowered bysmell from things that have been
rotting or, yeah, just gross.
(16:01):
And you want to make sure thatit's relatively tidy when you
come back and your laundry andeverything is put away.
Your washing isn't piled up.
You want to try and get on topof that and it might mean extra
loads of extra washing beforeyou go, but you want to make
sure that is done.
You want to make sure as wellthat you've got a meal that's
(16:23):
frozen, perhaps that's ready togo when you come back, that you
can come out, you can defrostand heat up and it's done.
You don't need to be scramblingaround trying to find food when
you've got probably no bread ormilk or any staples in the
house are particularlyperishable things because you've
been away for a while.
You want to have a meal that'sready to go, that you can heat
(16:43):
up, you can eat and you can dealwith the groceries later.
And if anyone's been lookingafter your home while you're
gone, you want to make sure thatthey know how to look after the
place properly, how to run thedishwasher, how to use the
washing machine and all of thatand you don't want to have your
stuff around if they're going tobe using it for their stuff.
(17:04):
But you also want to set thatexpectation that when you come
back, you would like to see thehouse how you left it clean, or
even better than how you left itideally, especially if you're
paying them.
So maybe even having a littlegift there as well, just as an
extra thank you even if you'repaying them to stay, it would be
good to just have that extrapresent there available to thank
(17:27):
them.
So my main tips and takeawayswhen you're preparing for a
holiday or vacation is to have amaster checklist to batch and
delegate your tasks, to be moreefficient with your time and
energy and to prepare for yourreturn energy and to prepare for
(17:50):
your return.
So I hope that this helped youfor your next holiday when you
come, to set something up thatyou can prepare a little bit
better and not feel frazzledwhen it's time to go and not
dread when it's time to comehome.
So if you've got any questionsabout this, feel free to reach
out.
I'm more than happy to answerany questions you've got and if
I've got a lot coming through,I'll do another episode down the
(18:12):
track to help answer them.
So thank you for listening andI look forward to talking to you
soon.
If you loved this episode,don't forget to hit subscribe so
you don't miss what's comingnext.
And if you want to continue theconversation, you can connect
with me on Instagram at @shes.
organised, or, for some freeresources, head over to
beyondorganised.
com/ toolkit.
(18:33):
Remember, organising is a toolto live the purposeful life
beyond it.
See you next time.
Welcome to Beyond Organised , the podcast that helps you
simplify your life and amplifyyour purpose.
I'm Mel Schenker, life coach,speaker, founder of She's
Organised, but, more importantly, a wife and mum of four little
kids.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed, like you're constantly
juggling everything but neverquite catching up, this is the
place for you.
Here we go beyond just thetidying up and creating systems.
(00:42):
We're talking about real lifestrategies that bring order to
your life, but also we talkabout the things beyond the
organizing, the things thatreally matter, like your
parenting relationships and somuch more.
So grab your coffee and let'sdive in.
Welcome back to another episode.
(01:02):
On this one, I actually wantedto talk about something a little
one.
I actually wanted to talk aboutsomething a little different,
and I wanted to talk aboutpreparing for a holiday or
vacation and, hopefully,removing the stress in the
process.
So, as some of you may know,I've been planning a big family
trip for a little while now, andwe're about ready to head off,
(01:25):
and so I thought I would sharethe things that I've been doing
in helping me prepare for thisholiday.
So a big part of actuallygetting the most out of the
experience is what you do beforethe holiday even starts.
So, yeah, you can wing it, yeah, you can be spontaneous.
(01:47):
I mean, the holiday is aholiday after all.
But when you've got four littlekids and I'm fully aware that
this may not be a relaxingholiday for me it is still a big
family holiday nonetheless, andit is something that I'm very
excited for my kids toexperience.
We're going to be drivingacross states and, yeah, just
(02:12):
getting to some warmer weather,hopefully, and having a great
time at the beach and all ofthat as well.
So I'm just very excited, veryexcited for my kids and the
memories that they will have fortheir life.
But a big part of making surethat that goes well is in the
preparation leading up to it,the things that kids are
(02:33):
completely oblivious to.
So I want to share sort of mythree main steps to make your
holiday easier and a bit moreenjoyable.
So there, hopefully, is alittle bit of downtime for you
too.
So my first big point to make iscreate a master checklist.
So everything that's in yourhead, get it out.
(02:55):
Get it out onto a piece ofpaper, because we don't want to
have that last minute panic ofoh what if I forget this and
what if I forget that Startcreating a checklist even weeks
in advance.
I know that probably sounds abit full on, but I have started
creating this list a number ofweeks before we're set to go.
And it's all the little thingslike taking some dishwashing
(03:20):
liquid or some washing powder sothat we can do some laundry on
the way.
It's making sure we've got somerolls of toilet paper.
So when we're stopping at apublic toilet spot we've got
some toilet paper.
It's all those things that youdon't necessarily think about
when you're about to go, butit's all the things that sort of
(03:41):
pop up every now and then asthe weeks build up.
Like if you're doing a big roadtrip, you want to have things
like toilet paper.
If you're flying on the plane,you might want to have some
activities for the kids to do,some drawing or coloring and
things like that.
So we want to create thatmaster checklist to try and
avoid that panic that comes fromthinking you've forgotten
(04:05):
something important.
So I've broken up my checklistinto sort of main categories.
So I've got clothing.
Now this is across all sixpeople.
I've got the clothing, gottoiletries, things like your
travel documents or evenentertainment for your travel,
(04:26):
so it could be things like iPadsand Nintendo switches or it
could be a coloring books andDVDs.
Even so, some places that we'restaying it has a DVD player so
we might sit and watch a moviefor the night, because we don't
have the internet or technologyavailable.
(04:48):
So it's all your travel sort ofneeds in terms of entertainment
and documents, all your chargesand tech related things.
I've got that in a category.
Uh, that's pretty important,especially when you've got kids.
We've got all the snacks andmain food items in one category.
(05:12):
Kids' needs again, that's kindof in with the travel documents
and entertainment, and then allthe home prep stuff, so all the
things to prepare around thehome before we leave and for
when we come back, things likeyour fridge and your bins and
(05:33):
all of that.
I then break it down and I kindof do like a mini checklist for
each kid, just making sure I'vegot particular clothing items,
nappies, formula, all that kindof stuff for each one.
And I keep both a digitalversion and I like my paper and
pen, so I do print it out too,but I have got a digital backup
(05:54):
that I can adjust and tweak inthe lead up and then I generally
print it the day before we'reset to go, and then that way,
having a digital version, youcan use it again in the future
for future holidays that you got.
So you're not having tocompletely redo a full checklist
each time and then I put it alltogether and then, a day or two
(06:16):
before we're set to go, that'swhen I can actually start
packing and getting everythingput together and I don't really
need to start packing.
Before that I used to besomeone that would pack a week
or two before we left foranywhere because I didn't want
to forget anything, but thensome of the things I needed I'd
already packed and it was just apain.
So by having this checklist andknowing that everything is
(06:39):
covered from clothing to nappies, to washing detergent, all that
kind of stuff I then don't haveto panic that I'm not going to
pack it or have it ready in time.
So then I just pack the daybefore and have everything we
need there, because then there'sless likely to actually pull
out again something that wemight need.
So that is sort of the mainthing having that master
(07:02):
checklist and covering sort ofthose main categories and you
can have whatever categorieswork for you.
They're just sort of the mainthings that work for me.
So again, the clothing, thetoiletries, travel documents and
entertainment, all your techand charges, snacks and food
Individually.
I set aside kids' needs in aseparate list.
(07:24):
It might have all the samethings as everything else, but
just making sure that I've gotthat covered and your home prep
got that covered and your homeprep.
So my next bit of advice thatmight help is I batch and
delegate tasks.
So batch all the thingstogether.
That can save me time andenergy in the lead up so I might
(07:48):
do a bigger laundry batch.
So, as many of you are aware, Isort of do one to two loads of
washing a day to just keep ontop of it.
But when I know we've got aholiday coming up, I kind of
speed track all the washing inthe last few days to make sure
all the kids stuff is done, eventhe sheets and towels and stuff
(08:08):
.
So when we come back everythingis clean and ready to go.
The last thing you want to dowhen you come back from a
holiday is have a whole pile ofwashing that you need to get
through because you're alreadygoing to be adding to that from
the stuff you've had on yourholiday.
So I want to try and cleareverything before we go, within
reason.
Sometimes there's towels orsheets that aren't that
(08:31):
important before you go, becausewhen you come back you've still
got other towels and sheets youcan use.
So still be wise with your time.
But I do like to batch taskstogether and I like to try and
smash out as much as I can inthe particular category.
So things like your laundry,but also your shopping.
I want to get snacks andsupplies before we go because
(08:53):
chances are once we're alreadyon the road or you're traveling
overseas, sometimes you'relimited with what you can take
if you're doing internationalflights and things like that.
But take what you can in thelead up so then you're not
stressing having to find a shopor particular items at your
(09:13):
destination or on the road.
So you want to try and plan andprepare and have what you need,
because sometimes things gowrong.
Sometimes you might get a flattire or I think it takes you a
lot longer to get there becausemaybe it's heavy rain or storms
have delayed a flight oranything can come up.
So if you can prepare to havefood and water and supplies that
(09:39):
you need before you leave, itcan potentially save a bigger
headache down the track.
I also print and save all mytravel documents and everything
in one go.
So for this particular tripwe're not flying, we are driving
across states and everything.
It's a very big drive andanyone that knows Australia our
country is huge so to even driveacross states it's going to
(10:04):
take us days.
But it is exciting because weare doing a lot of little stops
along the way and I've got allthe parks and playgrounds
prepared and the differentplaces we're staying at, which
is pretty much kid friendly, soit's going to be fantastic for
them.
But I've got all that printedout ready to go of the addresses
of all the places we're stayingand even the parks we want to
(10:25):
play at along the way.
I've got it all in a document,all printed out ready to go, but
even certain activities thatwe're doing, like theme parks
and whatever.
I've got that all sorted outtoo.
So having everything that youneed in one space is great.
Now you don't have to print itout like me.
Like I said, I like to have thephysical copies.
(10:47):
I also have a digital backup,but you might want to keep
everything digitally.
If you know, you've got accessto internet where you're going.
It's good to have that in,maybe in a digital file on your
phone or on your computer orsomething like that delegating.
So yeah, I could carry thewhole load and yes, I could
probably get it all done and itwill be efficient and good.
(11:10):
But I also want the kids tolearn something out of this too.
I want them to be involved inthe things that they're taking
and also involved in culling outsome of the things they want to
take, because no doubt theywill want to take everything,
including the kitchen sink.
But that is not reasonable,particularly when we're going in
(11:33):
a car and there's very limitedspace, or even if you're flying
and you've got limited weight.
You do have to be reasonablewith things.
But I want them to be part oftaking specific toys or books,
things that are important tothem along the way.
One of my boys he said hereally wants to take his pillow,
even though everywhere we'regoing has a pillow provided, he
(11:55):
still really wants to take hispillow and that's fine.
My other one wants to take hisblanket.
That's fine.
So it's just having them part ofthe process and not making all
the decisions for everyone, butlet them be part of it, and
sometimes that still means youhave to help them pack, because
maybe you're teaching them howto pack because this might be
(12:16):
one of the first time to doing afamily trip and they're old
enough to learn.
So it might still take a littlewhile.
But if your kids are old enoughand they know how to pack their
own bags and that, teach themthat.
But also teach them that ifthey forget something that's on
them, you're not necessarilygoing to be going out and buying
a whole lot of new stuff.
So make sure they follow thelist of pants and t-shirts and
(12:41):
underwear and everything elsethat they need so they're not
missing anything as well.
And then you can do what I doand probably just go through and
double check, before it is timeto go, all these other things
that are more adult typeresponsibilities.
Maybe your partner can handleit, so you can focus on the
things maybe around the home.
So then your partner can handlethings like pets and insurance
(13:02):
and all the other things thatisn't fun to do but necessary to
organize before you go.
Now, one thing that I know I'mgoing to have to deal with when
it's time for us to go is I'mgoing to have to let go of the
way that I would usually dothings to allow for my kids to
learn in this process, and thatgood enough is good enough.
It doesn't need to haveeverything completely packed in
(13:24):
tightly and everything like that, but the main thing is actually
being mindful of what we'retaking, not overpacking, but
making sure we've got theessentials of everything that we
need.
And sometimes, you know, divideand conquer can prove to be
better in the long run, soyou're not having to take on the
full load.
Now the third main part, andsomething I find equally
(13:47):
important to the holiday itself,is preparing your return.
There is nothing like thatfeeling of when you've been away
for a while, to coming home,coming home to a clean home, to
your own bed, with clean, freshsheets and everything sort of in
(14:08):
its place, and you can just sitdown and relax.
And, yes, you'll get to thewashing that needs to get done
and all this other stuff thatcomes from the holiday.
But your benches are clear,your dishes are done like, the
bins are empty, everything isreset, ready to go.
That is such a lovely feeling,but I'm sure there are plenty of
(14:32):
you that haven't really had achance to experience that
properly, maybe in your adultlives, since you're the one
that's in charge of the home,and in the lead up to going on a
holiday, you might be panickingand stressing, just trying to
get everything packed.
And you've still got thingslying around.
Okay, maybe the dishes are done, but you didn't get a chance to
(14:54):
go through and sort all thewashing out and everything else
before you left, and so you comehome to piles of things still
waiting to be done.
That's not a pleasant feeling.
The last thing you want is, whenyour holiday is ending to dread
coming home.
You want to enjoy coming hometoo.
So, yeah, the biggest stress isgenerally not wanting to come
(15:18):
home because you've got stuffyou need to do.
So we want to reset before wego.
We want to make sure that yourbenches, countertops are all
clear, your entryway is clear,so the first thing you see when
you come in it's not stuff thathasn't been dealt with.
Still, you want to make sureyour dishes are done, clean, put
(15:40):
away before you go.
Ideally, you want to make sureall your rubbish is out of the
house and done, because,especially if you're away for a
few weeks, if you've got rubbishstill sitting in the bins, it's
probably going to stink by thetime you come home and you do
not want to be overpowered bysmell from things that have been
rotting or, yeah, just gross.
(16:01):
And you want to make sure thatit's relatively tidy when you
come back and your laundry andeverything is put away.
Your washing isn't piled up.
You want to try and get on topof that and it might mean extra
loads of extra washing beforeyou go, but you want to make
sure that is done.
You want to make sure as wellthat you've got a meal that's
(16:23):
frozen, perhaps that's ready togo when you come back, that you
can come out, you can defrostand heat up and it's done.
You don't need to be scramblingaround trying to find food when
you've got probably no bread ormilk or any staples in the
house are particularlyperishable things because you've
been away for a while.
You want to have a meal that'sready to go, that you can heat
(16:43):
up, you can eat and you can dealwith the groceries later.
And if anyone's been lookingafter your home while you're
gone, you want to make sure thatthey know how to look after the
place properly, how to run thedishwasher, how to use the
washing machine and all of thatand you don't want to have your
stuff around if they're going tobe using it for their stuff.
(17:04):
But you also want to set thatexpectation that when you come
back, you would like to see thehouse how you left it clean, or
even better than how you left itideally, especially if you're
paying them.
So maybe even having a littlegift there as well, just as an
extra thank you even if you'repaying them to stay, it would be
good to just have that extrapresent there available to thank
(17:27):
them.
So my main tips and takeawayswhen you're preparing for a
holiday or vacation is to have amaster checklist to batch and
delegate your tasks, to be moreefficient with your time and
energy and to prepare for yourreturn energy and to prepare for
(17:50):
your return.
So I hope that this helped youfor your next holiday when you
come, to set something up thatyou can prepare a little bit
better and not feel frazzledwhen it's time to go and not
dread when it's time to comehome.
So if you've got any questionsabout this, feel free to reach
out.
I'm more than happy to answerany questions you've got and if
I've got a lot coming through,I'll do another episode down the
(18:12):
track to help answer them.
So thank you for listening andI look forward to talking to you
soon.
If you loved this episode,don't forget to hit subscribe so
you don't miss what's comingnext.
And if you want to continue theconversation, you can connect
with me on Instagram at @shes.
organised, or, for some freeresources, head over to
beyondorganised.
com/ toolkit.
(18:33):
Remember, organising is a toolto live the purposeful life
beyond it.
See you next time.
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