Holiday Checklist/Hacks

[packedlunches]

Going away in a few weeks (abroad, by plane)

Not been away for several years and feel a bit stressed about all the things I need to do before going.

Wondering if anyone has any good holiday hacks? Or just a checklist of what I need to do/take? My brain is just refusing to work it out.

Give yourself a time limit to get packed in.

Check passports
apply for visas
double check flights
medication
esssentials for kids - toys/blankets/dummy
sun creams
extension chord for chargers / charging wires
Money.

Clothes should be last - but pack things you dont need between now and then

I wouldn't say it's a hack but I go away a lot, and consider myself reasonably organised. I have a plastic wallet into which I put passports and print outs of necessary forms. So, last month I printed out my covid pass, my boarding tickets and my hotel vouchers ( I also had them on my phone, but wanted to be extra careful).

Regarding clothes, I mentally walk through the holiday ( roughly !). So, what time do you fly, will it be cold leaving the UK, etc. And what time do you land ? If it's cold leaving and warm arriving, I wear leggings, a simple dress and a cardigan for example. Then when I get there, I can take the cardigan off. When I arrive at my hotel, I put these clothes in a bag, to travel home in.

For clothes, I put what I want on the bed, then I half it. I only take what I know I will wear ( I tend to take old favourites), and items that double up. I wore my shirt dresses a lot on my last holiday.

Toiletries I don't take many as I always carry my bag on. I take minimal make up as I don't wear it much on holiday. I tend to buy in the airport things like shampoo and suntan lotion, etc. Or buy there when I do my day 1 supermarket shop.

Write a list. I swear by lists!
Hope I haven't rambled on too much.
Enjoy your holiday !

All really helpful - thanks so much!

I think the added covid pass/tests and the current airport chaos has just left me overwhelmed!

Following as I am feeling a bit the same having not flown for a while

@packedlunches , try not to worry too much about the airport chaos. In a few weeks it may well be getting back to normal - ish.
My ds has just come back from France and he had no problems going or coming back. I'm not saying this means there aren't problems, but try not to worry. Just be prepared.

For future reference, several years ago I started a new notepad and created a list, checked off what I actually packed Vs what I planned, and added what I wish I'd packed when I was away.

Each holiday I refer to the previous list, or a similar holiday list, for inspiration. My packing ability improves each time, but also it was so useful to have after a three year break from foreign travel.

We have a Things To Do section (empty fridge, give neighbour keys etc) and a
Last Minute section (toothbrush, pills, slippers etc)

Roll those clothes. Roll everything.

Can I ask people what they do re beach towels?
Buy them when you get there
Take with you, do you have super light ones?

Only take enough toiletries that you'll actually need, i.e. pack half a tin of deodorant, half a shower gel, half a shampoo, etc. A few weeks before, when you get to half of whatever you're using (or a quarter or whatever you think), put it aside ready to be packed. It reduces the weight of your luggage and reduces waste (you don't need to leave partly used toiletries at the end of the holiday).

I don't take a beach towel anymore - we just take one from hotel. But in the past I would just pack it in the bottom of the case flat.

A comprehensive file with firstly a printed list to work though at home - car fuel/oil level/tyre pressures/stop cock / house heating settings /spare key /tell trusty friend or neighbour etc. You feel calm and in control once you have worked through it.

A second file list with packing notes for the specific type of destination (UK/overseas sporty/or sightseeing)

Packing cubes - with a list against the physical activities you will be doing / yoga/sailing/city walking/or dressy

Crocs - ugly (maybe) but lightweight and can cover so many activities - in the shower/washrooms/poolside/beach walking/city walking/over rocks and to go in the sea in any terrain.

microfibre beach towels/sarong - Decathlon do bathsheet size, lightweight, compact, brilliant

Rucksack and beach bags - pre packed at home with all contents you need - to just unpack at destination and literally go

Turkish towel, multi functional.

Cosmetics in a cheap ASDA sandwich box - literally unpack and place in bathroom

Another similarplastic box for bedside essentials (tablets/alarm clock/nailfiles/pen)

Finally, for the adventurous, a polyester print sarong so you can sea swim at a moments notice literally anywhere that takes your fancy….no swimsuit, no knicks, literally just the sarong. …..and literally no one ever notices.
(……alas not for doing tumble-turns in the pool though)

I would also have a list on your phone so add to it as soon as anything pops into your head.
sun cream sun glasses medication - headache tablets, plasters, safety pins, all the things that might come in handy

Have a list to pack the morning of leaving - stuff that you can't pack until that day: glasses/toothbrush/kid's special bears.

Some great ideas - thanks again,

I like the various different lists ideas. Especially one for the morning of departure.

What do you do with the stop cock out of interest?

1. Turn of water/electricity/gas before you leave.
2. If you want to look good for your trip and wear high-heels make sure you pack sth comfortable too and carry it with you (sth like trainers)
3. Take earplugs (very handy loud kids)
4. If you're going to a "cool" place just buy cool stuff there: shampoo, shower gel (even the cheapest one smells amazing when bought abroad haha!)
5. I always take a book to read on the plane but then usually end up reading a magazine I've bought at airport unless it's a long flight! If it's a short flight leave the heavy books at home.
6. Take a couple snacks with you (if sth happens and you end up stuck inside the plane you'll thank your lucky stars) and buy a drink at the airport you can take with you.
7. Are you travelling to somewhere suuuper far away and are you landing at ungodly hours? I always pack sth to drink and hide it my suitcase. It has saved me from drinking tap water at 2am (and ending up in hospital like a few people I know...) or paying over 10 quid for water. I also pack cookies (only enough to stop you from starving until the morning if needs be). This is for emergencies only so keep it light.
8. Electric plug converter - it's always easy/cheaper to buy at home than abroad. Only one is enough!
9. Roll, roll, roll your clothes. You'll be able to fit twice as much. Roll them on the way home so you pack all the stuff you've bought on holiday.
10. If I'm going somewhere reeeeeeally far away I'll likely want to buy lots of stuff so I often pack an extra duffle bag inside my bigger bag (it really depends on the destination obviously).
11. Beach towels... Mine are extra long and usually they're really hard/expensive to buy. I'd take the big ones for the adults and buy for the kids (the ones with the country name) if I can afford it. I don't like taking the hotel ones because I don't want to be charged to stains on (usually white) towels.
12. Pack a cardigan/deodorant with you.
13. Makeup (the tiny expensive stuff) you should take with you.
14. Don't bother buying those belts you get from Boots to keep the suitcase closed.
15. I have a fanny pack for money/ cards from Samsonite. Got it from TKMaxx.
16. I also have this pouch that I can wear around the neck. I keep it in my backpack for passports and stuff like that. It might be handy at some point, personally I like to buy fancy earrings and rings.
17. Take you sunglasses with you.
18. I have a lot of keys in my handbag. Before leaving I always take out the extra ones and I also have a look at what else I can leave behind (I'm messy though).
19. I always take emergency money with me (I'm always worried about bank cards not working for some reason). In my head this money should be enough to pay for meals for a couple of days.
20. Take a camera for photos with a memory card or more (if kids are coming).
21. Depending on where I'm going I like to take a harddrive I can plug in to the tv to keep everybody entertained for a while.
22. Pack duct tape (I like the painters type). If you're like me and you buy shampoo, potions and lotions you can wrap it around all the lids before flying back.

Preparation chores always take longer to do than you think they will.

Make a list of things you need to do and when you need to do them by eg drop spare keys to neighbour. pack main items, print off hotel info, etc.

Then move everything on your list forward by at least one day.

Turn of water/electricity/gas before you leave.

Genuine question but how would you turn off the gas and electricity supply? Can't say it would cross my mind but that's partly as we leave timer lights on

We go away 4 times a year (usually UK holidays) plus extra over bank holidays,, we have never turned anything off, OH is obsessed with leaving lights on to 'deter burglaries' (lol)

I certainly wouldn't turn off electricity - everything in your freezer would go off.

@Oceanus
point 14.
depends.
we have 2 brightly coloured belts for our 2 cases.
not to keep them closed but to identify the cases on the luggage belt !

@tanstaafl Regarding belts: that's mosly what I used them for too but I've seen them holding my suitcase by one, which probably explains why they've ended up broken or missing! Now I just tie a red/orange string to the handle so it's easier/cheaper to find my suitcase.
@TeenPlusCat and @blue421
Tips aren't set in stone, we all do things differently and we also adjust to each situation/context.... If I went away for a weekend I probably wouldn't bother with much but if I'm going for a week or more, I'll make sure to turn off stuff like portable heaters (which I once actually left turned on for a week and fortunately only melted a button) or the gas boiler.
As for turning everything else off it depends how long I'm going away for! I turn off gas (I have a main valve to turn it on/off), for water I turn off the main tap (the one you turn off when you have a burst pipe, not the kitchen sink tap). If I'm leaving electricity on, I turn off the rest in the main board (I don't go around unplugging everything). I'm also not loaded so I try to keep the electricity bill down whenever I can, so that I'll feel less guilty when buying random crap on holiday...

This is such a great tip as I hate the last minute rush of trying to organise all this! I used to sneer at people who started packing a week in advance but I've now realised that it's actually a major stress reducing task.