Fess up: who has a 'packing and preparing for holiday' spreadsheet?

[WilfSell]

and would like to share it with me? and [anal retentive emoticon]

[lazy emoticon]

Of the driving to France with lots of kiddy kit kind. The kind of kit I can't possibly forget otherwise we're gonna have to drive back 800 miles or spend a HUGE amount of Euros replacing pushchairs etc.

And while I'm on... Best exchange rate gamble please? Buy some Euros now? Wait a coupla weeks? Buy em in France?

Ta. Now if you could just come over and actually DO my packing I'll lick your face.

lol at puppeymonkey

Someone with OCD really organised could create me a list pretty please, for taking one toddler and one husband to a self catering cottage in Cornwall for one week, incorporating dropping off two dogs at kennels.

Ta ever so.

Georgi - when I've transfered mine into a proper spreadsheet (as I MUST do now), I'll email it all to you!

I have no packing spreadsheet. I need to work on this. I do lists - a To Do List, and a To Pack list. Sometimes I need to do something before I can pack something, and there is a sub-list for this.

However, I do create folders of travel documents/maps/booking confirmations etc and put in the paperwork IN THE ORDER IN WHICH WE'LL NEED THEM. DH used to challenge the order I'd settled upon, but he knows better now.

I love writing things down!!

I love lists!!

It makes me feel warm, rather like weeing in the bath

Sorry WS - total hijack!!

I do have a travel document wallet, I will admit to that. DH's passport is taken from him and restored to the wallet at each relevant stage of the airport process.

We decided we can't be arsed with airport security this year, hence Cornwall.

We are off to Florida in 2 weeks and our kitchen is full of spreadsheets for various different things! Everyone takes the piss but at least I know I won't forget anything.

A spreadsheet?

I have suitcases. And clothes. A spongebags. What exactly am I going to enter on a spreadsheet?

Hassled - I also do that with the travel docs

but as for feeling warm like weeing in the bath ... nah but I do get a fuzzy feelign though!

We are going on holiday (in this country) in june I have a list on my fridge of food/toiltries etc so that each week when I go shopping I get bits for holiday (have a box to keep these in) things like washing up liquid/loo roll/ketchuip/beans/deodrant etc I think it has around 30 things on plus another list of 'fresh' bits to get day before and put in cool box.

I'll write down exactly what clothes will be needed (ie dd1 will need 7 t shirts/7 bottoms ie skirt/shorts, jeans plus swimwear, pj's underwear, evening stuff, cardigan/jacket etc repeat list for dh, me and dd2)

Thankfully now dd2 is 2 we no longer need travel cot etc as she'll just use the bed and no nappies etc as toilet trained and we'll take the buggy but bet she won't use it.

I'll also buy bucket/spades/kite/sandcastle flags etc in the pound shop here as they are always about a fiver at the beach shop

I love lists/spreadsheets etc

Anna, a spreadsheet of what needs to go in those suitcases/sponebags, things you need to do/buy before you go etc

Makes getting ready to go on holiday quick and easy and calm.

Why would you need more than one week's worth of clothing and a few books when you go on holiday? And what is spreadsheetable about that?

Ah yes, I do the passport snatching thing as well. And boarding passes.

me too with any paperwork/important documents

I am extremely quick, easy and calm when getting ready to go away - it is down to a fine art . But I have enough space in my head to remember what to do...

[[http://www.packinglistonline.com/ Packinglistonline.com

Oh fuck no,no written lists or spreadsheets here.

It gets left to me and I do it as I remember,this week I've remembered to order new passports and get my jabs sorted and book jabs for dh and children for next week.

Packing will be done 1 day before and much fretting on whether I've remembered everything.

And thanks-you've reminded me that the dog needs a kennel cough jab asap.

Has anyone used vaccuum pack things for holidays btw?

It's not just me then Anna.

I am prepared to join the madness though, there is usually a mad rush as we are trying to load the car and I would rather avoid that. If the list can make it possible I am all for it.

I used to have a brilliant list, but then someone nicked my laptop. Now top of all my lists is "back up the fecking computer!!!".

We don't do spreadsheets or even lists, there is no mad rush of any description - in fact, we tend to get to the airport/train station/Eurotunnel/whatever way ahead of our scheduled time

No spreadsheets, but I do have a whole folder full of different packing lists on my computer. Packing for UK holidays, holidays abroad, camping, work.

And the good thing about these lists is you can print them out for the dc and they can do their own packing from a very young age, ticking off as they go. I recommend this.

p.s. Get Euros from a hole in the wall wherever you are, no need to get in advance.

Maybe it's all the practice - living in more than one country almost continuously since I was 12...

DH does, bless him. Will see if I can find it.

It's a good thing he's so anal organised, it totally balances out my slapdash "just throw anything into a bag at the last minute and spend a week pissed off because you haven't got anything useful" approach.

georgimama, you can't keep the list on a kitchen noticeboard! What if you are out somewhere and remember something? I use an A5 notebook. Then you can have multiple lists, but make sure to leave a few pages in between (for additional items). And mark the starting pages with paperclips for easy reference.

Sometimes, when the list gets messy from all the crossing out, I tear out the page and re-write it.

I am so happy there are others--DH thinks I'm bonkers.