Up and at ‘em!

Memorial Day, and other three-day-weekends are great for being lazy…. but here’s a tip: Before you go to bed the night before, write down on a slip of paper one thing that you want to get accomplished. Make it something simple like: clean the bathroom, or weed the garden. Put this piece of paper on your bedside table.

Then, set your alarm for an hour later than usual – so you catch some holiday zzzs. The next morning, grab a cup of coffee, and do the thing that you wrote on the paper. You’ll feel like the most productive person in the world!

Then you can lay in a hammock all day -guilt free!

Time Travel

I bought this travel checklist from Knock Knock
http://www.knockknock.biz/catalog/categories/pads/classic-pads/pack-this-pad.

I’ve used it for several vacations now, and finally ready to post a review about it.

Honestly, I think it’s a little overwhelming. When I first bought the list, I was excited about the prospect of remembering every single detail of things to pack for a vacation. There are about 17 categories and  over 100 sub-categories on the list of things to pack. I don’t think there’s a single item that isn’t on the list.

Earplugs, umbrella, reading glasses… Yup. I’d be surprised if you missed a thing – with this notepad perched beside your suitcase.

Although, after using this list a couple of times – I’m starting to get annoyed. Especially last Thursday, when I was taking two duffel bags to Portland – one for my computer and books, and another for clothes. 3 days and 288 miles later,  I’ve decided I don’t need an 100 item list for every time I leave town.

I mean seriously:  pantyhose? nail polish remover?

Instead, I sat down at my computer and started typing what I really need into a Word document. Here’s what I kept:

• I like the space to list special events, because it reminds you to think about whether you need to pack clothes for special occasions – maybe your “fancy clothes” are too sexy for grandmother’s birthday party, so you should bring a cleavage-covering scarf. Or your brother always wants you to go hiking and your jogging shoes always get dirty. You can prepare in advance for occasions when you can’t run home to change clothes.
• The Local Weather section is an excellent reminder to check forecasts. You might actually need an umbrella for San Diego – or sunglasses for Portland, Oregon.

I made two separate lists – one for a weekend getaway, and another for longer vacations. I’m sure I will modify them and create new packing lists for each type of vacation. Hopefully, one for India in the next coming year!  Stay tuned…