FREE Personalized Packing Checklist Reduces Travel Stress
A personalized packing checklist is key
As time went on, everyone would typically ask how many days and what are the temperatures. That helps and takes care of what to wear but the problem remained. Every trip would bring a “Mom, where is my…?” moment. It was no longer someone being without a change of clothes. Usually it was worse. It never failed that the missing item was something really important like medicine, contact lenses, or just a favorite toy. In time, I was able to determine several categories which these forgotten items belonged in. And because each person’s “must-haves” differed, the key was creating a personalized packing checklist for each individual.
Most frequently forgotten items fall into 6 categories
- Travel documents
- Trip specific gear
- Clothing essentials – (I mean you, underwear)
- Toiletries
- Medicine – (particularly prescriptions)
- Gadgets, electronics and favorites
Travel documents are always #1 on our list. Leaving an ID or passport behind will stop a trip cold. We are a pretty active, adventurous family, so we often need specific gear depending on our destination (hiking boots, mountain bike pads, and helmets). Next comes clothing essentials which defaults on our list to include underwear and socks. These have been forgotten repeatedly by even the adults and are just a pain to have to wash out and dry…or purchase at inflated prices at our destination (like the boxer shorts from the theme park). The toiletry basics and medicine are pretty self explanatory. One word of warning, if you forget a prescription when traveling abroad, it is a VERY labor intensive process to get it filled. Also, I must confess I still pack pain relief, stomach aids, and diarrhea medicine to cover us all. Someone ALWAYS needs it. Finally, the list of gadgets and electronics. When our children were younger, this also included toys or “favorite (fill in the blank). This category has produced the most tears over our many years of travel.
Update once a year for each family member
Once we came up with a pretty standard list of items which were frequently forgotten (and hard to replace) each person got their own copy of the personalized packing checklist (a page with each category and space for their personalized must-haves). The lists are stored as PDF files or JPG images and either printed out or sent to phones. Each person is responsible for making sure they pack what they need. Because these items remain pretty consistent, the only thing to think about is how many days and what kind of weather. When you travel frequently like we do, the packing checklist is such a time-saver.
Get a FREE copy of our Personalized Packing Checklist
Here is a link to the exact personalized packing checklist we use. We’ll send it to you for FREE. You can use our categories or make your own. Print out one for each person. Then fill them out and either keep it on paper or save it virtually. Remind everyone to look at it before finishing their packing. Now you, too, can put an end to “Mom, where is my…?“
Happy Traveling!
