Traveling To Do's!

Nope, didn't fall off the face of the earth.  I am here.  And well, very well!  Why?  Because I just returned from a fabulous vacation getaway!  The hubster and I took a vacation out to Cali, which I am hoping is a future home state of mine.... IHeart it there, much more so than this cold and frigid climate I currently reside in.

And no, I didn't share the good news with y'all before I packed up and hit the road air.  I didn't want to make CNN Headline news that I was out of town, so all the crazies could stalk the humble homestead, so I kept it a little secret.  However, I did realize that being organized, is all so important when it comes to travel.  So I thought I would quickly share a couple of ways to leave with ease, and not pull a Home Alone moment, and scream "KEVIN!" while aboard the airplane.

First, I created a simple checklist to keep me in line while preparing our vaca:

This list was just what we needed to ensure we weren't forgetting to shut down the house (a couple of money saving To Do's in there), or forgetting the all important cosmetics and clothing (being without socks could cause for an unnecessary pit stop upon arrival, losing valuable beach time!)  And of course, I left room to write in extra info in as I thought of it, and then just making sure that if I did add anything, that I remember to update the list for the next go around.

After making my checklist, and grabbing the suitcase, I realized with didn't have a bag label!  Uh oh spaghettio-oh's!  But not to fear, making one is as easy as pie, so that's just what I did!

Using Microsoft Excel, I made a quick address label template (example shown below):

And then for protection through baggage check at the airport, I decided to thicken it up and laminate it, so I printed it out on cardstock and then also matted it with some scrapbook paper:

 

Then stuck it through the best invention ever:

 

And then cut it out and punched a hole in the top:

 

Found some cute ribbon and triple knotted it through the zipper!  And that was it!  

 

And surprisingly, it looks just as good today as it did the day we left!  It made it through the hard life of a suitcase without any problemas.

And because of my handy "To Do" checklist, my bff "Love Cactus" got watered before we left, so it was still looking amazing when we returned!

  

 What about you guys?  What do you do to ensure all goes smoothly when taking a little time away from the daily grind?  Any tricks up the sleeve to share?

Oh, and not to worry, I didn't forget what month it is, Kitchen month!  I have some ideas ready to share!  Anything you are hoping to get out of me during Kitchen month?  Submit your questions to: iheartorganizing@gmail.com!  (I already received one Q&A from a reader regarding kid's and Tupperware cupboards, so stay tuned!)