I’m a list maker, folks. Whether it’s a quick jaunt to the grocery store or Target, a weekend road trip or a couple of weeks abroad, I’ve got to make a list ‘to-dos’ and ‘to-brings’ before I can rest easy that all is well. If I don’t organize myself with this way, I usually have a quiet and persistent feeling that something is missing or awry. And I’m usually right.

So last year when one of my neighbor/friends casually showed me a list that she works off of when planning trips, the committed list-maker in me virtually lit up. It’s basically a spreadsheet with rows where you fill in the fixed items for clothing, toiletries, medications, etc., and columns that you can use to check off as you go. That’s it!  You can also change the rows and columns, based on the specific needs of each trip, but a lot of the categories stay the same. I was so impressed with her system that I replicated it and made a few enhancements of my own. This time around, it worked really well to keep me and Baby organized for a trip down to Georgia to visit family for Christmas. Hubby’s needs are usually very simple, so I didn’t bother including a column for him. I know it’s too late for the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday travel rush, but if you’re planning another out-of-town jaunt soon, you might find that this comes in handy. It’s just a partial list, to give you an idea of how everything is organized.

Enjoy!