Our family is pulling out in 3 days and we have all kinds of loose ends to tie up. Why am I posting this here on the ole blog? Well...I thought this might help get my fanny moving and perhaps posting this list will provide some sort of incentive to get things done sooner rather than later. It's worth a shot.
Before leaving for vacation we must...
Clean the house. If we keep up our daily cleaning the house shouldn't require too much attention before we go but I do like to leave behind a clean house. I have a more relaxing vacation if I know all my housework was finished before I left. That's just me.
Make reservations for boarding the dog. I so wish I had a dog sitter but I haven't found one yet so for now when we travel we board the dog at our vet's office. First thing in the morning I better call and make reservations for her.
Mail two birthday gifts. We have two birthday gifts to mail for September birthdays. Waiting until we return would make these gifts really late so I've got to get this done before we leave.
Make a detailed meal plan. The kids, the hubs, and I have been working on this and it's actually fun. We are planning out our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for each day. Oh, and desserts!
Buy food. One of the children and myself will be making a HUGE shopping trip to the store before departure day to buy food for the trip. This means we need an organized plan and a detailed list.
Pay bills. Pay-day is coming at the end of the week and before we can hit the road I need to pay all of the bills. Can't risk waiting til we get home. I might forget one that is due now or we might spend too much while we are away. After the bills are paid it's easy to see how
Make arrangements for cat and mail. I've got a dear neighbor I trade mail pickup and cat sitting with. We help each other out when our families travel. I do however need to check with her to make sure she is able to pick-up the mail and feed the cat while we are gone.
Do all the laundry. If you could see my laundry room right now you would probably faint. I've shown it to you before but it's even worse right now. How can this be? I truly do not know. However, all of that laundry must be washed up before we can head out of town so IF I have to pull an all nighter...so be it.
Pack suitcases. My system for packing is always to pack the suitcases as I am folding the clean laundry to put away. I will be setting up suitcase row starting tomorrow. I'm packing as light as possible and doing a load or two of laundry while we are away. Of my six sweet babes, 3 pack for themselves and 3 need my help. My husband does his own packing (providing I have all of his stuff washed up and ready).
Wash the van. This is a job for the men and they usually enjoy doing it. It's probably silly but we like to clean our vehicle really well before we go out of town. Yes it's going to get dirty and possibly trashed but we like to start out with it nice and clean. It needs a good wash, vacuum, and window cleaning.
Borrow boogie boards. My sweet friend has offered us her family's boards, I just don't want to forget to go get them!
Do pedicures for my daughter and myself. I hope to give DIY pedicures to my daughter(s) and myself before we go. It ranks a little low on the priority list but it would be a great special treat. Visiting the salon is not in the budget right now but doing it myself is alright with me!
Give Colin a haircut. This boy's hair grows like wild fire and he likes it super, duper short! He is asking me for a haircut about once a week...or at least it seems that way. Naturally he wants a trim before we go and again it's a DIY for me. Saves lots of $$$.
Return library books. Good grief. We should have already done this but our books MUST be returned to the library ASAP. Definitely before we go out of town.
Buy some underwear. I'll be polite and not say who, but there are some men in our family living holy lives and it's not all about the Lord. It's time for some new drawers.
Take a meal to friends. Before I leave I'm taking a meal to some friends of ours. The Mama is having surgery the day before we leave and I want to take a meal to them to help out a little.
Exchange some shorts. Why I don't make those boys try on their stuff? UGH...
Pack games, cards, stroller, playpen, highchair, etc. All of these items must be strategically loaded into the van before we depart.
Pack food into coolers. All of that food we are going to buy is traveling with us so I will need to creatively pack it into coolers to prevent spoilage. This will take a little time but is SO worth it. We save money by eating in instead of out.
Pack chairs, towels, and beach blanket. I need to do a little inventory here because it's been a few years since we traveled to the beach. We need to take several chairs, a beach blanket and plenty of towels and it will be my job to see to it that all of those items make it into the van.
Buy sunscreen. I realized today that we have very little sunscreen left. We've used up what I bought at the beginning of the summer. This is an important item I need to remember to buy!
Do some baking. My daughter and I are planning to bake and prepare a few things before we go. We are hoping to make cookies, mix up some GORP, and prepare some Cowboy Caviar to take with us. My husband would like me to make a pound cake and some banana pudding and my boys want me to make them some special dip for veggies and preacher cookies and rice krispie treats. I'm not entirely sure I will get every bit of this done but I'm going to try really hard. I'm afraid to make anything too early for fear they will eat the stuff before we leave. I'll need a padlock.
Mow and weed eat. Our lawn will need some attention before we leave and this is another job for the men.
Well, there you have it. That is our to-do list for the next couple of days. The thing is, we will probably get every item checked off and then some. I guess Zig is right. I should work everyday just like I do on the day before vacation!
Have a great vacation!
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