Tag: road trips

Dealing with Re-Entry: Managing a Tired Brain

Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes I struggle with what I call Re-Entry.

Travel Luggage Chest Clipart

We are very lucky that we get to travel often to visit with family out of state. And I’ve gotten really good at the getting-ready-and-packing / coming-home-and-unpacking process over the years. But with this weekend marking the unofficial start of summer, I’m out of practice, it seems, as my brain was total mush when we got home today.

So, my first hour home was spent reminding myself how to manage Re-Entry, after a weekend away. Here’s what works for us, maybe it will work for you, too!  First things first (30 minutes):

  • (5 minutes) Unload dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. (We carry a dirty laundry bag when we travel, to facilitate that first load of laundry when we get home and also to keep any left-over clothes we’ve packed smelling fresh.)
  • (1 min) Drink a really big glass of cold water. I don’t know about you, but I always seem to arrive home from trips slightly dehydrated.
  • (5 – 10 minutes) Unload the car all the way. Yes, ALL THE WAY.
  • (10 minutes) Put away perishable food from the cooler, grab a snack or start dinner (or lunch or breakfast, depending on the clock).  Like the commercial says, You aren’t you when you’re hungry. I find it easier to manage the unloading / unpacking / putting away tasks when I’m not also famished.
  • (5 minutes) Check the snail mail box, and any voice mail messages.

The next 45-60 minutes:

  • (5 minutes) Clean up from your snack / meal.
  • (10-20 minutes) Unpack your suitcases / bags, put away clean, un-worn clothes, shoes and toiletries. Yes, AWAY.
  • (5 minutes) Put the bags / suitcases away. Yes, AWAY!
  • (10 minutes) Depending on how you manage your tech, check your emails and such, but just for emergencies.  This is not time to get work done, just to make sure there’s nothing that needs your immediate attention.
  • (10 minutes) Move that laundry through the process. I didn’t have time for cleaning on Friday, before we left town. So this afternoon, I had a mound of clean but unfolded laundry to tackle before I could move today’s laundry along.
  • Head to the grocery? That’s where I’m headed. I am loathe to get back in my car, but we need some staples for the work and school week ahead, so I’m off.
  • If you’ve been on a long road-trip, or if there was a beach involved, stop off at a car wash and give your car a wash and your rugs a vacuum.

So, there you go.  If you struggle with that first hour at home after a weekend trip, keep this list in mind. And if you happen to have helpers with the unpacking process, this list will help you delegate tasks!

Happy and Safe Travels!

Keep the Vacation Going with an Organized Re-Entry! 

Keep the Vacation Going with an Organized Re-Entry! 

Why?

A friend suggested that, for every day we’re on vacation, it takes an equal number of days to get back to normal.  If you’re gone a week, it will take a week when you get back to feel like you’re caught back up, organized, focused, productive, etc.

We travel several times a summer.  Weekends at a family lake house, trips to see friends a few states away, and destinations like Washington, DC and Philmont, NM this summer.  But using my friend’s math, if we travel 2 or 3 times a month, and the first day or two back are a struggle, we could spend a lot of time struggling.

Instead, I would love to keep that relaxed vacation feeling as long as possible, and not ruin it with the ‘just got back struggle’!  So plan ahead for your “Re-Entry”!  When you get home:

  • Unpack your car.  All the way.  Clothes, shoes, food wrappers, etc.  If you’ve been to the beach, do a quick vacuum (or have the teenager do it).
  • In my case, repack the car for your business week (i.e., put briefcase, tool kit and supplies back in my van).
  • Start a load of laundry.
  • Eat dinner.
  • Check mail and messages.
  • Unpack your bags, and put everything away.  Yes, everything.
  • Keep a running to-do list with you all the time, and add ideas for when you get home to it as you travel.

There are lots of ways to travel better, too, to make re-entry easier. 

  • Tidy up before you leave.  Nothing kills a vacation buzz quicker than coming home to a mess. 
  • For longer trips, keep a large envelope for receipts, programs / brochures / tickets from destinations, and other keepsakes, to look at later.
  • Employ a laundry bag.  We always use a dirty laundry bag or standing cloth hamper when we travel.  As we unload the car, the dirty stuff goes straight to the laundry room, while the clean items (if there are any) get unpacked and doled out to their owners to put away.
  • Leave your travel toiletry kit packed all the time.  I have a purple travel kit with all sorts of “Mom” stuff in it (first aid kit, small sewing kit, and eyeglass repair kit, etc) packed all the time.  In addition, we carry personal toiletries in a couple of Ziploc bags inside the purple kit.  Upon arrival home, the purple kit goes back in the closet, the Ziplocs get emptied immediately, and our stuff gets put away (at least by the next morning, when we use it all to get ready on a Monday!).
  • If you go the same place regularly, leave an empty bag in your closet or near the door to toss things for next time.  Right now, I have ready 2 bags:  1 bag of items to take to the lake house; and a bag of gifts for a big family birthday party the end of the month.   You can organize your next trip as warp up from your most recent trip.

So, organize your Re-Entry and keep the relaxed vacation feelings going!  Dedicated to my awesome accountability partner, Jan!

Wise Travel Advice From My 9-Year-Old

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road trip

A Re-post from Spring, 2013:  First in my new Travel Article Section!

This past Saturday, I took a road trip with my 8 year old, and I had time while driving to reflect on what great travelers my children are.  My new word this week is “Consistencies”, in place of “routines” or “habits”.  So I looked at what we do consistently, every day, to make traveling and really, life in general, better.

Here are some tips:

Have your kids help you pack.  At my suggestion Saturday morning, my little guy helped me pack our picnic lunch, and packed his own bag of car entertainment (my IPad, his Nintendo DS, a book and the “new” camera his uncle passed on to him recently).  Why does this help?  He knew and liked what was on the lunch menu, and didn’t need to nag me for food.  And he happily kept himself occupied during the drive, when he wasn’t busy snapping digital pictures!

Lay some travel ground rules, for you and your kids:

  1. Safety is of utmost importance.  At all times.  This is non-negotiable.  There is no brawling, moving around the van, yelling, or anything else that will distract the driver or harm others.
  2. Get in, settle down, and buckle up.  Quickly.  This, too, is non-negotiable.
  3. Throw out your garbage every time you stop.  The car will be less likely to smell like old French fries if there aren’t old French fries around.  Makes sense, right?
  4. Use the rest room whenever you are given the chance.  Woe unto the sluggish child who opts to stay in the car at a rest area and then needs a restroom 30 minutes later.
  5. Entertain yourself.  It’s not my job, or your brother’s job to give you something to do.  Pack your own fun.
  6. Don’t make us late.
  7. Clean your stuff out of my car every time we come home.  If your soccer uniform is still in my van, it is not getting washed like it should be.  And you can’t practice your band instrument if it is riding around town with me instead of at home with you.

What my fellow travelers can expect from me:

  1. Safety, at all times.
  2. I will stop at reasonable intervals for pit-stops, gas and snacks as necessary.  Inform me once if you need something, but do not nag.
  3. It is reasonable to expect from the 5 of us, ages 9-44, that we can make it to Grandma’s (2.25 hours), Grandpa’s (2.5 hours), Uncle Sean’s (3 hrs) and the cottage (2 hrs) without stopping.   Don’t expect stops, but appreciate stopping for ice cream on a whim.
  4. We will explore off the beaten track if time allows and we see something interesting (a favorite part of road trips!!).  I am a sucker for hiking and roadside produce stands, and they know it.

Some more travel advice from the 9 year old:

  • Bring a water bottle, but don’t drink it all at once.  Makes the water last longer, and you won’t need to stop so soon.
  • Chocolate car-candy melts quickly.  Starbursts, on the other hand, taste better the mushier they are (he is obviously biased toward Starbursts, but he has a point!).
  • If everyone gets different snacks at the convenience store, we can all share.
  • If you sit in the front seat next to Mom, you get to control the music choices.  I can’t wait until I’m big enough to sit up front.

Establish some of these consistencies with your family!  Happy Travels!