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Every time I travel, I think about all the things I need to get done before we go. It’s more than just putting together a packing list. Once you have the trip booked, think about what has to happen at home before you go. I’ve put together a pre-travel checklist that’s useful for traveling families.
This pre-travel checklist is in no particular timeline order. Instead, I organized this by where these things happen so you can go from room to room before you go to make sure everything is done.
In the Digital World
- Buy Travel Insurance – See why we use travel insurance for road trips.
- Hold the Mail
- Hold the Papers
- Check into Your Flight
- Alert your banks – some banks may freeze your card if you’re making charges out of the area. In fact, we’ve had a card frozen due to excessive gas purchases while on a road trip.
In the Kitchen
- Grocery shop for healthy snacks to travel with. Check out Healthy Snacks here.
- Clean out the fridge and pantry
- Run the dishwasher
- Unplug small appliances
- Set up grocery delivery or a meal kit delivery for your destination or your return. We’ve used Dinnerly in the past to have a meal plan with groceries delivered. Click here to get $20 off for Dinnerly Use my code AFENO10X2MENW
- Take out the trash
In the Living Room
- Adjust the thermostat – consider getting a programmable thermostat like a Nest
- Set lights on Autotimers – check out these smart plugs that you can control from anywhere.
- Unplug Televisions
In the Bedrooms & Bathrooms
- Check your prescriptions – do you have enough medicine to get you through.
- Wash Sheets and Make Beds – It’s nice to come home to a clean house.
In the Office
- Make document copies. Make copies of passports, credit cards, driver’s licenses, birth certificates.
- Print confirmations, or better yet put them in an app on your phone. Read these travel app recommendations.
- Create a care plan for animals. Do you have pets? Will someone take care of them or are you boarding them? Make sure they have a care plan for the animals.
- Create a house-sitters guide – if someone is coming to house sit and water your plants, let them know what you expect.
- Charge electronics
- Check and Charge camera batteries
- Unplug computers
Outside
- Mow the lawn
- Lock the Garage/Shed/Barn
- Take the trash to the curb
- Lock the doors. Check to be sure back doors and windows are locked.
For the Flight or Road Trip
- Create your music playlist
- Download Audiobooks or check books out from the library
- Download movies to devices or your car DVD player.
Related: Why Travelers need Amazon Prime
In Your Car
- Restock first aid kit. Click here to see what you need in your first aid kit
- Get the vehicle checked if traveling by car. Check oil, fluids, tires.
- Wash and vacuum the car
- Plan Activities and Entertainment for the kids – click here to create a road trip binder.
Want the free printable for the Pre-Travel Checklist? Click here.
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