Travel Notebook (Short Trip Part 1)

This is the first post and YouTube video (see the video linked below) in a short travel series.  I went to my niece's wedding in New York and, even though it is not an actual vacation, I traveled there from Arizona, so it involved some planning.

I always begin by making a travel notebook that has different things in it to keep the trip organized.  I used a presentation book from Staples that has a place to slip in a cover page and then is filled with plastic sleeves.  I inserted a cover page with a little clip art.

The first page has some to-do lists--things to do a month ahead, a week ahead, etc.

Next, I have a few pages of things I want to pack.  The first one has a basic list of toiletries that I save in a file and adapt it for each trip, but the basics (like makeup, underwear, socks, pajamas, etc.) are on this list, followed by another page of mostly blank lines.  That way, I can type in outfits I know I want to bring, followed by lines for writing in other clothes I want to bring as I think of them.  For this trip, I typed in the outfits I knew I would bring for the rehearsal dinner and wedding and the other lines I filled in later.

Then, I have a sleeve where I insert boarding passes.  For a cruise or overseas trip, I insert another place for keeping passports.  The next page, for this trip, is where I kept my flight itinerary.

The next several sleeves have confirmation paperwork for hotels and our rental car.

Then I had a page where I attached the wedding invitation and information about the reception.

The last page is where I include an overall itinerary for our trip activities.  I list each day of the trip and what we will be doing.  I keep this in the back so I can flip to it easily.

This notebook has far more information in it when I'm going on a regular vacation or cruise as those tend to have more activities and events, requiring different changes of clothes and gear.  I find this to be a great way to organize and plan the trip and then keep everything together in the order I need it, so I have it altogether in one place.

Be sure to check out my post and video next week (Part 2), where I will show what I put in my carry-on bag (that will go in the overhead bin on the plane) and the following week, where I will post Part 3 about my "Comfort Carry-On Bag" showing the things I pack in the bag that will go under the seat on the plane.

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