How Could I Forget to Bring That Thing on My Vacation?

I write this blog to not only share some of the destinations I have been to but to hopefully make travel a lot easier for you.

My father was a Flight Engineer in the Air Force and always followed a checklist when doing almost anything. In travel that was the best thing he could have taught me.

Have you ever started a vacation or business trip and found out you forgot to bring something critical or just annoying?

I never go on a trip without first checking my checklist of items to bring. I usually categorize the checklist by:

• Critical/Must Have
• Things that can't be replaced easily like Passport, Drivers License, Medications, Credit Cards, Glasses
• Should Have
• Things that can be replaced but may be expensive like Camera, Sun Glasses, Chargers, Power Adaptors, Noise Cancelling Headphones
• Nice to Have
• Things that can easily be bought at your destination like Toothpaste/brush, Razor, Swimsuit, Hat, Sunscreen, Aspirin  
• Collateral
• Print off all reservations with confirmation codes. They can be used in case of a dispute.
• Airfare, hotels, car rental, etc
• Misc
• Stop newspaper, hold mail, pay bills, etc

I use Excel but a word document or similar will work. Even a notepad will do.

A checklist is easy to do and the earlier you start the better. Create one before your next trip, save it as a template and modify it as time goes on. You can use the checklist on every trip. Get all your items on the checklist ready before the trip and the day of your trip check each item off as you pack it.

Hopefully this will save you time and aggravation with a less stressful start to your vacation.