Organize for International Travel

The cruise ships are getting ready to depart from the Norfolk harbor and there are some good deals on air travel to foreign destinations. So, if you plan to vacation outside the United States, add these things to your checklist:

Passport and other identification documents

Travel schedule and monetary equivalent table

Entry documentation for your destination

Medication needed for your trip, in the original container

A list of contact numbers for medical and personal emergencies

Receipts or registration paperwork for new electronics (computers, cameras)

Valid drivers license

If you purchase art or jewelry on your trip, keep receipts handy.


Add clothes for the climate, personal necessities, and your favorite credit card and you are ready to take off.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Tips for Organized Packing

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a song many will be singing in the next few weeks. Others will head for a destination holiday that includes sunny climes or fun winter activities. No matter where you are going, travel these days poses a host of problems. Carefully thinking about what you really need and organizing clothing and personal items for convenience, easy portability and access can minimize many of them.

It starts with planning and takes into consideration where you are going, how long you will be gone and what activities are planned while you are at your destination. Once you have those particulars in mind, gather the clothes you will take with you. Some of the best advice I have been given is that once you have decided what to take, put a third of it back in your closet. Cull out those items that don’t fit a selected color palette (usually neutral tans and browns or black or blue). Retain a few accessories to add pizzazz and splashes of color to to your basic wardrobe. Make sure you have comfortable shoes, serviceable undergarments and necessary toiletries, emergency products and prescription drugs. Many packing lists for travel by different modes of transportation and different destinations can be found on the web. Some of them are:
www.onebag.com
www.traveltime.org
www.backpackeurope.com

Once you have gathered the items you are taking with you, it is time to pack your bags. Make sure the bags are sturdy and close securely and they are a weight you can lift from the car, the airport carousel or haul upstairs at your relatives house. Fewer bags are better. There is limited space no matter where you are going and, unless you have personal porters, it is a hassle to lug around multiple bags.

You now have another decision to make. How will you store your clothes in the bag? Will you roll, fold or bundle? Rolling works well for t-shirts and flexible fabrics. Jeans, on the other hand, may take up more room rolled than they do folded. As a general rule, minimize wrinkling in soft-sided luggage by rolling and packing tightly. In rigid frame luggage, fold or use the bundle method. The bundle method minimizes the number of folds, thus potential creases, and has some of the cushioning value of the roll method. Bundling involves laying clothes across the suitcase with larger items on the bottom and then folding them tightly around a core bundle of clothing and accessories. A thorough illustrated explanation of packing using the bundle method can be found in The Packing Book by Judith Gilford available at www.amazon.,com.

Check off the items on your list as you pack and tuck a copy in an easily accessible place in case luggage is lost. It also will serve as a handy reference when you evaluate the usefulness of the items you chose to take with you and refine your list for future excursions.

Remember to keep prescription medications and travel documents, and other absolutely essential items with you at all time. If luggage is lost or delayed you do not want to be without these necessities.

Make travel easier by:

• Consulting expert sites for lists and travel tips
• Taking as few bags as you can
• Making a packing list and checking off items as you pack them
• Using a packing method that helps maximize space and minimize wrinkles
• Keeping the packed weight of bags to a level you can comfortably lift and tote
• Refining your packing list after each trip to eliminate things you did not need and add things you wished you had included.
• Rolling with the punches when the unexpected happens

Happy wanderings!

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organized Travel with Zip Lock Bags

I just returned from vacation- a week at the beach with extended family ranging in ages from fifteen months to eighty-four years. We all had a great time and I came home wandering how I ever traveled before the invention of zip lock bags.

When I was packing to go, I put anything I thought might leak into those bags. Fingernail polish, make-up and other toiletries found a home as well as lens cleaner and suntan lotion. Jewelry and socks were stuffed into bags. And then I discovered the Big Bags! Perfect for packing the towels and linen we needed for the rental cottage. We just stuffed the used dirty items back in the bags to cart home to wash. Those big bags come in three sizes from ten quarts to twenty quarts and are great for toting an extra set of clothes for the kids or for separating wet swim suits from dry apparel. I have decided to store clothes in them this winter. They will take up less space than cartons or boxes. They even have a handle that makes them easy to carry.

The young mother in the group uses zip lock bags to organize her diaper bag and that sure makes it easier to change the baby’s diaper or find a snack or pull out a clean set of clothes when accidents happen.

Now that I am back home, it is time to go to the grocery store and stack up on the staple items. The first thing on my list is zip lock bags in varying sizes.

Emergency Preparedness

Hurricane season is here. The newscasters keep reminding us, the internet blasts out headlines every time we open the web and newspapers print articles on what to gather in case of emergency. A couple of weeks ago, our local department of transportation initiated traffic snarls in an effort to practice reversing traffic direction on the interstate in case of an emergency requiring evacuation. I have decided that if that happens around here I will just put on my running shoes and travel on top of the cars that will surely be bumper to bumper on every available exit route. In the meantime, we should all heed the warnings and get our stuff ready to evacuate or sit tight and endure the aftermath of high winds and pounding rains. Andrew, Katrina and lesser storms should have jolted us all out of any complacency we might have felt about these powerful forces of nature.

The American Red Cross has a very good website at redcross.com/services that lists the various supplies that should be gathered for evacuation and disaster.

For evacuation they suggest:
Medicines and medical supplies
Bedding and clothing to include sleeping bags and pillows
Bottles water
Battery Operated Radio and extra batteries
First Aide kit
Flashlight
Car keys and maps
Documents including driver’s license, social security card, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth and marriage certificates and tax records.

If you are driving, we also suggest a car emergency kit that includes emergency tire propellant and flares with the usual equipment to change tires and perform minor repairs. It is also a good idea to include rain gear in the clothing that you take along and some insect repellent.

When I read this list I had two thoughts. The first was “Can everyone put their hand on the documents suggested?” The second was, “When you put all this stuff in the car or other transport, will there be room for the folks you are trying to evacuate?” The answer to those questions are “probably not” and “there is room if you organize.”

The first step to getting ready is to gather all the important documents into one place. We suggest a watertight portable safe. If that is not a plausible solution, place the documents in leak proof plastic bags and put them in a sealed plastic container or tote box. A small tool box or cooler chest may serve the purpose. If there are just a few documents to transport, a document portfolio will work.

The second step is to organize the other supplies so that they can be easily carried. You could of course pack a suitcase, back pack or duffle bag for each family member and put it away until emergency travel was imminent. A more practical solution is to store the necessary supplies in the giant zipped seal bag available at discount stores and super markets. When time comes to take a trip just grab the bag for each family member. It has the added benefit of protecting the items from dampness. Bulky items like linens and sleeping gear can be stored in the plastic pouches that allow you to expel the air and compress the contents. That will save a lot of packing space. Also remember to place medicines and medical supplies in protective bags to prevent spillage and wetness.

Packing flashlights, radio, batteries and water in a small insulated cooler will allow you to keep cold and hot items that may be available at the evacuation sites. Taking these steps now will help you to be prepared if evacuation becomes necessary.

Next time we will explore how to organize materials and supplies for waiting out the hurricane at home. Stay safe and get organized so you will have worked out all the bugs just in case you have to bug out.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Moving into a New Space

A professional organizer can provide valuable help to people who are getting ready to occupy new space. Whether that new space is a condominium, a dormitory room, a new office, a refinished attic or a brand new house, the perspective of a third party with training in organizing can give a head start to saving time and living comfortably.

Small spaces are particularly challenging and ways to optimize storage with limited space was handled in a previous blog entitled “Too Little Space”. Up front consultation with a professional organizer can save a lot of hassle.

When Jane moved from home into a dormitory room which she shared with a roommate, there was no space for some of the things she brought with her to college. Her parents loaded four boxes of stuff which could not be crammed into the space and hauled it back home with them. Jane brought still more home with her when she visited. They had wasted valuable time and money purchasing items that were inappropriate for the space available.

Most colleges give lists of suggested items for purchase and dimensions for necessities like computers and refrigerators, but they fall short at suggestions for storage for other must-have items. An organizer will offer suggestions that can make the trip to college more pleasant. The hard decisions about what to take on that first trip can be made before the hectic event of actually moving in. That can save money and make those move-in trips a lot less stressful. Jane and her parents consulted with a professional organizer prior to her sophomore year. She was moving to an Honors dorm with even less space than her previous room, but no roommate. The organizer listened to the problems encountered the prior year, and made suggestions for storage and placement of Jane’s belongings. Jane’s mother reports the items that returned home with them were the tools they brought for installation of storage systems and one stuffed animal that gave up his space for a decorative pillow.
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Even when there is plenty of space, a professional organizer can be of help.

Todd and Jean were moving their family to their dream house. Todd’s mother was joining them and looking forward to occupying the mother-in-law suite built especially for her. The family had moved twice in the past five years and both times had resulted in continuation of storage problems they had lived with in previous houses. Everyone agreed they wanted this time to be different.

The professional organizer met with the family and suggested storage systems for the garage and closets, as well as placement of some items for efficient living. She assisted them in organizing the move so that items were ready for unpacking and storage when they arrived at their new home. Todd says it is the smoothest move they have ever had and the garage looks terrific even with both cars parked inside.

Moving time requires thought, planning and execution, as well as plenty of patience and hard work. A professional organizer can be helpful in all phases of the process.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net