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Travel checklist: things to do before you leave

I consider myself a pretty good traveler. It doesn't take me long to pack, I'm generally not bothered by road issues, and heck, I created a travel blog to share the things I've learned. Yet, almost every time I get ready to leave town, for whatever reason, I am overwhelmed by the long list of things I need to do before I leave. The night before we leave, I'm always up late getting ready, which is never a good way to start a vacation.

I recently realized that whether I'm leaving for several weeks or just a few nights, I do most of the same things to get ready to go. This became very clear last weekend when I was getting ready to leave for a quick three night visit to Los Angeles. Our house wasn't going to be totally empty - Kevin would be home at night, but he works very long hours, so I knew he would only be home to sleep. He wouldn't be in the kitchen at all AND our dog would be going to a friend's house, but I kind of had as much to do to prepare for this trip as I did for a long vacation. And as usual, I stayed up late the night before packing and cleaning frantically.

To help me (and you!) get organized and plan my future vacation, I decided to make a checklist of things to do before I leave on my trip. I've organized the list into three categories: things to do a few days (up to a week or more) before departure, things to do the day or two before, and things to do the morning of departure. For very short trips (or if you don't have pets), you'll need to do fewer things, and for very long trips, you may need to add more, but this is a good starting point.

Things to do a few days before departure:

- Write your packing list - include everything you want to take with you: clothes, accessories, personal care products, etc. Need some ideas? Click here to check out my packing list for a single travel bag.

- Do the laundry. It's important to do this early so you have everything you want to take with you. Far too many times I've stayed up late the night before I left waiting for a specific piece of clothing to dry.

- Start eating all the produce and perishable foods you currently have in the kitchen. Try to limit your purchases of new perishable foods.

- Pull out your suitcase and start throwing in items you want to remember to take with you.

- Make sure you have contacted everyone you want to meet on your trip and arrange for when you will be free to meet them. Make sure you have their contact information written down or saved on your phone.

- If you have pets, make a plan for their care while you are away.

- Try to finish any projects you need to complete for work. If possible, say no - don't agree to take on any additional projects, obligations or events in the days leading up to your trip.

- If you must travel internationally, contact your bank and credit card company to inform them of the countries you will be traveling to. Most banks allow you to do this online - log in and look for an option called "travel notification form" or "submit a travel notification."