Little Things That Make a Big Difference for Vacation Planning

You’ve settled on Castaways on the River for your upcoming vacation, what a great choice!  Soon you’ll be relaxing in a cottage, fishing crappie out on the St. Johns River, or hanging out with the family on a 22’ cruising pontoon boat. How will you start vacation planning?

To make the most of your time away, you’ll need to finish packing your suitcase and marking things off your vacation checklist, but what might you forget?  It’s those little things that will really add up to make the return from your adventure as stress-free as possible. Here are some little things that make a big difference while you’re vacation planning!

Getting Your Home Ready for Your Vacation

Sometimes you get so busy getting your plane tickets, rental cars, and fishing gear ready, you totally forget preparing your house for a week away.  Getting your home ready for your absence means there’s less to do when you return—no need to have the proverbial vacation from your vacation!

• Finish your laundry. Just think about the laundry you’ll be bringing home from a week away.  Do you really want to find those week-old dirty jeans at the bottom of the hamper to do as well?  When we say do all your laundry, make sure you clear out BOTH your washer and dryer.  You don’t want it to become a home for germs in there during your vacation because the last load didn’t fully dry.  While you’re at it, go ahead and throw your bed sheets in as well; it’s pretty nice to have clean sheets to come home to after a long day traveling.
• Head over to your fridge and get rid of anything that may expire while you’re gone. Opening the fridge to the smell of “something dead” doesn’t exactly scream “Welcome Home”.  Also, be nice to yourself.  Leave a frozen pizza or likewise in the freezer so you don’t have to rush out to the store when you get home.  If your plane is delayed it will be a lifesaver.
• After you’re done with the refrigerator clean up take out the trash. If your trash cans are stored in the garage arrange to have a neighbor take it out for you.  You can’t use enough air freshener to get rid of the funk cloud smelly trash will leave after sitting for a week.

Last, make sure your home is secure by locking windows and doors, unplug all non-essential (not the fridge!) appliances, and turn anything you can off.  This saves energy and alleviates any “Did I turn (insert energy-using/money-spending object here) off…” thoughts.

If you have a patio sliding door, put a bar down to prevent someone from sliding it open and put a few lights on each floor on timers.

Getting Ready for Vacation Outside Your Home

One of the easiest ways to prepare for vacation is calling your credit card company and giving them a heads up you’ll be going out of town.  You don’t need to be receiving fraud alerts and dealing with a declined card while fishing largemouth bass.

Make a list of all the bills that are due during your vacation and arrange payments a week before you go. You can always schedule bills with your bank’s automatic bill pay option if you don’t care to pay ahead.

Also, check to see if you have any doctor or dentist appointments scheduled.  Scheduled appointments months out and are easy to forget.

Make sure you schedule a mail hold for your vacation time so unwanted people can’t tell you’re gone.

Preparing Yourself and Your Family for Vacation

Put Castaways on the River, your car rental agency and airline phone numbers in your cell phone contacts.   It seems so simple, but many people don’t consider this before they go. And will save you a lot of headaches if something goes amiss on the road.

Give a trusted family member, friend, or neighbor your itinerary with contact phone numbers, while also setting expectations on when they should be used.  Tell friends or family when, or if, you’ll be checking in and when you may be totally off the grid and unreachable.

Take a long hard look at the contents of your wallet. Ask yourself what do you really need for a vacation?  Take out anything that doesn’t make the cut.  Store credit cards, membership cards, or any other random fillers are just dead weight and not necessary for your vacation; travel should be simple.

Happy vacation planning! Enjoy your vacation at Castaways on the River and be sure to let us know what you catch (even if it’s just your kid’s smiles).  If you haven’t reserved a cabin or boat yet, here’s where you can book your reservation.

Do you have any helpful vacation planning tips we didn’t cover?  Share them in the comments below.

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