Mail Hold

So you are getting ready to go on a trip, but you forgot to contact the post office and have your mail held.

Most area's now allow you to have your mail hold request done electronically.

You can go to: https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/landingView.do

Just follow the directions and you can have your mail held for 3-30 days with no extra trip required!

Safer Travels

I am not a huge conspiracy fan when traveling, but I am always worried about loosing my wallet, phone, camera, whatever I might feel the need to carry.

I was recently shopping in REI and I found the most intriguing item. It is a StashSafe 100 hip pack by PacSafe. It has several safety features that were quite impressive.

It has a slash proof belt that is reinforced with wire, a lockable belt and or zippers (with small padlock included) and "slash-proof" mesh around it so that the bag itself is harder to get into. I know it kind of seems like overkill, but hey at least I feel safe!

Earring Totes

When you are traveling you find it difficult to keep track of small pierced earrings.

You can easily find them if you grab a couple of larger buttons.

Place the earrings through the holes and secure with the earring back.

Now you can reach in your bag and find the pair that you are looking for with out loosing one in the bag.

Preparing for Trips

You are getting ready to go on a trip, and as usual you cannot remember everything that you need to pack. Here are a few tips to help you get more organized.

Take a storage bin, drawer or even empty suitcase and use it to set aside travel items such as travel shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.

A few months before booking your trip check your passport. Is it ready to expire? Are there enough blank pages for your trip?

As soon as the trip is planned start making printouts of confirmations and activities that you want to do. Place those print outs in the front zipper of your suitcase for easy access.

Do you have luggage tags for your bags? Do the tags have your name and phone number on them? (TSA requirement) Do you have enough tags for the baby stroller, golf clubs, carry on bags, etc? Check out www.crewtags.com for affordable customized luggage tags.

Don't forget to check the rules with airlines that you plan to use. Most have started restricting checked luggage to one bag with additional bag costing a fee.

A few days before you depart, check your film and battery supply and buy anything that you might need at home where it will be cheaper and you can get the brands that you like. Also visit the bank and get some small bills for tipping.

The morning that you are leaving, place a small bag next to your vanity. As you are preparing to go, place each item that you use into the bag. Also think about any special preparations that you might need for evenings out. (Don''t forget to put the bag in your suitcase before you leave)

Pack a small notebook in your bag. While you are on your trip make a note of anything that you might have forgotten. Leave the notebook with your suitcase. When you prepare for your next trip, review the notes that you had made.

Kitty Litter In Winter

Keep a large bag of kitty litter in the back of your car during the winter. This will actually serve 2 purposes.

It will add just a bit of weight to the back of your car for traction. It will also come in handy if you are not able to get traction on some ice.

Simply open the bag and spread out a couple of cups of kitty litter around your tire. You should be able to gain enough traction to get going again.

Weekend Mystery Journeys

Arrange to make one weekend trip per month with your kids.

Write down locations that are within driving distance and place the names into a hat.

You can even let your kids choose places. These places do not need to be a city, but can also be a true destination like a park, museum or zoo.

The day before you are ready to go on your trip, let your child draw a slip out of the hat.

Now you have your destination, get an early start, pack a lunch and have a ball.

Traveling Scavenger Hunt

The next time that you are taking the family to a museum, take a detour and stop by the gift store first.

Once inside, find the postcards and pick up a few different ones showing what you will be seeing in the museum.

Now enter the museum and let the kids go on a scavenger hunt to see who can find the items in the post card in the museum.

It will make your trip much more enjoyable for you and memorable for your kids.

Travel Time

If you or someone in your family is traveling while the kids stay home, make it a bit educational.

Before the trip, collect as much information as you can about the city or place that will be traveled.

Also pick up a basic clock to mount on the wall next to your regular clock. On a piece of paper, write the name of the place and set the clock for the time of that city/place.

When the family member is gone on the trip, spend a few minutes each day talking about the place that they are and using the clock try to guess what the family member is doing at different times.

It makes it easier for the ones at home also know when it is ok to call to chat.

Portable Wipes

You are getting ready to go out for the day, and you don't have any wet wipes. You can solve this problem by grabbing a rag and getting it wet. Wring out most of the water and drop into a plastic zip lock bag and into your purse or bag.

Don't forget to pull it out and toss it in the wash when you get home!

Bathtime for Baby?

You are on the road and you don't have a place to give the baby a bath.

The room only came with a shower, and that is not happening.

The next time that you travel, take along a little blow up toddler pool.

These can be found as small as 24" across.

Fill it up with water and you have an instant tub that baby will love!

When it is time to clean up, just dump out the water and wipe dry with a towel.

Let all the air out and it is ready for packing away until it is needed again.

Handy Bags

When I am on the go, I keep a couple of kids party bags in my pocket.

These are the colorful ones that you give out at parties for treats that have a little handle in the top. (ok, regular zip lock bags would work fine also, just not at fancy)

Now when we go out to public events I can drop some snacks or chips into the colorful bag. My daughter can enjoy her little snacks with out the annoying rustling of wrappers.

My daughter thinks that it is especially fun to see what bags we get to use each time.