Traveling can mean fun, adventure, and relaxation. It can also mean stress, lack of routine, and difficulty staying organized. If you love planners, chances are you love to be on top of things and plan ahead, right?  For us planner-lovers, being away from home can make planning, organizing, and feeling “completely together” difficult.  

With spring and summer breaks coming up, I figured now is the perfect time to share a few of my tips for staying organized while traveling.

Last summer my family and I drove for two days to reach our vacation destination. Our car was packed. And I mean packed. We stuffed our car with snacks, waters, and the essentials needed to keep our preschooler entertained during our long car ride. (Yeah...that's a lot of “essentials.”) We had so little room left that I decided to leave my planner at home. “I'll be fine for a week without it,” I thought.

Was I “fine?” Sure. But there were times when I longed for my planner to help me feel less stressed and more “on top of things.” Not being able to write things down and keep track of our plans left me relying solely on my memory. (Which isn't  a good thing when you suffer from mom brain.)

So here is tip one.

Bring a Travel Planner

Whether it’s a small, pocket-sized option or something you've concocted, if you use a planner in your day-to-day life, using it while on vacation or while traveling will be second nature to you. I’m planning on using the new Cahier Traveler’s Notebooks during our vacations this year. Our trip this spring will only be for a few days so I'm bringing the Weekly Layout E notebook with me. But if we take a longer trip this summer, I will probably switch it up and use the Monthly Traveler’s notebook. There are a few reasons why I chose the Cahier Traveler’s Notebooks instead of a smaller planner. Firstly, they're small while still maintaining a good amount of space for writing (big handwriting over here). Secondly, they don't have coil bindings so they are easy to slip in and out of a bag or purse. And lastly, I like that the months and dates aren't already printed in the notebook. This means I can write in the dates myself and use every single page of the notebook. Instead of just using the pages of the months I'm traveling.

Bag Choice

The bag you'll be carrying day-to-day should allow for easy, on-the-go organization and the inevitable wrappers/napkins-in-the-bag scenario. (Hey, it's better than littering.) So a good size bag (spending time stuffing a small bag with items is no fun) with pockets/compartments is must. I also recommend zippers instead of snap or magnet closures. There's  nothing like not being able to find your phone or wallet and panicking that it may have fallen out of your bag during your travels to throw your entire schedule off course.

Allow for Free Time

Those of us that like to plan may or may not be guilty of finding comfort in planning out every minute of our travel/vacation. My advice? Allow for some free unscheduled time. Chances are, something unplanned will happen during your time away. Whether it's an unforeseen rainstorm slowing down your travel time or an amusement park shutting down it's rides until the risk of lightning passes, having unscheduled time will allow time in your schedule for the “uh-oh’s” and last minute changes.