Last month, we ventured to Sunriver, Oregon for a week with the kids. A much needed vacay after a long quarantine! That being said, packing for 8 days away, plus 7 hours in the car is no easy task, but I’ve done it enough now that I thought I would share some good tips on how to stay organized, and even get right back to the swing of things when you get home.

how to prepare for your trip

— Make lists. I live by lists, because otherwise, I would forget everything! I use the notes app on my phone which I love because you can use the check list feature and it also syncs to my MacBook so I can edit the list on either device. I put everything on here from clothes ,to things like hair dryer, toiletries, food/snacks, activities for the girls and all their gear (especially baby stuff).

— Use rental gear if possible. Since we drove and we don’t have a ton of trunk space, we used Babyquip, an online rental company that supplies baby gear from real-life parents in your vacation rental area! They will deliver it straight to your door and pick it up when you’re done. GENIUS! You can use this link and use code STYLEDOUTWEST at checkout to get 10% off your BabyQuip rental!

— Research activities ahead of time. Google or Yelp are your best friend. Look up fun places and things for kids to do in the area you are going. By doing this ahead of time, we found out there was a huge park and sandy beach with river access for the kids to play in since all the pools were closed at the resort. Yelp is a great tool when looking into dinner spots or breweries so you can see pictures of the space and menu ahead of time. Most of the places we went were outdoors so the kids had space to roam.

— Clean your house before you leave. There is nothing worse than coming home to a disastrous house after a long trip. Here’s a few things I do before we leave: change the bed linens, take out the trash, make sure there are no dirty dishes in dishwasher, quick sweep/vacuum, and throw away any food that’s about to expire.

— Plan ahead. While in route to your destination, either on the plane or in the car, make a list of things you need to do when you return home. These things are usually top of mind right when you leave so do it while it’s fresh in your mind rather than trying to remember later. I do things like make a grocery list (as I’m cleaning out the fridge), work tasks I need to complete, etc. Waking up on Monday after a week of being away I had total brain fog and it was so nice to open up my lists and jump right into the week!

— Do laundry before you head home. Most rental houses will have a washer/dryer and some hotels offer laundry services also. I can’t tell you how great it is to do all the laundry on the last day of the trip so that everyone comes home with clean clothes rather than spending your first entire day back in the laundry room. This was especially helpful for the girls since their clothes get so dirty from food and running around! It makes for more organized packing, too when you can pack everything away instead of in dirty clothes bags.

Hope that helps you prepare and avoid extra stress upon returning home. I know how hectic it can be traveling - especially with little ones. A full travel guide on Bend and Sunriver will be coming to the blog soon! I have so much great info to share because we really did our fair share of exploring!

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