Packing and prepping made easy

Whether packing for a local weekend getaway or an international excursion, we’ve amassed wisdom from our travels that we’d like to share with you. Check out our top tips for trip prep.

1. Pack your toiletries the day before. When you get ready the day you leave, use only the items you have packed. This allows you to catch anything you may have missed.

2. Only pack travel-sized toiletries. No need to even pack shampoo, conditioner, body wash or lotion these days as most hotels have these waiting for you. If you need something, you can always purchase on-site. Taking full-size bottles just takes up extra room that could have been an extra set of shoes or an outfit…or more importantly, room for the souvenirs you know you will find in your adventures.

3. Do not bring any valuable jewelry, especially if you are traveling abroad. As a foreigner, you will be a target. For example, pick pockets in Europe are working in professional rings. They have been known to rip necklaces off of necks--including my grandmother's, and she was an Italian living in Rome. And in Central America, they may even go through your luggage or your hotel rooms. Take it from Rick Steves. Did I mention how much we love Rick Steves? "Carbonate your life!"

4. Use your shoes as extra storage. Stuff with underwear, socks, scarves or anything. Breakable items can also be wrapped and stuffed in shoes. This is good place for snow globes or other fragile items.

5. Roll clothes to fit them better in the suitcase. You can also use vacuum bags or backpacks, just account for the machine that needs to suck out the air before traveling.

This combo vacuum bag/backpack saves a ton of room. There are three pairs of shoes in there, plus clothes and everything we need while on the plane!

6. Consider packing socks, underwear and other clothes that you can dispose of during your travels so you make room for souvenirs as you go.

7. Consider using the same exact luggage and luggage tags for all travelers. This makes it easy to identify your bags quickly. In fact, all 4 of us have the same carry-on bags and tags, except with different initials on them. So easy to identify in a large plane carrying 500 passengers or in a sea of luggage at a resort. And yes, these are the ONLY bags we take...including on trips to Europe.

8. If traveling internationally, carry a copy of your passport in another bag so they are not in the same place. Also, take a photo of your passport (front and back pages) and save in your PhotoCircle.

9. Empty your wallet before leaving. Only take your driver’s license, debit card, credit card, AAA card and any other pertinent travel cards. You don't even need health insurance cards anymore as you can find them on the app (and American health insurance doesn't work abroad anyway). Do not bring grocery store or retail loyalty cards, department store credit cards, etc. If something happens to your wallet, you want to minimize the stress of replacing cards.

10. If traveling by car, pack a cooler with wine, water and other drinks and snacks. Don’t forget a corkscrew…unless the bottle has a screw top.

Other tips

11. Use the Hold Mail service at USPS so your mail doesn’t pile up. Stacked up mail is basically an invitation for a burglar to stake your house.

12. Tell a neighbor or two you’ll be away so someone can keep an eye on the house and ensure they know how to get ahold of you in case something happens.

13. If at all possible, try not to have deliveries while you are out (unless you have Amazon MyQ…and you’ve locked the entry to your house from the garage). It’s annoying for neighbors to have to come pick up packages due to poor planning on your part.

14. Charge your video doorbells so you can keep an eye on your house while you’re away.

15. If you get a newspaper delivered to your home, ask for a vacation hold, so they don’t pile up. See 11.

16. Let your credit card companies know where you are going so you don’t get your card frozen or alerted for fraud.

17. If you’re traveling internationally, use a card that has no foreign transaction fees. Capital One is a great recommendation, if you can put up with the declines due to fraud. Their fraud protection is second-to-none. American Express and Discover are not widely used in Europe, merchants rarely take them. More info here.

What we learned

· Don’t leave helium balloons floating in front of your house alarm motion sensor while you are gone. Police will show up and your neighbors will be terrified when the cops case your property.

· You will never wear all the clothes you pack so you might as well leave most of them at home. You will re-wear your favorite clothes anyway. Capsule wardrobes are the best. Click here to learn how to build one.