I have created for my family a checklist of activities that we need to complete before leaving home on holidays. At the bottom of this post, you will find attached a word document version of the check list (without the descriptions of course!) that I stick on the fridge the week before we go away. As someone completes an activity, they tick the list, so we all know what exactly has been done.
Checklist – To Do List Before Leaving On Holidays.
I have left some blank rows at the end of the checklist so you can add any thing I may have forgotten (let me know by leaving a comment!), or activities that are specific to your family.
In no particular order the to do list includes:
(1). Cancel Newspaper.
We only have the newspaper delivered on the weekends and we will only be away one week, so this time we have organised with our neighbour to pick up and keep the papers.
(2). Cancel Milk Deliveries.
We have milk, juice, eggs and cheese delivered to our door on a weekly basis, so I have suspended our order for the time that we are away.
(3). Garbage Collection.
We have 3 large rubbish bins -1 for waste, 1 for recyclables and 1 for garden waste. The last two are collected on alternate fortnights. With 6 of us in the house, it is a nightmare if we don’t have the bins collected on the right day. We will be able to put the bins out and our very kind neighbours will bring them in for us.
(4). Mail Collection.
Our very kind neighbours are also doing this for us as well!
(5). Dog Sitting.
My in-laws are always so fantastic about looking after our dog for us when we are away. Mr Infrastructure’s mum took our dog Milli home after she babysat for us on Saturday night. Thank you!
(6). Clear Out the Fridge.
The last couple of meals I make before we leave, I tend to throw what ever I can into them, so there is little waste of food. But there are always left over bits and pieces in the fridge, so the night before we leave I will go through and chuck out anything that will be off before we get back.
If we have excess fruit and veg that won’t be eaten on the trip I generally offer it to the neighbours. The area of rural Victoria where we will be holidaying is a “fruit fly free zone”. This means that from about 50km out no fruit is to be brought into the area, so we cannot take any additional fruit with us. We can however bring stuff back, which is great as my dad gets us all sorts of wonderfully fresh locally grown produce!
(7). Compost Bucket.
We have a small bucket in the kitchen that we put all our food scraps in, which then gets emptied into our compost bins. It is the Thinkers job to empty the bucket and I will need to get him to do it in the morning before we go. It can get a bit smelly if it is left to start composting in the kitchen.
(8). Kitchen Bin.
For similar reasons as above, Little Rascal will need to empty the bin in the morning before we leave.
(9). Meal Plan and Shopping List for Returning Week.
We buy our fruit and veg weekly at a Saturday only market. I will need to have organised the menu plan and corresponding shopping list so Mr Infrastructure can go the market early Saturday morning (we will be returning late on Friday).
(10). Washing.
I have to admit that this one and the next one are probably not completely necessary (and could verge on the anal) but I like to come home to things organised. I aim to have an (almost) empty laundry basket before we leave.
Even thought I will be washing while we are away, we always seem to come home with washing, so I like to try and prevent it from overflowing form the basket.
(11). Vacuum.
Our children are normally so excited about leaving for holidays, that they run off and happily sit in the car well before we depart. I like to use the time while Mr Infrastructure is packing the last items, to quickly run the vacuum cleaner over all the floors. It makes the house seem less chaotic once we unload the car on our return, if at least the floors underneath all the stuff is clean.
(12). Turn Off Appliances at the Switch.
I do need to get better at doing this in general, but this is a job that I can allocate to the older children which they actually enjoy on the morning before we leave.
(13). Check All Windows and Doors Locked.
Mr Infrastructure always does this and closes curtains blinds etc.
Then once this is all done, it is time to head off for some fun. If you are travelling over the Easter break, I wish you a safe and fun journey.