As you leave from home for a trip to you ever have that sick feeling that you forgot to pack something? Instead, wouldn’t it be great to have the confidence that you are leaving home with everything you need?

Do you dread packing? Do you repeatedly go back and forth wasting time gathering items you need as they come to mind?

Our tips below should help cut down on your packing time and provide you with a stress-free vacation.

•  Create a packing checklist to use over and over again. Save the list in your computer. Each time it is time to pack, print out the list then cross of the items that don’t pertain to your upcoming and travel and jot down additional items you need. To help you get started, we’ll share our travel packing checklist with you.

•  Gather all the clothes that you would like to take and put half back. Keep the clothes that are in the same color families so you can mix and match. Don’t keep browns and blues for example.

•  Lay clothing as flat as possible and as full length as possible. Having clothing in dry cleaner bags in a suitcase is a great way to prevent clothes from wrinkling.

•  Place the clothing you will need first, on top.

•  Divide clothes and other items between different bags in case a piece of luggage gets lost en route.

•  Stuff shoes with sunglasses, other items you don’t want to break and electronic items such as cords.

•  To prevent shoes from getting other items dirty, place in Ziploc® gallon size bags - especially on the return trip.

•  Put items such as brushes that can snag or scratch things in a cloth or Ziploc® bag.

•  Put toiletries in Ziploc® bags. If your toiletries are going in a carry on for air travel, prevent getting tied up at security by following the TSA (Transportation Security Administrations) rule of 3-1-1*. Each liquid, gel and aerosol must be in a container of no more than THREE ounces. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in ONE quart size ziptop, clear bag - which makes it easy to pull out and place in the bin to be x-rayed at the security checkpoint. Each passenger may carry on only ONE ziptop, clear bag of liquids, gels and aerosols. Consider putting this bag in an easy to reach part of your carry on such as a zippered pocket. Travel size containers can help with the packing of toiletries. Bed, Bath, and Beyond carries a nice selection of travel size items and containers.

*Medications, baby formula and food, and breast milk are exempt from the 3-1-1 carry on rule in reasonable quantities. You can check out the TSA’s website http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm for the most up to date information.

•  Weigh your luggage at home. Don’t wait until you get to the airport, for you certainly don’t want to have to pay a fee or frantically try to move items from one suitcase to another to make the weight requirement. Check with your airline if you are concerned about their specific weight limits for luggage - typically for an economy ticket the weight limit for checked luggage is 50 pounds.

•  Before leaving for the airport tie a colored ribbon to your luggage handle or place a large unique sticker on the side(s) of your suitcase. This way as the luggage carousel goes around you’ll be able to easily identify your luggage. 

Wishing you packing success!

Tired of holding up the checkout line behind you while you look for your store membership card? The type of card I am referring to are the reward cards for the grocery store, pet store, office supply store, etc. with the bar code on the back that provides you extra rewards as a frequent shopper. There are three quick and easy solutions to choose from so you never waste time again looking for a card.

1.  Gather all your store membership cards and put them in alphabetical order. Next, either put a rubber band around the cards or place them in a business card holder/case. When you are at the grocery store next time pull out the card you need, hold the card’s place until it is scanned by the cashier, then put it back in place.

2.  If you prefer you can have 6 store membership bar codes along with the membership numbers printed on one card. When you go to www.keyringthing.com you can print out a wallet card for free or you can have it made into a key ring card that is plastic. There is a charge for the key ring card ($4.95 as of May 2010) which is double-sided, full-color, credit card-size, 100% biodegradable; and earth-friendly plastic.

3.  If you have a smart phone you can download an application from the same company above to store your card numbers and bar codes in the application on your phone. Typically the cashier will need to use the handheld bar code scanner to scan your card instead of the larger built in scanner on the checkout counter. To learn about the application go to www.MyCardStar.com. The application is available for the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid.

Happy card organizing!

Is the holiday season approaching a little too quickly for you? No time to shop or no one to watch the kids for repeated trips to the mall?

For the absolute most time-efficient shopping, complete all of your shopping on one day. Yes, that is right, one entire day! Don’t say you can’t do it. Think about how multiple trips to the mall and stores, wastes time. If you make 5 trips to the mall, that adds up to 5 times the drive to and from, 5 times getting ready, 5 times stopping for lunch and 5 times walking through the same stores. That equals hours of wasted time and extra money spent on lunch and gas. 

If you have non-school age children, the hardest part will be finding someone to watch your children for the day or until your spouse arrives home. Consider swapping a day of babysitting with a neighbor, friend, or relative or ask your spouse to take a personal or vacation day. 

Before you go, plan your trip. Preview sales flyers and coupons, make a shopping list, and plan your route. This way you won’t waste a minute by unnecessarily revisiting stores or overlapping your driving route. If you plan on making any purchases online, do so ahead of time to verify availability.

Put on comfortable clothes and shoes and be at the first store when the doors open. As you shop throughout the day, you should find that you like this new shopping method. If you spot three different sweaters in three different stores that all look nice for your nephew, they will all be fresh in your mind so you can easily make a decision that day. You won’t have to try to remember for day or weeks which store had the nicer or less expensive sweater. Take food and drink breaks as needed and don’t forget to rest your feet. Stay hydrated.

Shop until your holiday shopping is complete. You may not be returning home until 11:00 PM at night, if so, ask the security guard to escort you to your car or take advantage of valet parking that some malls offer. You should arrive home with a car full of gifts and children nestled, asleep in their beds. Take this opportunity to sort through which bags get tucked away and which bags can be left out for others to curiously peer through the next morning.

You’ll go to bed with tired feet, but a smile on your face. You’ll be able to add one enormous check mark on your “to do list.” It will be an amazing feeling knowing that you didn’t have an ounce of shopping done the day before and now it is complete! It only took one day of your valuable time, not multiple days. Afterwards, if you find some extra days to shop, go for the fun and excitement of the season.

If you try this method, please let us know how it worked for you!  Don’t forget to use our Shopping Made Easy Planner.

Nowadays it seems as though every minute counts. If you want to save yourself 20 to 40 minutes every time you need postage stamps, order your stamps from the postal service through the mail. That’s right, purchase postage stamps without leaving your home.

The post office prefers that you purchase your stamps through the mail. It won’t even cost you a postage stamp to mail in your order form. Your local post office will provide you with a new order form and envelope each time you order postage. The larger your post office is, the more elaborate the form and envelope will be.

Once you have the form, select the type of stamps you want. Write a check for the amount of the postage. Place your check and order form in the attached envelope. Place the envelope in your mailbox without a postage stamp on it – it isn’t necessary. You should receive your order for postage stamps within two days.

To order stamps through the mail, you’ll first need to request an order form from your postal carrier or pick one up from your local post office. Print out our form to request a Stamps-By-Mail order form from your mail carrier.

How many times have you had to forego returning merchandise to a store because you couldn’t locate the sales receipt? Or how many times haven’t you been able to take advantage of a manufacturer’s warranty because you couldn’t find the sales receipt showing proof of purchase?

Now is the perfect time to end your sales receipt clutter and your hunt for lost ones by placing your sales receipts in a 4 x 6 box with a lid. Add an A to Z alphabetical file card index inside the box so you can organize your receipts by store name. If you have a Target receipt, place it behind the letter “T.” If you have a Bed Bath & Beyond receipt, place it behind the letter “B.” If you have no reason to keep the receipt toss it.

I recommend using a box that is decorative or stylish so it looks like it is part of your décor. If your box is tucked away in a cabinet or drawer, it may take too much effort to use it consistently. One of my favorite lines of storage boxes is the Cargo line (pictured) as they are sleek and stylish and available in six colors.

If your receipt is for an item with a warranty, photocopy the sales receipt and attach it to the item’s manual and warranty. If you don’t photocopy the receipt, you may find that in just a few months your receipt is so faded it appears blank. Most sales receipts these days are on thermal paper. Thermal paper images will fade eventually making your sales receipt blank.
Don’t wait any longer to organize your receipts. Perhaps you can use items you already have on hand. Find a small box and cover it with fabric or paper to match your décor. Label blank index cards with the letters A through Z and place them inside.

I recommended purging your sales receipt storage box every 6 months. You can to it effortlessly while watching a television show.

Happy receipt organizing!

With the holidays quickly approaching you may find that you are overwhelmed with tasks to complete. To help you delegate these tasks to those in our household, print out and use our free Communication Made Easy Board.

You’ll find this 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper has six boxes with a blank list inside each. Designate one box for each family member by writing their name on the blank line at the top of the box.  Now assign tasks to each family member by filling in the lists under each person’s name. Follow the same procedure when you are preparing for a party or hosting a holiday dinner.

 Once you have your tasks assigned on paper you might want to photocopy this master list. The photocopy has a dual purpose. Once you have a copy you can cut the original list into small individual lists to handout to each person. By keeping a copy of the original master list you can make sure everyone is on track with their tasks. Secondly, you may want to photocopy the master list to keep as a plan for next year. Perhaps you may want to start a holiday binder to include planning and ideas for next year.

Happy holiday planning!