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For some of us, travelling is all about escaping the daily life and not having to worry too much about anything. But it can never hurt to have a little bit of structure, even when traveling. This can be related to the way you pack your luggage or how to store your information.
Now, at the beginning of my travels I have not made use of any of these tips but with time and more experience I have found the following 10 tricks quite helpful when trying to get my life together. Here are some tips about how to stay organised while travelling.
1. Packing Cubes
Since getting packing cubes, my backpack has been looking a lot more organised. And also I have felt like I already saved a bunch of time picking out my outfits in the morning.
I usually have three packing cubes when I travel, one for my shirts, one for my shorts and then one last one for underwear, socks and swim wear. In that way I don’t have any random clothing items floating around my backpack.
The only clothing item that I keep outside of my packing cubes is my jacket. Mostly, so that I don’t have to open up all my packing cubes. I’ll usually just carry it separately or attach it on the side of my backpack.
2. Write down your Expenses
I don’t only do that when traveling but also in my normal daily life. However, when traveling I like to categorise my expenses as well. These categories are usually food, transportation, activities, night out, accommodation and other (aka doesn’t find in any other category such as laundry).
In this way I can get a clear overview of where my money went when traveling and it also helps me writing posts such as “How expensive is Panama?”.
I usually always carry a small notebook around where I can document my expenses. But when I don’t, then I will try to remember what I spent throughout the day and just write it down when I get back to the hostel. The only time that I do not write down my detailed costs is when the currency is really high or confusing. In that case, I will only write down how much money I got out of the ATM
3. Carry a notebook with emergency numbers
Other than writing down my expenses I also use my notebooks to write down hostel addresses or flight details as well as partly use it as a diary. Another information that is important to have on hand and that might come in handy is the emergency number in case of an accident of all the countries you are planning to travel to during your trip.
Furthermore, I also like to write down the visa contact number in case my credit card gets stolen. In this case I will be able to get it blocked immediately.
4. Have a separate email file for bookings etc.
Especially when traveling I don’t want to be bothered with keeping my email account organised. I do check for like important emails daily, but I don’t want to take the time to delete all the spam and newsletters.
In case I need to access any emails while traveling I always like to move all emails that I might need to the same email folder. In this case I don’t have to search for too long. This can include flight details, accommodations bookings, tours I booked or visa information.
5. One bag with all electronics
I feel like there is little as annoying as having a bunch of chargers and cables spread out in your backpack and then when you actually want to find a cable you can not find the right one. Therefore, I like to keep all my chargers and most electronics in one bag. I usually use the small zipper bags that come with the packing cubes.
This also includes portable chargers or go pro batteries and accessories or small cameras. In that way I have everything in one place.
6. Always pack toiletries last
Usually when I get to a new place the first thing I’m looking for in my big backpack is either a towel, or face wash or a toothbrush or anything like that. Therefore, I always like to pack my toiletries last so that they will always be right on top when I open my backpack. This always saves me loads of time and I don’t have to search through my whole backpack.
7. Move bookings in Apple Wallet
Now I don’t know if android has a similar app but I like to move all my bookings into my apple wallet so I can access them offline and don’t have to access my email account every single time I need to look up information. That includes boarding passes or Hostelworld bookings or tours that I had booked online.
8. Use an offline map
Honestly, there has been absolutely nothing that I have found more useful during my travels than an offline map. I use maps.me, which is free and easy to use. Before going to a new destination, I make sure to download the offline map of that region and I like to pin certain places such as my hostel or the bus stop or the restaurant that I wanted to visit.
In this way, I can always find my way around when I get to a new place and I don’t have to first search for Wifi.
9. Make a to-do list of things that need to be done while traveling
Now maybe you don’t like to worry about anything at home while traveling but I think there is nothing worse than having to stress while traveling because I forgot to take care of something at home.
I had done my whole university application while traveling in Australia, I had to sort out my study abroad in Korea while in Nicaragua and usually there is a lot of stuff going on that I need to take care of. To not get stressed, I make a list of all the deadlines and things that I need to do while traveling, that are not travel related.
10. Make a to-do list of things I need to do when I get back home
I usually want to rather not think about what I need to do once I get back home. However, making a list of all the things beforehand usually does help me out a lot. I also keep that in my notebook like anything else. Once I think of something that I need to take care of when I’m home I will write it down. Some things of course I can do while traveling but if it’s not too urgent I will rather do it at home.
And those were my tips and tricks about how to stay organised while travelling. Or at least that’s how I like to stay organised. But I know we all do have different tricks and ideas.
Let me know what I forgot.
Talk to you later
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