Another aspect of travel that I assist clients with is considering what needs to be put on pause or taken care of back home while they are having the time of their life elsewhere. Taking care of these things in advance ensures that there are no nasty surprises upon your return.
Bills – Rent, gas, electricity, phone, or credit card payments, these recurring bills need to keep ticking over. Setting up direct debits will ensure that no payments are missed and helps you avoid late payment fees on top of it all.
Account contributions – if you have regular debits occurring between personal accounts remember to put these on hold if you’re a) taking your leave at half pay or b) taking leave without pay or c) funneling all your money towards gelato and pizza.
Memberships – It’s worth speaking to any places that you have memberships with to see if they have policies in place for temporary suspension or discounted fees while their members are away. A quick phone call could be more money you spend on gelato!
Appointments – Consider if any of your regular life maintenance appointments need to be moved forward or pushed back to accommodate your holiday. I adore heading off on a holiday with a fresh hair cut and I like having a massage locked in for when I get back on home turf.
Mail – Hold routine deliveries mail (newspapers etc) and arrange for non-routine pick ups by a friend or family member.
Email – Like above but electronically. Unroll yourself from newsletters and catalogs to save yourself from an out of control inbox when you get home. A great app for this is at https://unroll.me/
Library reservations – Been waiting to see a DVD or read a popular book from the library? Don’t come back to find that while you were away that the item sat on the shelf under your name and now you are back to the end of the line. Put your reservations on hold so you don’t lose your spot in the queue and then reactivate when you return.
Eat or freeze – Store perishables in the freezer or eat your heart out before you leave so there’s no waste and no funky smells when you come back.
Keys – I can guarantee that you won’t need your keys while on holiday. If the same person is dropping you off at the airport and picking you up, or if there’s a way you can leave your keys with someone and see them on the way home, that’s one less thing you need to carry and one less thing to worry about losing.
On top of these things, thinking about an average fortnight will uncover what else will be affected while you’re away. There’s a lot to being human!
If you need to talk through getting organised for your upcoming trip call Christie on 0450 399 664.
Organising heart, head and home
flor&order
