Don't get me wrong when I say this, because I love vacations, but it can be very stressful afterwards.  Whether it's way out of town or just a weekend getaway nearby, everything's enjoyable for me until it starts to wind down and I begin to get that anxiety about going back to work.   I start dwelling on what I've missed and what chaos I may come back to.  Then I start thinking of all the normal everyday routine stuff I need to do when I get home and if I'll have enough time to do it.   So how do you overcome and avoid that feeling and those thoughts? Well, over the years I have mastered it or at least found what works for me.   So check out these tips and hopefully you can make your transition from vacation to regular life a breeze.


Clean Before You Leave
Nothing is more frustrating than coming home from a nice relaxing vacation and being faced with housework especially when you still need to unpack and deal with laundry from your trip.  That's why I always make it a point to clean the house BEFORE I go away.  That way when I get home, it's already clean and tidy and the only thing I need to worry about is unpacking and decompressing.  Have all laundry done before you go away, make sure the counters are wiped down and the dishwasher has run, and make sure the house is swept and vacuumed.  If you have yardwork to do make sure you fit that in (lawn mowing included) in the days before you leave.


It's SO nice to come home to a neat and tidy home and it almost feels as if a maid was there and cleaned for you.


Schedule An Extra Day Off
Some people come right back from vacation with mere hours before bedtime and then they wake up early the next day and are right back in the office.  I can't do that.  I always need my routine of decompressing the day before I go back to work so I always schedule an extra day off.  I use that day to run errands, re-stock the pantries, do any cooking for the upcoming week, and relax.  I unpack anything that needs unpacked as well.   It's nice to have an entire day back in my routine at home before I have to jump right back into work.  When I don't take this extra day off I always feel like I skipped a weekend or something.


Even if you don't have any chores or errands to do on your day off you can still just relax. It's a bonus vacation day without the travel and packing/unpacking. 


Keep Up With Small Digital Tasks While Away
This of course isn't going to work for everyone but for me, it always helps to keep up at least once a day even for a few minutes, with my work emails, blog/personal emails, and social media notifications.  You don't have to complete any work but it always helps to weed out any spam emails or minor things that can be read and then deleted.   I respond to any of the simple emails / social media inquiries that are blog related or my work emails while I have some free time so that it's one less silly task to do when I'm back in the office or back working on my blog.  I actually get more stressed when I try to completely avoid that kind of stuff while on vacation.  So whatever works for you... do that! 


Schedule Things Before Your Trip
If you have arrangements to make for medical appointments, dinners with friends, carpools, etc. make sure you take care of those before your trip so you aren't scrambling to get it all done as soon as you get back from vacation.  If you are someone that meal plans like I do, make sure your meal planning for the week you're home is done before you leave.  Have your grocery and shopping lists made up too. 


Heck, I even make to do lists for when I get back, prior to my trip.  That way when I still have vacation brain I am not struggling to remember the things I wanted to get done the following week.  Do all the brain and leg work ahead of time and you'll have an easier transition afterwards, trust me!


What do you do to help ease back into the regular routine of daily life?

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Simple Tips for a Stress Free Vacation

Tis the season for vacations and extended weekend getaways and for most of us that means time to relax in the sun.  But for some of us, vacations can end up  being very stressful not just before but during and after.  So today I put together some very simple but super important tips that should help your vacation go smoothly and make the transition to and from vacation much more easy.  


Make A Packing List
Seriously I can't believe how many people DON'T do this.  A packing list is a surefire way to NOT forget anything important.  Run through your trip on a day to day basis like what you will want to wear, where you will go, what daily routine you will keep up (hair, makeup, etc.) and that should help you compile all the items and pieces of clothing you will need.  Type or write a list so that you can cross stuff off as you pack it.  Think of everything even emergency situations where you might need something you didn't pack like extra underwear, first aid supplies, or spare sunglasses. The whole act of making a list usually helps people feel less anxious about packing since you get your brain organized instead of just letting all the random things you "need to remember to pack" float around in your head.


Plan Your Outfits
This goes hand in hand with packing.  Look at what the weather will be like and the places you are planning to visit then dress accordingly.  It makes it easier to pack enough clothing so that you have different options too. 


Plan Meals
If you are going to eat out every day that's fine but some people like to bring stuff along so make sure you plan out your packed meals and any extra snacks.  Then try to plan out where and what you'll be eating on what days when it comes to eating at restaurants.  Don't be afraid to make reservations either so you're guaranteed a spot and your vacay goes as planned.


Schedule an Extra Day Off
Some people don't do this and I notice they are super frazzled when they come back to the office the day after their vacation.  They didn't have any time to decompress. When I travel I always take an extra day off for after I get home so I can unpack, run any errands for the upcoming week, and decompress and readjust to my normal routine.  It makes such a difference on my first day back at work.  Whenever I don't do that I often feel run down and sometimes I even get sick. 


Stick to a Budget
Figure out how much money you want to spend then use those amounts to determine what activities you'll do and how much money will be used on each event.  This also helps you decide whether you should eat out for every meal or plan a few nights in where you cook so that you can save money.  Also knowing how much you have to spend keeps your shopping in check.  If you don't have money allocated to go clothing shopping - DON'T DO IT! Sticking to a budget will help alleviate that constant nagging anxiety where you ask yourself "Crap, how much have I spent so far?".


Plan Activities and Down Time
Vacations are supposed to be relaxing and scheduling your activities and plans will help them go more smoothly.  You'll have an idea of timing and schedules and if you decide to not do something you planned on, that's okay too because it just means you'll have more down time. Do a little research on what activities are available in the area you'll be and make reservations or other plans so that everything goes smoothly and on time.


Notify Police and Neighbors
You should always let your local police know when you'll be away.  They can come and do daily perimeter checks around your house making sure no one entered while you were gone.  It's also a good idea to have a trustworthy neighbor aware that you'll be away so they can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.  Always ask a neighbor to bring in the mail and newspaper so it's not obvious you're away.  And it doesn't hurt to ask them to do a walk through in your house every other day just to make sure nothing happened like a leak, etc.


With these simple but important tips in mind your vacation plans should go off without a hitch!


Do you have anything you MUST do before or during a vacation to keep it stress free?


  

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Scenes from Our Vacation

So two weekends ago we went to Rehoboth Beach and stayed at a friend's camper.  It was seriously a blast.   Of course I am such a homoebody so I was ready to leave by Sunday morning but still,  it was a nice getaway.  I actually didn't take very many pictures because I wanted to just kind of live in the moment as things happened.  My memories are so much more vivid that way.  I actually read that when you photograph something, your brain doesn't catalog it the same way as it does when you just observe it so your memory isn't as strong.

But I still wanted to share the few pictures I did take and some of the stories that go along with them.

 Life in a camper was fun but cramped, especially when you're a woman and you ened to move around to do your hair, makeup, etc.   But it was still fun and we hung out with lots of people that were friends with the friends we stayed with. 

 Of course you can't go to the beach without getting crabs, so we went to Crab House Friday night and I got softshell crabs while James got a bunch of hardshell crabs.

 I seriously love Rehoboth Beach. Everyone was so nice and friendly and it was very relaxing which is different than the vacations I used to take where it was teenagers and rowdy kids everywhere.

Now for the most fun story of all.... we had a very close call with a shark, thanks to the stubborn boyfriend pictured above.  


So Saturday we were in the water with a bunch of our friends and I noticed a tall dorsal fin swimming back and forth right behind us.  We couldn't have been more than 50 feet off shore either.  So right away I shouted "I'm not even kidding, but there is a shark, GET OUT!".  Everyone got out of the water as quickly as possible....except James.  He stood there staring at us.   He says it's because he "thought it would go away" but all of a sudden it jumped towards him and thrashed.   It was so scary from our point of view.  He then felt a whoosh of water from it's tail on the back of his legs and he high tailed it out of there.  The lifeguard blew the whistle to get everyone out, and he acknowledged that it was a decent sized dorsal fin and about a 3-4 foot shark.  That morning we saw lots of dolphins in little clusters all over.  So as soon as the whistles started blowing all of the dolphins appeared and came super close to shore.  I don't know if it was because they knew it meant danger and they wanted to check it out or what.  It was pretty cool.   So after a few minutes we were allowed back in. We got in and played in the waves the rest of the day but still, it was a very close call.


I am so glad to be home.  I love getaways but I love coming home to my pups and my house! 

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