A record number of people read my blog yesterday, about using Furoshiki for packing. It seems that preparing and packing is an appealing topic. So, before I share my pillow-case-packing-tip, I thought I would step back and share some of my advance planning. Six weeks is a long time to be away from my work and home, and it requires extensive advance planning.
There are four major areas for me:
- Tidy up to the yard and flower beds
- Tie-up loose ends for work
- Take care of personal business
- Pack both the camper and van
I was feeling a bit overwhelmed last week with all the tasks related to these four areas, so I decided to organize things into “bite-sized” chunks. Each day I spend 1 early-morning hour in the yard, tie-up two loose ends for work, complete two personal things and pack a few things. These are in addition to my regular work responsibilities.
So far this is working out great. I feel a small sense of accomplishment each day and the to-do list is getting smaller and smaller. By 9 AM this morning I had completed today’s list and then focused on on my regular work. It seems that I may pull out of here Monday without experiencing a bunch of last minute packing stress.
I won’t bore you with the list of work loose ends, but here are some of the personal tasks to be done before an extensive trip
- Hold mail, arrange for pickup after 30 days
- ICE list and distribution to my son and several other people
- Emergency numbers to neighbors
- Dog vaccinations and health certificate
- Roll of quarters for showers
- Updated insurance cards for vehicle
- Money transfer
- Create automatic Email response
- Change cell phone message
- Back up computer files to Dropbox. Put some on jump drive in case I don’t have Internet access and can’t get to Dropbox.
- Safe deposit box
- Photocopies of route for friends
- Dig out passport that is about to expire and has horrific photo
- Absentee voting, for primary
- Decide what personal bookkeeping stuff to take along
- Set up lamp timers, one upstairs, one downstairs
- Prescriptions
- Prescription list, place in tote bag that has vehicle registration, popup owner manual, and passport (keep in van)
- Pre-trip medical exam(s) (I had heart checked out due to family history and my age and because I will be in isolated areas camping alone).
Also:
- Sanitize and fill camper water tank
- Check tire air pressure on van and camper
Before leaving:
- Unplug stuff in the house
- Use up food and turn off upright freezer
Packing : Here are the general packing categories. I will write more about each of them soon.
- Clothes
- Craft projects- already in the Furoshiki bags
- Bird books
- Electronics, camera, scope, Internet, batteries, small solar charger
- Food, cooking, dishes, utensils, paper products- will try Furoshiki bags
- Hiking and camping gear
- Inflatable boat and gear
- Tools/vehicle maintenance
- Paperwork
- Personal hygiene, washing clothes, porta-pottie supplies
- Cleaning supplies
- First Aid, Survival
- E Books: Kindle
- Bedding
- Misc: extra reading glasses
Some of the things from the above list will be stowed in the van. I will expand on this and share some recent photos I took while arranging the van (tow vehicle), I keep certain things in the van at all times, since I unhook the camper and take off on side trips.
- Extra water
- Inflatable mattress/bedding, one-burner camp stove, instant coffee, port-a-pottie (for “on the road nights” when I sleep in van)
- Charcoal, campfire tripod, pie iron, cast iron pots and pans, fire starting stuff
- Solar panel for camper power source and cables
- Inflatable boat, etc
- Chair, other camping stuff like flashlights
- Winter coat/boots
- Down vest
- Shower house bag
- Survival bag
- First aid bag
- Day pack
- Bug spray, suntan lotion
- Tools, cords, etc
- Food/water
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