The Vacation Departure Maniac

I’m a holy terror before we leave on vacation.

That’s because I want to leave a tidy house (Beds made! Vacuumed! Light timers prepped!) the fridge cleaned out, cat & fish sitters covered, everything packed properly and not just jammed into suitcases, car cleaned before we pack it, decent snacks in a cooler so we don’t buy overpriced crap on the road….see?

Total perfectionist maniac.

Which is fine, except I never allow enough TIME to do all my maniacal stuff.

I insist on cramming it into the last 4 hours before departure so that everyone, including myself, wants to shoot me as we pull out of the driveway.

Answer? Detailed checklist. Starting a couple days before departure. Execute it. Stop screaming at everyone. Leave happy.

I’m trying.

How about you?

(Note: most of this comment was left as a response to Dad traveler Chris Brogan‘s audio post Vacation: A Dad’s Eye View 1.  Chris also runs the excellent site Dad-o-matic.)