Your Checklist for the Day before Travel
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The day before you travel doesn’t need to be a nightmare. Whether it’s for pleasure or business, it doesn’t need to be stressful.
I’m type A, I travel at least once per month for business, and I jump on 12 hour flights for fun. I’ve got you.
The day before a flight should be the first day of your vacation. You have all the excitement of this upcoming vacation, but it is all too often really stressful.
If it’s business travel, it tends to feel like 12 more things added to your to-do list.
After what feels like 5 million trips, I have compiled this list of things you need to do the day before a flight, whether domestic or international, for business or for pleasure.
Make this into an actual checklist, and you’re good to go.
You will head out prepared and refreshed instead of frazzled and exhausted. AND you come back to a clean house.
And be sure to pin this post so that you can review before your next trip!
Prep Your Home
The first thing you will want to do is prep your house for your return. Coming back from vacation is a bummer as it is, and it’s so much worse if you have a bunch of dishes in the sink or can smell the garbage from the front door.
This is infinitely worse if it’s work travel, you landed late, and you have to be at the office early in the morning. Those dishes are the last thing you need.
1. Clean out your fridge.
Once I came back from a bachelorette weekend to a broken fridge. I could smell it from my building’s lobby. Having something go back in the fridge won’t be this bad, but it’s still pretty gross. This is an easy thing to prevent and make it easier to go back to every day life.
2. Take out your garbage.
Please see point number one. You don’t want anything rotting while you’re gone!
3. Do the laundry.
It’s one less chore hanging over your head. This always makes unpacking less unpleasant for me. (And wow do I loathe unpacking.)
4. Change your sheets.
This is something I do even if I’m just going to visit my mom for the weekend. There’s something really lovely and comforting about coming back to clean sheets. Especially when you’re excited to be back sleeping in your own bed!
To Feel Your Best on Your Flight
It sucks a lot to travel hungover or exhausted. These are the things you should do to be sure you’re feeling your best tomorrow, which is even more important if you’re crossing time zones.
The best way to prevent jet lag is to not enter your travel already sleep deprived!
5. Work out.
This will help you sleep tonight and make you feel overall better.
6. Drink a lot of water.
We all know that flying dehydrates you! (I’ll mention this in the next two points too, so no worries about me not beating a dead horse.) Being well hydrated to begin with lessens the effects.
7. Eat well.
We’re talking tons of fruits and veggies, protein, and taking all your vitamins. You just generally feel better, plus there’s a momentum factor here. If you’re eating well leading into a flight, you’re more likely to turn down pretzels and other assorted junk at the airport. Plus all the excess sodium will dehydrate you.
8. Lay off the alcohol.
It messes up your sleep, it dehydrates you, it increases your heart rate. These are not things you need going into a long flight.
If you really want a nightcap, try an alcohol-free alternative!
9. Go to bed early.
I know some people think being exhausted on a long haul flight ensures that you will sleep, but I have never found this to be true. Think of sleep on a long haul flight as an added bonus. There are measures you can take to be sure you can sleep, but I think it’s always better to assume you’ll be tossing and turning for the whole flight.
10. If possible, grocery shop.
Put something in the freezer for when you get back, and get some healthy snacks for the plane. How many times have to gotten home from a trip late and starving, and there was nothing in your house that you could throw in the microwave? You’re obviously not looking to cook right now.
Getting frozen meals is idea if your trip is long, so it won’t go bad in the fridge. (And undo all the work you did in cleaning it out.)
11. Pack your snacks for the plane and hotel.
I am a huge fan of having protein bars and other nutrient-dense portable items.
Pack strategically so that you have things that help you sleep, keep you from getting hangry, and sustain you in case the restaurant in the hotel is closed (this happened to me in Mongolia.)
To Feel Prepared Rather than Frazzled
12. Make a to-do list for the next day.
I am a FIRM believer in to-do lists (I’m an ESTJ), and this will ensure that you aren’t forgetting anything! This provides a lot of comfort for me.
13. Call your bank and credit cards if traveling internationally.
You can usually do this online.
14. Pay your bills.
It’s easy to forget if you’re not on autopay, and you don’t want to have to make an annoying customer service call. This is just an easy situation to prevent.
15. Double check your meds are packed and your hotel and Uber reservations are good to go.
16. Double check that you have your Passport, credit cards, and cash.
These are the things you cannot get anywhere if you forget them. And pack them in a cute little bag that’s easy to access while you’re going through security lines, checkout lines, etc.
17. Print out your itinerary, make copies of your passport, and email these to a couple of family members or friends.
18. Download shows, books, and podcasts.
This is my number one requirement for traveling alone and not feeling lonely.
I never know what English-speaking TV selection will be available where I am (and even if I’m traveling domestically, sometimes there’s just nothing good on). For me, TV is a grounding element that helps me feel less isolated, so I like having shows to watch. Plus it’s good to have something to read on the plane (especially if you feel like you’re too busy to read in your everyday life, this is pure free time where you have nothing else to do) and podcasts to listen to as you explore a new city. Or wait in line at the gate.
19. Charge everything. Just…all your devices.
Yes, there will be outlets in the airport and usually on the plane, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
20. Lay out your travel clothes.
This is much like you lay out your gym clothes the night before so that you make a morning workout. This makes it really to get out the door quickly (and not have to find a last minute stain or need to steam something).
Personally, I’m a big fan of a cute matching athleisure set. You look polished but still are comfortable!
Is there anything you do that I’m missing? Let me know! I love adding things to my to-do list so want to hear about them!
Hopefully this helps you prep for your trip, feel better during all the travel, and re-enter your regular life healthily and with as few Sunday scaries as possible.
And if you want the ease of traveling more lightly, YES, it is possible to travel with just a carry on! Click here for my free carry on packing checklist, which has allowed me to travel across the globe without checking a bag!
