Travel Tips- Road Trip

 Road trips are a great way to get out and see what's around you. I also like to have my own car, especially with small kids who still need carseats. There are just some good benefits for traveling on the road, don't get me wrong- I love to fly and next weeks post will be about flying and how to organize for those trips!!


When traveling by car you have a lot more time to plan , and if you are traveling with kids you need to be able to entertain and feed them quickly. We have done traveling that included us staying at campgrounds and having our own camper to cook and sleep in, and we have also stayed in hotels along the way. I do prefer traveling with our own "house on wheels"(HOW) but that isn't always an option.

Packing Clothes: I like to have everything planned and ready to go ahead of time, I tend to start packing on laundry day (Wednesdays in my house) I get a laundry basket and as I'm folding laundry I put what I am taking on the trip in the basket. I give a list to my older kids (on their phones, something they are looking at all the time, so no excuses, and it's easy to save and make changes to

Packing cubes- so many options to choose from! 

quickly) and they add their things to the basket also. Then I pack it all in a suitcase, if we are staying in hotels. If we are traveling with our HOW then I pack them into our shelves and hang them up. When packing for hotels I will pack clothes into packing cubes, I like to have different colors for each person in the family, and label each one with the day you want it to be warn. Then each cube is the whole days worth of clothes, including P.J's. It is easier to keep track of everyones clothes when they are contained. I also travel with a dirty clothes bag to put all of the dirty clothes into- makes it easier to unpack when you get home!

Seat organizers keep everything in site and off the floor.

Packing for Entertainment: No matter the age, kids get bored. Of course it is easier to entertain kids now with technology but you are not guaranteed service everywhere you drive. So I like to pack a few things that make them look out the window and see the world, after all that is why you are traveling right? I also like to pack things that make them interact with everyone in the car. They will have plenty of time for headphones and games/movies on their devices. You can find great backseat organizers on amazon. I have one for each kid, and I only use them for road trips. I let the kids fill them with what they want to bring. Pinterest is a great place to get creative with how to keep your kids entertained while in the car!

Bin for each kids snacks- kept under their seat/feet

Packing for Food: I have tried many different ways to bring food for the trip. So far my favorite is getting a shoe box size bin, with a lid, for each kid. Buy the snacks ahead of time, and have your kids pack what they want in the box. Put the extras in the back of the car and save for refilling when you make stops. Keep it fun and interesting by getting things you know they like and things you sometimes say no to! If traveling with small children who drink out of bottles or sippy cups, pack a small cooler that will keep milk cold and easy to grab so you can fill the sippy quickly. If they are small and can not hold the bottle themselves then you will need to plan for more stops so you can feed and change the baby as often as needed.

Kid clips with cash for convenience store treats

Packing for Peace: Keeping the peace is one of the bigger challenges of road trips. Kids get bored sitting and doing nothing for too long. So plan breaks and times to get out and move around. Create fun play lists that can get you all moving and groovin' in your seats. One of my favorite peace keepers is making each child a clothes pin and placing it on the sun visor or a place where all of the kids can see it and when they are misbehaving you take it down, and when you stop to get to get gas, they don't get to get an extra treat. With my older kids I attached a money value to it, and have it in $1's and every time they misbehaved I would take a dollar away. They could then choose to spend what money they have however they wanted. I would keep 1/2 for the ride home- I know one of my kids would have spent any amount that I gave him at the first stop- its a good lesson in understanding the difference between wants and needs. This is also a good time top check in with your kids, listen to what they have to say. Ask all kinds of questions, and let them ask questions. One of the best parts of having kids is making memories with them and learning about what kind of adults they are growing into.

Random Organization for in the car;

• Have a trash can easily accessible for all trash, empty at every stop. 
• Have a bin/bag for shoes. Keep it on the floor of the passenger seat- have all shoes handed up front to keep in the bag- so easy to find shoes when its time to get out. 
• Whoever is in the passenger seat is responsible for helping the driver open drinks, or bags of snacks. 
• Clean out the center console for storage of said snacks and drinks.
• Make sure you have the car manual, again, you never know where you won't have service- and might need to look something up. Also make sure you have your proof of insurance and registration, the glovebox is a safe quick spot to keep these items.