There's nothing worse than getting home from a trip and realizing you left something valuable behind in your hotel or vacation rental. It used to happen to me A LOT until I developed this plan and printable travel packing that I take with me wherever I go!

I've done a good job of getting organized over the last year, but one area I really needed to tackle was my travel organization. Since I'm not a very frequent traveler, I've always had an issue keeping track of my things when I'm away from home.

I've left a new bathing suit hanging on a hook behind a hotel bathroom door, my favorite shoes underneath a bed where they were concealed by a fallen comforter, and brand new bottles of expensive shampoo and conditioner inside a hotel shower. That's just for starters.

My traveling forgetfulness issues became painfully evident after I managed to leave my hairdryer, flat-iron AND my laptop charging cord at a friend's lake house following a recent weekend getaway. After spending nearly $100 to replace everything, and spending several days berating myself for being an idiot, I vowed that I would never allow that to happen again. I needed a solution ASAP.

I thought about writing down every single thing as I packed it, and then checking the list whenever we were re-packing to leave, but since we were preparing for a week-long road trip with stays in three different locations and a minivan full of clothing, beach toys, food, and other odds and ends, I decided that wasn't going to be a viable option.

So, as always, I looked for the simplest idea. Rather than listing everything we were taking, I listed the things that we definitely did NOT want to forget. These included things like my laptop, various electronics and charging cords, camera, my girls' loveys that they sleep with every night, my husband's nice watch, my sunglasses, and my skincare products to name a few.

Granted, I would prefer not to leave anything behind, but I knew that if all the things on that list were accounted for, we'd be OK.

Before we left each hotel, I went down the list and verified that each thing on it was accounted for and packed. And...it worked! We didn't forget a single thing. Well, at least nothing important.

I also made a list of the places we should always double-check before leaving our hotel or vacation rental. This includes often-overlooked places like outlets, tangled bedsheets, and hooks behind doors. I typed it out into a printable sheet that you can fill out with your own list of "Things NOT to Forget." 

I hope this printable travel list helps anyone else who suffers from vacation-forgetfulnessitis. Just click the link below. And then make sure you don't lose the list! (That's definitely something I would do). :)

Printable Travel Packing List

If anyone has any other tips to make vacations run smoothly, I'd love to hear about them in the comments. Happy & safe travels!