Even though you’re on vacation, you never really get a vacation from homemaking and mom-ing. Keeping the family organized and running smoothly is still a must. Let me show you what homemaking on vacation looks like for me.
Recently, our family was able to get away for a couple nights to Wisconsin Dells. Last year we were gifted an apartment room for 3 nights there. We fell in love with our home away from home!
With the full amenities of home, we never had to leave the hotel. We brought all our food so that we didn’t even have to eat out. Except for ice cream, of course!
We loved that experience so much, we took a couple days to go again and we again rented an apartment room.
Being able to do all our own cooking meant we didn’t have to eat pizza or sandwiches every meal and we didn’t have to pack a 3 year old up in the van to go anywhere.
Swimming, eating and relaxing in front of the fireplace were our only priorities.
What Does Homemaking on Vacation Look Like for You?
I know, not everyone gets a full kitchen and two bedrooms and two bathrooms when you stay at a hotel. Nor are you going to be doing all the things you normally do in a day.
But in the age of Airbnb, you really can get quite the digs for an affordable price. Especially if you have a larger family.
For large family vacation tips, learn all of Amy’s hacks for an affordable time. Read Stacy’s tips for saving on vacations, as well.
Homemaking on Vacation Tips and Hacks
1. Put things Away– Vacation is not the time to feel frazzled and unorganized. Not intentionally, at least!
Assign a dresser drawer or chair, closet or corner of the room to each family member and get them set up there. For the rest of your vacation, that is their “spot.” They can keep their toys, clothes and treasures there so they theoretically don’t get lost.
2. Simplify Food – Vacation is not a time to restore health to your family through nourishment. Make it easier on yourself by going with convenience foods. Convenience foods doesn’t have to mean Pop Tarts. It can be individually packaged string cheese, granola bars, apples, bananas, crackers, Go-gurts and peanuts.
If you have a way to cook, go with easy, versatile foods. Start with eggs, bread, cheese, butter, peanut butter and jelly. With these items you can make:
- Scrambled eggs
- Toast
- French toast served with peanut butter and/or jelly
- Egg sandwiches
- Hard boiled eggs
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Toad in a hole
Also, check out this post for lots of great tips on planning and cooking ahead.
3. Only essential Supplements – I’ve got several different supplements for each person in my family. But I don’t take them all on vacation. I take elderberry tincture (no refrigeration required) and magnesium gummies (for regularity).
And always a bottle of Thieves essential oil.
Don’t forget about a few, free biohacks you can do on vacation, as well, to boost your mood and immune system.
4. Make the Bed – By starting your day the same way you would at home, you are setting up yourself for an organized start to your day. Also, making your bed gives you extra work space. A space to lay out what you need to pack for the day, what you are wearing and what your kids need.
5. Don’t Overschedule – In fact, don’t schedule at all! Ok, so some things need to be planned. But when children are involved, hold your plans and schedule loosely. It’s a new place, new bed, new noises. You don’t know what time your kids will wake up or what time you’ll be able to escape to get your first cup of coffee.
If you are slow paced at home, don’t expect your kids to jump in and be ready for a full day of activities every day. They’ll need some down-time, too.
6. Bring a Book– You never know when you’ll be stuck in line or waiting on the next thing or stuck in your room while kiddos nap. Bring a book to read. One with a storyline easy enough to pick up and set down. Then you won’t run out of data on your phone or be reliant on wifi for reading.
Better yet, bring a book or two that are great for reading aloud to your family. Both my 3 year old and my husband enjoy listening to the Little House on the Prairie series.
7. Dirty Clothes Bag – Right away, set up a bag or basket for dirty clothes. This way you can take the pile out to your vehicle – daily if you choose – to free up space. You can also bury it in your vehicle because it doesn’t have to be unpacked again until home.
If you are going to use the laundry facility at your hotel, bring your own detergent. You will pay through the nose for the detergent packets out of the vending machine. Plus, you don’t want to risk any reactions to the fragrances in the new detergent.
Pre-measure your detergent into zipper baggies so you can grab one and throw in a load.
A great way to keep clothes organized for yourself and your kids is to use these packing cubes. Use one per outfit and eliminate confusion every morning. I like these see-through ones so you don’t have to open it to see what outfit it is. Tie a ribbon or twisty tie on them when they are clean and if you use them to repack dirty clothes, remove the twisty tie to indicate they are dirty.
8. Buy Water – Even if you don’t normally buy bottled water, grab some. Or bring your filter pitcher along. Hotel water and city water tastes awful or different and if water tastes different, you don’t drink. Vacation is the worst time to be dehydrated and/or backed up. As long as we’ve got decent tasting water, when we arrive we chug and chug bottles of water to rehydrate from our traveling hours.
Homemaking on vacation looks different for everyone. Wherever you are vacationing, take some time right away when you arrive to set yourself up for easier homemaking and organization the rest of your time there.
I know, it may be difficult to get everyone on board with your systems away from home, but if you have them in place in your mind, you always have a definite plan of action. As your family sees you consistently homemaking on vacation, they’ll eventually come along with your ideas.
