Friday, March 21, 2014

Going Places: The Travel Folder

At any time, I have twenty or more teaching trips planned as well as personal trips.  How do I keep all of those details straight?  How do I know if I am coming or going?  I have Travel Folders.


Yes, I recycle my folders.

You might only travel for personal holidays, but I believe that these travel folders can help you to have a better trip whether traveling for business or for pleasure.

I just got home from AQS Quilt Week in Lancaster, PA.  My Travel Folder contained:
  • hotel confirmation, with address and phone number
  • a show brochure showing the address of the venue, hours of the show, and classes I would be in
  • a printed map (backup to my GPS)
  • a coupon for a clothing store I planned to visit on the way to Lancaster.  Also the address, phone number, and hours of operation.
  • the address and phone number of a co-worker that I was picking up on the way
  • address, phone number, hours of operation, and coupon for a Lancaster restaurant I hoped to visit while in town
  • a shopping list of threads to buy from WonderFil while at the quilt show
  • a packing list of things I wanted to be sure to bring to the show with me (gift for a friend I would see there, hand sewing, etc.)
I did not take 10 hours the day before the trip to gather this information; I made the folder as soon as I knew that I would be attending the quilt show and added confirmations as I got them.  Every time I thought about the show and had an "on the way to" idea or a "while I am there" idea, I wrote it down and put it in the folder.  This folder was always easy to find because my Travel Folders are filed  chronologically with the soonest trip at the front of the file.  I knew that the Lancaster show was after Road to California but before Quilt Dubai (when you travel as much as I do, you tell time by quilt shows, not by weeks and months).  

If you are a nervous traveler or always seem to be missing bits of information about an upcoming trip, I strongly recommend making a Travel Folder.

Note:  if you ever wondered if my geekiness had any limits, you now know that it does not.

4 comments:

Jacqueline said...

Not geekness in my opinion. I am the same way. I call it being prepared for any emergency.

Thanks for sharing.

Eileen said...

I think it's a great idea-I'm always forgetting something. I'll make one for MQX right now. Thanks for the inspiration!

Deb A said...

Sounds like an organized and seasoned traveller to me. Great idea.

The Calico Cat said...

I'm going to be in Lancaster for the Mid-Atlantic Modern retreat, what can you give me? (Restaurant suggestions - we are our own for food.)