Ah, vacations. What a wonderful opportunity to “get away from it all” and enjoy some well-earned rest and relaxation. Well, that’s what I thought as we began packing for our Fourth of July camping trip. It turns out that camping is a lot more work than I remembered. We did have fun, but I was worn out and ready to come home.
When we pulled the camper into the driveway, the first thought that came to my mind was, “home sweet home.” The second thought was, “Now I have to unpack all this stuff.”
That’s why I’m writing this blog, to offer some tips for undoing the vacation. As we began climbing out of our vehicles, I said, “Everybody grab something.” With six of us, it gave us a good head start on unloading and getting things back into the house. My husband and three of our girls carried stuff in while myself and my other daughter began organizing.
It started out chaotically, as everyone dragged stuff in and dropped it wherever, but soon, my daughter and I had sorted things into at least a semblance of order. Dirty clothes and towels into the laundry room, clean clothes on everyone’s beds, cold food in the fridge, non-perishables in the pantry, dry goods on the table, etc.
The huge pile o’ stuff soon became several separate piles that made more sense. There were odds and ends, but overall it was a much more organized effort. It not only allowed us to get things put away more quickly and easily, but it also helped me take stock of the situation. I soon had a “to do” list (starting with laundry) and a shopping list (starting with milk).
Getting things more organized also helped diminish the dread I was feeling over having to unpack. I got all the necessities out of the way quickly, then sat down to relax.
Ah, vacations.