seen from United Kingdom
seen from Moldova
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Iraq
seen from Syria
seen from China
seen from Indonesia
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from Brazil
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
Consult the Cook: Simple Office Kitchen Edition I now have the privelege of free coffee and hot cocoa at the office, saving $$$ from the previous trips to Sbux. But if you're like me and perhaps the slightest coffee connoisseur, the kitchen kcups don't often cut it. So here's an easy way to spruce up your java :) I add a little bit of no sugar added hot cocoa mix and keep the rest at my desk for next time. #consultthecook
Consult the Traveler: 6 Steps for Virtual Vacation Packing
As someone who has spent a lot of time in transit, and somehow still do even though I am on a local project, I've learned to make good use of every down moment that I have. For example, I no longer answer most personal emails during the day. I save them for my commute on the bus to and from work.
About a year ago however, I was faced with a pretty unique challenge. I knew I would be travelling Monday-Thursday on client site and leaving for an 8 day trip to Europe the following Friday afternoon. I couldn't pack all my clothes with me as I was travelling for business and I could only lay out so many things in advance as I needed them during the week.
As a result, I created the concept of Virtual Packing. It's easy and highly effective. Below are my 6 steps for literally packing on the go!
Step 1: Prior to travelling, take time to lay out the clothes/accessories/shoes/etc that you would like to bring. Of course this won't be everything but try to think of the essentials. I found it helpful to not even think about packing too much...just laying out what I would like.
Step 2: Take some photos. Take a photo of your pants, your shirts, your shoes.
You're done! ...For now.
Step 3: When you find yourself with a spare moment, or in transit to another location (I did this on my plane to the client site and evenings at the hotel) take out a pen/paper, or open up a doc on your computer and start to catalog the photos your took in a way that makes sense to you.
I did it by clothing type (e.g. shirt, shoes, outerwear) but you may prefer something like daytime, beach day, Wednesday outfit, etc.
Step 4: Start to pare down what you'll really need. Do you really want to pack 4 hoodies and only one pair of pants? Did you forget that you also wanted to pack your favorite sunglasses? At this stage I like to plan by day and outfit. The benefit of virtually packing is that you can do a little bit at a time or all at once, depending on your schedule.
Step 5: Consolidate your list and add other essentials. I'm personally quite forgetful so I'll add things like toothbrush, socks, Drivers licence to my list. I also take this time to think about whether I'm missing any items that I can pick up during the week. For example, if I can grab deodorant on my way to the hotel from work, that will save me at least 30 minutes when I'm back home.
Pfewf, that was a lot of work, take a break!
Step 6: Now that you find yourself with only hours to pack you know EXACTLY what you need to pack and can feel confident that you've got everything you need.
CONGRATULATIONS! ...and have a wonderful trip :) Let me know if you have any suggestions, I'm always looking to learn as well!
Made myself a yumtastic salad! #cleaneating #consultthecook
