Has it ever occurred to you? You have a holiday planned. It is just hours for the flight and you are struggling to get the kids ready. You recheck the luggage, call a taxi, and on the way to the airport, wonder if you have switched off the stove!
If it has, you are living the nightmare of FOLO - Fear Of Leaving On.
The good news is, you are not alone. According to the FOLO survey conducted by Honeywell, every third person is unsure if he left one or more appliances on. People most often worry about air-conditioning, hair straighteners, lights, oven and television. Imagine being devoured by anxiety throughout the trip!
However, there is a really simple solution for this. Just click a photo!
You can use your phone in a few smart ways to make your traveling less stressful. Here are the 5 things that you need to do to reduce the travel stress. And, your phone can help you with it without a need to install a lot of fancy apps.
1# Create checklists
When you are traveling with children, there are a million things you are going to carry. In the process, you are bound to miss out something. The wise thing to do is to make individual checklists for each person.
If you use iOS, you can just go to 'notes'. Create a new folder for the trip. Now, create an individual note for each person with the 'Must have' items like passports, followed by 'good to have' items like swimming trunks. You can do similar things with Android apps like Checklist. While packing, you can check each item against the list.
This also comes handy when you repack to return home by making sure you are not forgetting to pack something back!
2# Capture the appliances
Click a photo of the knobs of your stove top before leaving the house. Next, proceed to the bathroom and click a photo of the wash basin faucets. Next, click a photo of the clothing iron unplugged and safely tucked away. After that, go to every room and click a photo of the air conditioner units.
If you are a super-anxious person when it comes to it, you can try the smart home alternatives. These help you control most of the appliances like lighting and air-con using just WiFi and an app on your phone. In all probability, it is going to redefine the concept of a smart home.
3# Screenshot important emails
Gone are the days where you require a printout of the hotel booking or the airline boarding passes. We all use our phones for that now. Many times, the proof of reservation is just an email. If you are traveling abroad, accessing the reservation online is going to be a costly affair if you don't have access to WiFi.
In such cases, just screenshot the reference number or the boarding pass. It will come handy, trust me!
4# Use offline maps instead of renting GPS
Driving in a new country often ends up being more economical if there are 4 of you. However, the GPS rental is quite expensive. In addition, there is no guarantee that you will always get it even if you pre-book it. Imagine using your data for an overseas road trip!
Luckily, you can save Google maps for offline use. The only thing you will be missing out on is the traffic information. Just select the area of travel and download the map. In addition, you can also use other apps like Map.me. Don't forget to carry your own car charger with you!
5# Mark the parking spot
I went to a theme park with my family. And, funny as it may sound, we forgot where we parked the car. It was a Sunday and the parking lot was full. Needless to say, we spent a good half hour searching for the car in the huge parking lot!
After that incident, I have been clicking the photo of the parking lot indicator every time I park at a similar place. It has made my life a lot easier! In addition, if you want to use some better tech, you can use Google maps to see where your car is parked. This is how you set it up using an Android and an iOS device.
Moms and dads, vacations with children are quite daunting as it is. These 5 hacks will make your trip a bit simpler.
Also read: Tips for moms travelling with multiple kids
Republished with permission from theAsianParent Singapore
