New job - working out of town 3 nights per week

[yoopermom]

I've done this twice in the past decade, and the hardest thing for me was coming home for the weekend and not wanting to run around like a chicken with my head cut off and do things around the house the way that *I* like them done. Prioritize what really is important to you around the house, hire some of it out, and learn to let go of what maybe isn't so very important..

My SIL was in a similar situation to you and managed to lose 50 lbs by committing to using the hotel's pool and workout equipment daily. She looked it as a free gym membership, and it helped her work off the stress.

Terri

 

[Callie]

Both of my older cousins travel a lot for work. One is gone almost every week to a new location. Definitely make sure to enjoy your time at home, wash your clothes when you get home (to avoid bed bugs) and also try meal prepping food if you have a fridge. They also said to pack snacks as well.

 

[ilovediznee]

Wow, thanks everyone! Sorry I wasn’t originally clear enough, I am driving, about 3 hours from home, receive mileage and a straight per Diem per night even if I don’t use it all. I start 12/17 and the first few weeks will be a little crazy with the holidays. They recommended a Hampton Inn so I’m already books for my dates until Jan. 4 and I used my Hotels.com so free nights will rack up fast! I will explore on my off time about any other hotels but most are “beach” style, some just seasonal and don’t have an inside lobby to get to your room and I want to be safe. HI also provides free breakfast do at least one meal will be covered. Keep any and all recommendations coming! Thank you all so much!!!!

 

[Hopscotch]

Try to find things you can do at night near your workplace or hotel. Fun restaurants, museums, malls, etc. My DH travels a lot for work and sitting in a hotel room every night gets old pretty fast. Or try to get to know some coworkers to occasionally go out with. Also, if you are driving to your job, you can get some of your errands done during the week. You can shop for non-perishables or clothes, get your hair or nails done, etc and then have more time on the weekends to relax or spend time with friends and family.

Also, if you are driving, get books on tape or podcasts to help pass the time.

 

[JoanneAZ]

I have a small zip top bag that has a duplicate set of all of my charging cords and electronics accessories that I can just pick up and throw in my suitcase. If I accidentally leave a charger behind I know I have a full set at home and don’t need to scramble to get another one. If I were doing this and driving I know I would take my pillow with me! Steady use of hotel pillows gives me neck pain and headaches.

 

[Imzadi]

I have a small zip top bag that has a duplicate set of all of my charging cords and electronics accessories that I can just pick up and throw in my suitcase. If I accidentally leave a charger behind I know I have a full set at home and don’t need to scramble to get another one.

I was just thinking the reverse. Leave a set of the cords in the trunk of the car. This way, if she loses one on the road or forgets it at home, she's covered.

Also, create a little kit for the trunk and include a can opener, some plastic silverware, paper bowls & paper plates, disposable Glad containers with covers and some Ziplock bags. You may want to get something to eat and realize you don't have the equipment to open it, eat or to store the leftovers in the hotel fridge.

One time I went and got take out. Drove 15 min, to the motel, undressed & settled in, and then looked to see I was given no plastic silverware to eat the food. I forgot to check the bag as they had brought it out to the car and that threw me off from my usual habit of looking in the bag before leaving the restaurant. The motel didn't have any plastic silverware. They aren't a hotel that might have had stuff like that. It was late at night. I ended up, getting dressed, driving all the way back to the restaurant as I didn't know any other place to go to just get some silverware.

 

[firecracker725]

Hello Disney Family! I am starting a new job (YAHOO!) and it will be a very different and challenging. I will be working out of town - leaving Mondays and returning Thursdays, working from home on Fridays. It is a tremendous opportunity and I am excited but my Type A, OCD mind wants to be organized. Our DD is going to be moving on campus in early January so she is not an issue and my husband is very supportive and will be handling things at home, specifically the 3 dogs.

I am looking for any advice that anyone who has done this before can give me. So far my friends who have travelled have mentioned these items: pack and exact duplicate of all toiletries so I won't have to pack and unpack every week, laundry bag for my hotel stuff so it can immediately go in to the wash when I get home on Thursdays, pack my medications in a pill box for the week but be sure to list all my medications on a medication form if an emergency comes up, pack entire outfits together, be sure to pack casual stuff to wear in the hotel after work, bring a stack of magazines or books I've been trying to get to, pack healthy snacks, get my car cleaned before I go and have it serviced.

Any advice would be helpful that you might add, including stuff for the house while I am not there! I want to be organized so I'm not spending my entire weekends home trying to organize for the next week!!!

Thanks - Diane

Standardize your wardrobe with mix and match pieces, to whatever degree possible. I knew a lady who owned only black pants with black or dark gray sweaters, cardigans, and jackets. She would add color and prints with her blouse, but everything else was standard.

 

[dish rag]

I do similar but we are gone longer and further. I would consider having a separate set of clothing at your work location and finding a laundry service. As others have mentioned a second set of toiletries that stay and some other things similar. It's nice to travel back and forth mostly empty handed.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Standardize your wardrobe with mix and match pieces, to whatever degree possible. I knew a lady who owned only black pants with black or dark gray sweaters, cardigans, and jackets. She would add color and prints with her blouse, but everything else was standard.

I worked with a guy who had to wear black suits (dress code) and only wore solid white shirts by preference so tie shopping was fun and everything goes with black and white.

For myself I'd go with a solid black pencil skirt, a grey pencil skirt and blouses in red, white, purple, grey and black. It would all work together and I'd have a pair of nude heels and a pair of black (as much as it pains this shoe girl to think about limiting myself to two pairs) bring leggings and comfy tops for around the room and sneakers or slippers. I never remember comfy clothes and I hate being stuck in either my regular clothes or my pjs while hanging around the room.

 

[clutter]

Get a room that has a comfortable chair or a sofa, so you don't have to spend your non-working hours sitting on beds. That's one of the things I now look for when I'm staying in a hotel on a more than passing through basis. Sometimes that's a benefit of a king bed room.

A decent tablet. Best hotel-room entertainment package ever. You can stream off of any app you have available through your cable service, you can read on Kindle/Nook. Depending on your service, you might even be able to watch your dvr.

Totally agree with extra charger cords. Preferably long ones. And a duplicate set of toiletries.

And don't forget about entertainment for the drive back and forth. Sometimes you can just find decent radio stations along the way. Or books on tape. Or music on a media player. Or CDs.

Enjoy your new job!

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Some travel tips that we have learned through the years, mostly from my husband's business travel:

• Pack an extra day's worth of medications and undergarments at the very least. Weather can affect travel plans.
• Wear appropriate nightwear or have some kind of cover-up in the event of a fire alarm or other emergency. (My husband has stories of people's "attire" when they were evacuated from their rooms.)
• Consider the upcoming weather conditions at your destination and pack accordingly. (If you are traveling to a different climate area or the forecast changes and you need winter-wear, umbrella, different footwear, etc.)
• Pack foldable flats or slippers for in the hotel room.
• Make extra sure that you have all of your chargers and power cables packed. (Both coming and going.)
• Bring disinfecting wipes for the remote, etc.
• Having a minor emergency kit never hurts. It doesn't have to be huge, just get a small baggie or pouch that you can keep packed all of the time in your luggage. Include things like a small flashlight (yes, phones have a flashlight, but you don't want to use up your cellphone battery during an extended outage), pain reliever and cold meds, Tide pen, nail clippers and nail file, eyeglass screwdriver, eyeglass cleaning wipes, mending kit, small roll of duct tape (re-roll some on a small dowel), band-aids, back-up phone charger, etc.
• If you have an exercise routine, pack some work-out gear, as many hotels have work-out rooms and/or pools.
• The evenings can be long/dull. Favourite snacks, reading material, apps, movies, hobby items as appropriate (like colouring or puzzle books), can help pass the time. Since you know what days you will be in town, there may even be groups that meet regularly for different activities, like a game night at a library, or other areas of interest you may identify from meetup.com that you can participate in.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Make sure you have a small first aid kit with some basic meds for colds/headaches etc. Also with daily meds I would take a picture of each bottle and keep on your phone that way if you have any issues you have the RX# with you.

When we travel I have 2 bags. One that does not get unpacked when we get home and one that does. Clothes and daily meds are in one, everything else in the other. That way you're literally just packing fresh clothes and your meds when you leave and the other stuff just stays in the other bag.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Oh one thing I forgot... I have a checklist in the bag that stays packed. I just wrote up what was in the bag and have it taped to the inside of the suitcase with clear packing tape I just make sure I have packed everything on the list before we leave the hotel. I am terrified of leaving a cable or something small behind and not realizing it till the next trip. So I glance at it when I am packing up in the hotel to remember to get my cords, wall charger, bathroom kit etc. My husband makes fun of me but there was one time the phone charging cord slipped off the nightstand and was on the floor and I would have forgotten it and the wall charger if I didn’t look at the list.

 

[NHdisneylover]

DH spends about 90% of weeknights in hotels and I spend more and more with him (though not the same hotel each time, like you'll have):

Use the lobby as extra living space. Sometimes the chairs are more comfortable for reading, or the tables that are there for breakfast are perfect to sit at while you eat a take out dinner, etc. That lobby is there for guests and adds some changes of positioon and scenery for you.


If laundry isn't too expensive in the hotel, do your wash on a weeknight, so you can better enjoy your weekends at home.

Make use of the hotel pool and fitness center---basically a free gym membership

Order take out once in a while---going our for dinner gets old quickly. Similarly, pick up a good salad from a grocery store for dinner sometimes too.

once you get to know the staff at the hotel, see if they will hold your toiletry bag for you so you don't have to bring it everyweek. When I used to travel, the hotel I stayed at held it for me.

Yes to this, but I'd take it one step further. In my "go bag" (which I woudl be thrilled if I could leave and return to week after week) I keep:
a full set of chargers
slippers
a robe
toiletries

I would suggest all of the above, plus maybe a blanket you like to curl up in when reading, etc, stock of local take out menus, hobby supplies (I like to piece quilts, so I'd have scissors and pins and a cutting mat, etc), and so on---little things you will need or want each week which can be easily duplicated both places.

 

[Imzadi]

A decent tablet. Best hotel-room entertainment package ever. You can stream off of any app you have available through your cable service, you can read on Kindle/Nook. Depending on your service, you might even be able to watch your dvr.

Yes. And get an HDMI cable. About $10. I stream all of my movies onto my tablet then watch it on my big TV via the HDMI cable. Most TVs have an HDMI port in the back nowadays. Just plug in the HDMI cable, hit "Source" on the remote and you are good to go. You may need a mini-HDMI adapter on the side that plugs into your tablet or phone.

Alternately, if you don't want to buy a tablet, you may have an old cellphone in a drawer that you can still use for only the Internet & apps. (Just no phone service.) Download the appropriate apps and use that for streaming, playing audiobooks or podcasts, or even for reading. This way, your real phone isn't tied up or always needs to be plugged in to charge while you are watching movies.

You can also plug the HDMI cable into your laptop and stream movies from that if it has an HDMI port.

 

[arminnie]

Lots of great suggestions here. I traveled for years on business. But not on a regular schedule. I would find out one day that I needed to be in Australia two days later - which mean leaving almost immediately for a 14 hour flight and a 1 day time change because of the international date line. And a week later I might be in London. I obviously had to depend on air travel. I love to read and learned that books were just too hard to deal with - I might need 5 or 6 to get through a trip - too much to travel with. I've been an Audible.com member for almost 2 decades.

I always kept a packed bag ready to go - just remember if you have separate smaller toiletries that you need to keep them refilled and up to date. Use duplicates of what you use at home. I used to travel with a lot of black and white outfits. I could wear a white blouse with a black suit for business and also wear that blouse with black jeans for casual. I love color so would add jewelry or scarves to add some color. Always take a week's more medicine than you think you need. An extra pair of contacts or glasses if good if you need either of those.

 

[OhhBother]

Wow, thanks everyone! Sorry I wasn’t originally clear enough, I am driving, about 3 hours from home, receive mileage and a straight per Diem per night even if I don’t use it all. I start 12/17 and the first few weeks will be a little crazy with the holidays. They recommended a Hampton Inn so I’m already books for my dates until Jan. 4 and I used my Hotels.com so free nights will rack up fast! I will explore on my off time about any other hotels but most are “beach” style, some just seasonal and don’t have an inside lobby to get to your room and I want to be safe. HI also provides free breakfast do at least one meal will be covered. Keep any and all recommendations coming! Thank you all so much!!!!

Just curious, what town will you be staying in? I noticed you mentioned the beach, and I also noticed you live in South Carolina. I live in Pawleys Island.

 

[tcufrog]

If you're living out of your suitcase Shout Wipes are your friend. You can sometimes spot treat clothes and get rid of stains while traveling with them. I also second neutral mix and match clothes. You can add personality with scarves and jewelry which takes up much less space in your bags.

 

[ilovediznee]

Thank you again everyone! These suggestions are great! As it gets closer and I finish up my current job, I am getting more excited for this opportunity. I've worked very hard to get this far and it is a leap of faith and some family sacrifices of our normal time together, but I hope that it will open the doors to possibly becoming full time and working remotely or lead to another position.

I LOVE, love, love all the tips and tricks - totally forgot about my chargers and such. I also use a CPAP machine so I'm already used to travelling with that. I plan to put all my outfits for work together and add the jewelry, but many of you had great tips. I love word searches and want to get caught up on some Netflix so I plan to do that during my down time and someone suggested the lobby as they might have more comfortable seating so I will definitely do that.

Keep them coming - I'm making a list!

Thanks - Diane