Trip Prep To Do List – Feb 2016

 In Pre-Trip

This month we got a lot of things done or started. The monthly activities are only going to ramp up from here on out.  It was also a crazy month on the personal side; insane at work, a family death and funeral, a friend in the hospital, a root canal for Nicole, and a 40th Birthday for Keith. I hope February treats us a bit better!

House

Fix up house for rent – We met with a realtor this month to make sure we are doing all the right things to the house to make sure we can rent it. Basically, we need to fix up some plumbing, paint and caulk the entire house and take care of a few odds and ends. Not too bad.
Rent house – put on the market between Oct 2016 – Jan 2017
Rent storage unit – Did research about how much storage we would need. Currently we are figuring between 150-200 sq. ft for storage.
Move all items into storage
Get landlord home insurance
Cancel phone, internet, electric, water – when we move out
Setup FPL for renters
Setup water for renters
Sell unused stuff on Craigslist
Host garage sale
Donate stuff that’s not worth listing
Forward mail to service

Travel prep

Add pages to passports for Keith and Nicole – ok, so we can’t do this now. We need to actually get brand new passports per the new rules just passed.
Get passport pictures for everyone
Get new passports for the kids and now adults
Scan documents – Passports, all receipts for travel insurance claims, all travel confirmations, credit card contact numbers, birth certificates, marriage license
Purchase Travelers insurance and medical insurance – doing research now. If anyone has any tips, I’d love to hear them.
Get international driver’s license
Learn to drive a manual car – I called everywhere to get lessons and no one teaches on manual transmissions any more. Fortunately, we had a friend volunteer to teach us.
Book first flights – March / April 2016
Book first accommodations – Airbnb rentals
Book trains and ferries for first month (Ireland / England) Bookings open 90 days out
Book car for Ireland
Get visas for long stay in Euro Zone
Book Eurostar 6 months in advance for best rates
Buy all clothes / travel items needed
Buy luggage
Pack luggage
Pack backpacks
Order business cards for trip website and emails – Keith has been working on a design for these.

Schooling

Apply for homeschooling
Withdraw kids from public school
sign up for Florida Virtual School
Call Rick @ Florida Virtual School
Meet with school board rep to discuss online schooling and documentation options
Get needed books for schools

Electronics

Buy laptops for trip
Buy a new point and shoot camera or a DSLR
Buy 2 external hard drives for backup
Setup Skype with family/friends
Teach parents how to use Skype / Whatsapp
Get 2 unlocked phones (one BB, one Apple) – Half done here
Setup Storage on cloud drive
Health

Buy and create a medical kit
Vaccinations for everyone
Eye exams for everyone
Get extra glasses for Keith and Nicole
Dental appointments for everyone
Final physicals for everyone
Redo Wills and Living Wills – Done.

Finances

Cancel unnecessary Credit Cards
Open a new ATM account
Travel notices to CC companies
Change address on bills that will carry over
File taxes for FY 2016
Change paychecks for 401K contributions (Keith for 2017)
Return Camry on lease – Dec 2016
Sell Keith’s car – March 2017
Do power of attorney paperwork – Done

Work

Write letter of resignation – Nicole
Write letter of resignation – Keith

Other

Going away party
Order cheap wedding bands
Get extra keys made

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Showing 2 comments
  • Lisbeth Heggerick
    Reply

    I’m overwhelmed reading your list – ha ha! Jarrod or I would also be happy to teach you how to drive a car with manual transmission (if you can find one for us to use!).

    • Nicole
      Reply

      Lisbeth – I have an upcoming post on our adventure of trying to learn to drive a manual transmission! It has been a funny journey, who knew it would be so hard?

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On his way to Washington DC