Spreadsheets of joy and joyfulness
Yay! First ever post, have been waiting impatiently for a week after registering just to add my nerdy story to this question.

I have holiday spreadsheets. Nothing comes on holiday with me unless it has been put on to a spreadsheet first. There are different pages for each event and basic templates for different lengths of time (Overnight, Weekend, Week, Fortnight, Month, Week including Camping, Foreign...you get the idea!) Each page has various categories (Cosmetics, Electrical, Handbag, Clothes etc...)

These spreadsheets are reviewed frequently and printed out for EVERY holiday so the little boxes can get their 'check!'

I've never forgotten anything thanks to these lists and should I ever need to refer back to them I have all of them in my archive holiday spreadsheet folder. (Because I will need to refer back to them, I will)

Believe it or not, I actually relax once I'm on the holiday. (Mainly because I've pre-printed every routeplanner to get to every destination I may possibly need but that's another story)

I feel better having shared and realise how anal I sound. Thank you for listening, be kind!


Length? Depends which tab you choose at the bottom of your spreadsheet!
(PixxyPrincess, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 13:10, 10 replies)

You should post them
You should share. Here's my list of things I could possibly need, although many of these things are packed for less than 10% of my trips. I keep the list in my PDA Phone.

CLOTHES
--------
Business Casual
Casual (Jeans)
Flying clothes
Pajamas (if sharing a room w/ randoms)
Belt
Glasses (job interview only - they make me look smart)
Swimwear
Towel

FUNDS/ID
--------
Money
Checks
Itineraries
Wallet

HEALTH/HYGEINE
--------------
Prescription(s)
Toothbrush/toothpaste/case
Razor/shave cream
comb/brush
Hair gel?
Deodorant
Soap + case
Shampoo
Lactose intolerance pills
Anti-diarrheal
Sunblock
Insect Spray

GADGETS
-------
Alarm clock
Compass
Laptop
PDA Phone + charger cord
iPod/Headphones
GPS
Batteries
Camera + extra battery + charger cord
Car cigarette lighter-to-USB adapter

INFO
----
List of local restaurants
List of foreign phrases
Atlas/maps
Resumes
Book/magazine
Notepad

MISC
----
Snacks
Sleep sack
Blanket
Pillow
Padlock
(chase, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 13:31, closed)

Is that you?
You sounds EXACTLY like my best mate. She has a spreadsheet for everything. Luckily her husband also loves spreadsheets and the two of them will happily spend an evening in updating them together...
(Rakky (forgot her password) The muffin maverick, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 13:48, closed)

sometimes
the line between geekiness and ocd can get a bit blurry.
(trickbaby, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 13:51, closed)

Fantastic!
I think that's a brilliant idea...I'm seriously considering doing it myself now.


This week's qotw has helped my organisational skills no end.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 14:18, closed)

I must admit
to doing holiday lists myself. But they're far more detailed than just "casual clothes". I break that down into "T-shirts (8), Jeans (3)" and so on.

And although I now have bought a hand held GPS with maps of North America and Australia (but not the UK because I know my way around here OK) I still take maps printed from Google or the like.

And I always carry a length of wire in my suitcase when going on holiday. Very handy for numerous eventualities. (But no, I don't tie up kids with it)
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 14:28, closed)

do me a favour
email me a copy?

b3tausername at mr gates' nice cosy mail place .com


mmm the pleasure of being in cahoots with other spreadsheet nerds.
( ogwen69 has returned from Reddit, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 15:51, closed)

Sounds Shensibble To Me
However, for full pre-travel holiday excel malarkey, it needs to be broken down further. As I usually end up packing with a four year old trying to 'help', a one year old seeing what all the shouting is about and a wife with all the time management skills of a fridge magnet, seconds count.

For full geek-style packing, your list needs to broken down by room, so you can blaze through the house like an OCD afflicted whirlwind. One round trip per bag, job's a good 'un.

The big Ickier duvet storage bags are great as well - I know I can grab the 'outdoor kit' one and everything I need for a trip into twenty-toes country will be there, the surplus can be left in the bag.

There is also a 'beach/outdoor toy' one and so forth.






(I'm starting to realise that my geek/nerd secrets are starting to make me look less like Mr Organisation and more like a humourless obsessive twat so I think I'll shut up now.)
(osok Rebel without a clue, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 16:08, closed)

@k2k6
Good point about the quantities...but wouldn't work for a static/generic list, as some trips are overnight and some trips are for 3 weeks, and you'd need different numbers of shirts for those trips :)
(chase, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 17:47, closed)

Formula
@chase. You could do that dynamically. Enter a number of days and number of nights and average temperature and have some sort of formula which calculates the number of each garment you'll need, with some contingency in case it's hotter/colder than expected on some days, and that sort of thing. It'd be great.
(theweapon never ever bloody anything ever, Wed 12 Mar 2008, 21:27, closed)

Sorry but
not Nerdy, just a ruddy good idea, speaking as one who forgets at least one thing every time I go away anywhere.
(tinypod will never learn. Ever., Thu 13 Mar 2008, 0:09, closed)