6 Biggest Things People Forget to Do BEFORE They Travel 

Lay the whole content of your check-in luggage out on the floor and get one picture where everything is clearly visible. Put it in your online Dropbox. If your suitcase goes missing and you need compesation, you have proof of your belongings which makes insurance claims so much easier. Also do a close-up of jewelry, etc. if they aren't easy to see on the big picture.

Small tip but important. Run your garbage disposer. It's not nice to come back from a vacation and find the broccoli you had 10 days ago has fermented in the disposer.

We always unplug our wireless router before we go. Eat or throw out any food that will go bad while you're gone. And whatever you do, do not leave on a trip with dirty dishes in the sink!

Bring an international electrical outlet adapter plug

I'm not even joking this video reminded me to turn off my oven lol

Mark, very good information. Somethings I do just prior to leaving the house to go on my trip; 1- Empty garbage. 2- Shut off water main. 3- Shut off water heater breaker. 4- Adjust A/C temperature to a moderate setting. I then don't have to worry about bad orders, water leaks/brakes, or high electric bills , when I return.

On your mobile phone turn off automatic updates. So it wont update while you are paying for the more expensive data....

Take an empty 2L pop bottle. Pour a couple of inches of a coloured liquid into it and freeze. Repeat the process with different coloured liquids until you have multiple layers of different colours going all the way up the bottle. Leave it in the freezer and check it when you return. If the colours have run into each other, you know the power went off long enough to spoil your food while you were gone.

Mark, one thing you mentioned a long time ago that I had never considered was prior to every trip, locate the U.S. Embassy in every city on your itinerary or at least find the closest one and note the contact info; very prudent advice and part of my pre-trip routine.

Check your fridge for things like milk that have expiration dates and can cause a major stink. Use them up BEFORE you go. I've only had to go through that lesson once. Also, make your bed and tidy up a little before you leave your house so you're not faced with having to take out two-week-old trash when you get back from your fabulous and exhausting trip. Plus, a made bed is just nicer to come home to.

Put a paper cup with water in it in the freezer ahead of time. Once frozen place a coin on top. If your power goes out while you were gone you will know by the flashing clocks, but you won't know for how long. If the coin is still on top your food remained frozen. If the coin is inside the ice you will know that your freezer thawed and then refroze the food.

take a photocopy of passport put in a separate place

Thanks for the videos. You are also giving your sons a tremendous gift by showing them the world. Our family lived in Switzerland for a year when I was 8 years old (1972) and I still have fond memories of that year. God bless you and yours.

Make sure your bills are automatically deducted from your account. Set your phone to airplane mode and only use local wifi; otherwise get a local SIM card.

Unplug all electrical stuff

I have a travel kit (including nail clippers) that stays in my luggage even when I'm not on holiday. That way I don't need to think when I pack before trips.

Don't forget prescription medications.

Before I leave: I get a copy of my prescriptions and a copy of the info sheet from my pharmacist. Check the weather forecast at my destination. Clean the house, including changing the bed linens. (Sooooo nice to come home to.)

Take out trash and throw away or eat food that will expire

Fantastic tips. Also, TURN YOUR MAIN WATER VALVE OFF. TURN YOUR WATER HEATER OFF!

I keep a list in my suitcase of things to do before I leave and things to remember to bring with me. That way I cannot forget to check my list before I leave.

1) If using AirBnb: bring a small TORCH (or use your cellphone) I have only great experiences with AirBnb, but some places there are no or little light from the main door from the street up the stairs to the apartment. 2) Shopping fashion: if you travel light, like with a medium-size backpack like myself; pack some old clothes ready for trashing, use them during your trip, and then trash them. THEN you can shop some NEW shirts, jeans or whatever, and stuff them in your backpack, using the space the old items used up.

What I learned while travelling: ALWAYS bring your nail file you.

These are some "must do" before you travel ... Scan your passports, send to a relative or friend, so if you lose it, they can email it to you. Makes it a whole lot faster to get a replacement. PRINT OUT all your reservations, air, hotel, etc. They come in handy if you lose your cellphone or don't have a connection (this has happened to me many times) PACK, one change of clothes in your carry on, if you check luggage. You will then always have a least one change while you wash and dry the other BRING the bottles(with labels) and prescriptions of all medication you bring with you. Some countries it's illegal to have without them OUTLET CONVERTOR, you don't want to get into the hotel late at night to find you can't plug anything in! CREDIT CARDS! Always have a back up, a card that you never use (make sure you call to activate, etc). One that you will pack separately, with some cash and some sort of ID. I had a friend who got her wallet stolen in Paris, with all her credit cards, cash and id/passport. Talk about feeling naked and afraid!

One of the items people often overlook when preparing to travel is to notify their veterinarian of who will be caring for their pet while they are away, and that that person is authorized to make care decisions and incur expenses on your behalf.

Buying a sim card in Europe just for the trip might be the way to go. From what I've experienced so far, American cellphone plans are always very expensive (like $40-80/month, even without traveling to a different country), but in a lot of European countries you only pay 10-15€ a month for (a limited amount of) calls, texts and data. Or you go prepayed an pay roughly 9ct/min. And the good thing is, as long as you don't leave the union, prices per EU call or text won't go above a certain limit (something like 15 cents I think), so you won't spend huge amounts of money. I even used my German sim card in the US because I had Wifi most of the time and calling people wasn't much more expensive either. Hope I could help!

Set up a radio to a talk station on a timer with volume up fairly loud - like you would if you were running around the house doing chores. Just an added measure to the lamps on timers. Also don't forget to reprogram your thermostats to save on your utilities.

GET TRAVEL INSURANCE!!! Plan ahead!!!

Set up your bills on auto pay then you don't ever have to worry about it. If you can't pay your bills and afford to travel then you should probably wait anyhow.

Thanks for the tips man good work! I watch all your videos

Suspend your newspaper subscription if you have one (especially if it's daily)

Thanks a lot for all those advices

great video Mark.. i keep finding more and more great videos.. Thank you.

you have no idea how much your videos are helping me out thanks for everything!!!!!!

These are wonderful tips. Thank you so kindly. And please have someone regularly checking INSIDE your place. My friend came home to the entire first floor of her house flooded from a water pipe that had broken while she was on a trip.

Excellent advice! Thanks, Wolter!

You have such good advice. I’m planning to travel next year (hopefully) and this is going to help a lot, thanks 😊

I love your videos! Saw the phone abroad video, and now I’m watching this video. Just subscribed!

Great information from this cool man!

Very useful information, Thanks :)

I didn't know you were on FB too. Have subscribed to you for over a year maybe two and shared your videos with many traveling friends. Thank you, I enjoy them very much!

Great Video!

Such awesome advice! Thank you! :)

I notified my bank about being abroad and they still annoyed me with calls on my first trip to Europe, more than once. The second time it wasn't as bad. I think they called once. That brings about another tip to mention: if you have a different number while abroad, make sure SOMEONE is receiving calls on your number at home so they can let you know if the bank IS calling you, because they might still bother you even if you do notify them.

Great Information. Thanks.

Great tips! Thank you!

I love your videos Mark! When you talked about nails I thought: it would be amazing if Jocelyn could make a video about what women should do before travelling, like waxing or shaving , moisturizing the hair, taking care of eyebrows, etc., so we can be less worried during the trip.

Solid video Mark! I'm one of those travelers with the local bank that doesn't have emergency hours. LOL. Mine flags any purchase that is not based in a country that I have told them I'm traveling to. Hence, I've had them flag me on Hostelworld (corporate is apparently in Ireland) and a few airlines carriers. But yeah, the rates are good. I have looked into getting a different card for travel tho. ;)

Check your calendar the days you will be traveling! Cancel or reschedule any appointments! Like a dental or doctor appointment. Some offices charge for a failed appointment.

dang guy, super helpful actually really good advice! thanks for this video :)

I like to have a meal or 2 in the freezer for when you come back & pass out. Maybe I should start making a shopping list, too, for those long trips. No good making housework plans post travel euphoria! Always a disaster for me...

Mark, Love your advice.

Thanks for the tips

I do love having the mail slot in my front door. Just piles up inside, no worry of an overflowing mailbox.

Hey Mark! Are you ever going to go back to Ireland? Updated videos about Dublin and Ireland in general would be awesome!

Great tips, thank you.

Thanks a lot!! Good advise!

Thanks for sharing 😁😁😁

Love your videos! A big YES on finger and toenails! When you said that I was sitting here watching and nodding vigorously! Thanks for your videos, keep up the awesome work.

Great tips! One thing I would add that could really be a life saver would be to either get a bit of a base tan or pack lots of sun screen. If you're going somewhere sunny and you haven't been in the sun much, might do you good to walk around barefoot for a bit before. I've had sun burns on tops of my feet and other weird areas that I didn't think of that just ruined my vacations.

I love this channel!

Good suggestions!

Great attitude! Wonderful contributions to the To Do List.....especially the finger and toe nails.

Definitely give yourself enough time before you go, and even day of. So many times I’ve rushed out wondering if I turned the oven off etc. If I went more slowly, I’m sure it wouldn’t happen. It’s tough though. The trip begins.. and ends…at home! Cheers happy and safe travels (and arrivals back home)

Very very useful

Great tips!

If you make a last second bathroom trip make sure you turn the faucet off correctly, i had friends come home to a disaster after a 2week vacation.

I think it is very good to create a packing list. You can start this list about a fortnight before you leave. First put everything on it that you can think of, then as other things come to mind put them on that list. Then when you pack the day before you go you will have this comprehensive list of the things you need. Take the list with you and use it when you are packing to leave, this way you won't forget anything. I keep my lists on my laptop. I don't throw them out, I keep them in a special travelling folder. When I am planning on going somewhere I copy the most recent packing list and use that as the basis for my new list. There are always some items to remove and some to add. I always take my laptop with me so the list travels with me of course.

Great info!

Some good advice about things I didn't think about...

Great advice 👍

thanks this will help a lot when i go abroad!

I've made most these mistakes at all at once when I went to Japan for a month except the phone data package as I just rented a phone. Online check in, photocopying and scanning all important documents like passports etc., having the embassy number for your country saved, adequate supply of any important medications and exchanging currency beforehand instead of at the airport are few other things I tend to do

great videos friend

I live in a shared house, so turning alarm clocks off is also on my list :P

Make sure your water is off in your home. Came home to a waterfall coming down the front porch lol. Learned the hard way. Tolls, make sure tolls are paind and non delinquent.

hey, the best nail clippers we own were bought in Switzerland! They are amazing!!!

You’re awesome ! My current fav RU-vid guy 😎

lol nail thing sounded kinda like a deep childhood trama lol love your vids thanks!

Spot on!

T-Mobile is the way to go, has always worked throughout Europe, 3G data speeds, no extra charge, only calls are like 25c

These have saved me money!

One of your best videos

If you're going to be gone longer than a week, hire a neighbor kid to mow your lawn/shovel snow. Nothing says no one is home like a neglected exterior. Great video!

Nails...so true!

it’s really helpful!

You could also fill your freezer and pantry with a couple of instant meals and uht milk. Food shopping is the last thing you want to do on the first day you're back home and exhausted from jet lag. Also clean your home before you go. It makes coming back easier, especially if you've only given yourself a day or two before going back to work.

Yes.... down to the toenails! Great tips!

The finger nail thing is REAL. I've put clippers and a file in my travel toiletry bag bc I always seem to break a nail or snag them when I'm travelling. There is nothing worse than having scraggly looking nails and having no tools to fix it!

Molto bene!! Grazie!!

Very thoughtful and great advice, all of which I can back up by experience! (And I know this isn't my business but I noticed you seem to have lost a bit of weight. Good job on that too!)

You must have gotten better gear because the video/sound is much better than old videos. Thanks for that, some of the older videos it was a bit hard to hear. Thank you for all the information

Good ideas! Practical. Especially the credit/debit cards.

Most nail trimmers are very compact & can go into your toiletry bag w/o a problem. Unless there is some reason the airlines don’t want you to pack them, it doesn’t seem like much of an issue to me. But the rest of your suggestions are good ones!👍🏻

You can always turn off mobile data on your cell phone instead of purchasing an international data package. I always purchase a local sim card for the country I'm visiting. Many countries require passport size photos on sim card applications.

Clipping nails is a great tip!

Hamburg is a great city. Vastly underrated.

"Jocelyn wants you to know that this is a Mark problem, not a Jocelyn problem." 😂😂😂

Thanks.

We unplug electrical things. We set the alarm! And we also makes 5 copies of our passports, drivers licence, credit/debit- cars etc. 1 for each of our handbags, same with suitcases, and the 5th stays at home so someone can help us if we are really unlucky! We also make a packing-list, this one is different from country to country we are visiting, that way we dont forget anything. I pre-order my medicines and get the permission for them to take with me. We always leaves some cups, plates and other things so that from the outside it seems like we are home :)