Preparing for a family road trip

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Cars.com. All opinions are my own. I love traveling, especially with my family. We go on several road trips a year but it is rarely done without a lot of planning and preparing. Preparing for a family road trip can be as easy or hard as you want it to be, depending on where you are going and what you will do. But before you leave, there are some things you have to do in order for the rest of trip to run smoothly. Things like making sure your car maintenance has been done to checking car seats. I am excited to share these things with you today in hopes that it will help you prepare for your next family road trip and you can have a great time that is stress-free (or at least less stressful) and that your whole family will enjoy.

• Visualize where you are going to pack everything
• Plan meal/snack/drinks for the days you will be in the car
• Change out the DVD’s, music, etc in the car with new ones from your stash
• Clean out all of the garbage, toys, etc and vacuum and wash the car
• Check car seats and make sure they are installed correctly
• Make sure your vehicle’s maintenance is up to date (oil change, fluids topped, tire pressure/rotation, gas full)
• Depending on the time of year, you may need to pack an ice scraper, extra blankets, etc
• Make sure your vehicle emergency kit is up to date
• Check batteries in headphones, remotes, etc and put extra ones in the car
• Make sure that the spare tire, jack, and lug wrench are all in working order

This list will take you maybe an hour to work through, but I can tell you from personal experience, that I have never once regretted taking the time to do this. From an unexpected flat tire to a simple thing like forgetting to bring a drink – we have learned and improved our routine so that the trips are fun and we are prepared for anything that may pop up.

What things do you do when preparing for a family road trip?