Last Christmas, as my husband and I were on the highway en route to the second of three holiday destinations, we groused about all the travel.

I know all my relatives are reading (Hi, Mom!), so I have to say this: We love you all and spending time with you during the holidays is of the utmost importance to us.

Which is why we allow you to make us into Christmas nomads. We even have a theme song!

Christmas nomads, where are you going?
Are you there yet?
Is that the Yule log?
Or just the dashboard glowing …

Packing and prep-work for our 10-day, two-state holiday extravaganza takes nearly as long as the trip itself. When Emmeline was an infant, the trips were a breeze. Not only would she sleep for the entire drive, she also had very little gear.

You know what I’m talking about.

The gear.

Oh, the gear.

When she was really little, it was simple: Toss a duffle bag in the trunk, put the stroller on top and go.

I figure that now, about two-thirds of our packing is for the kid, who is one-third our size. She needs a place to sleep (portable crib), her potty (oy), her toys (which she never plays with, but God forbid we leave those 1,000 Little People at home), her clothes, her sippy cups …

I’m tired just thinking about it.

That’s why I enlisted the help of professional organizer Liz Witts, of Organized Living, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Witts has spread her special wisdom all over the land through her many appearances on HGTV’s Mission: Organization.

I tried to get her to come and live with me (Professional! Organizer!), but she declined.

I can’t imagine why.

Write it Down

Anyhoo, Witts says the key to being organized for a long road trip is making a list and—wait for it—checking it twice.

“As you think of things to take with you on the trip, write them down, or as you see items or think of items that you want to take with you, start to set them aside in advance of the trip,” she says. “That way you won’t be running around at the last minute grabbing everything.”

If I didn’t know better, I’d think she’d been spying on me. And I think I see my husband over there, giving me the I-told-you-so stare. Because I made fun of him when he made an EXCEL SPREADHEET listing what he was going to wear on each day of our trip.