Back in 2016, we embarked on a long road trip as part of a college scouting adventure. It was fun, but there was a lot to keep track of. Prior to going, I created a portable road trip binder that made keeping the important information right a t my fingertips. Plus, it made for a great memento of our trip. Today I decided to share how you can create one for your next trip.
Long road trips can be a little intimidating. There are so many things to keep track of: hotels, touring plans, even emergency phone numbers. I wasn’t sure at first how I was going to keep track of everything. I decided that what I needed to do was create a portable road trip binder so I can keep everything at my fingertips when we are traveling. 
Let me preface this post by saying that I have absolutely no crafting skills in my body. Seriously, the craft gene completely missed my DNA. But, with how simple this road trip binder is, everyone can make the perfect one for their personal needs.
What You Will Need For Your Portable Road Trip Binder: 
- A small, 3-ring binder. I chose red so it would be easy to find in a full car.
- Several tabbed pages.
- Lined 3-ring binder paper.
- Stickers galore. I chose sticker packs for each of the states that we are visiting.
- Chalkboard pen and chalkboard sticker.
- Fun sparkly pens in different colors.
How To Create Your Portable Road Trip Binder:
- Gather your supplies. I had a lot of fun with this part, and spent way more time shopping than I should have.
- Start by personalizing your binder. I used a chalkboard sticker, a chalkboard pen, and some fun vacation scrapbooking stickers.
- Next, create a tab for each section of your portable trip binder. I started by creating a page for each state on our visit.
- I then created a page for each state and made a list of places I wanted to visit or things I wanted to see. This is a great way to get your entire family involved in the planning process.
- Create a tab for things you need to pack. I haven’t started yet, but here is what that page looks like:
- As Moms, we tend to overthink things. But a lot of times, that really comes in handy. One of the scary things about being away from home is not knowing phone numbers of doctors or hospitals from another area. Plan ahead by creating an emergency tab with a page for phone numbers:
Take a few moments each week before your trip by Googling the phone numbers of local hospitals in the cities you are staying. Can’t find any? Call the front desk of the hotel you are staying at and see if they can help you out. Hopefully, you will never need to use them, but you will have it all ready before you many need them.
See, that is all there is to it! And look how this binder fits so neatly into the compartment in my car: 
It is out of the way, but I can get to it in a moments notice. I also love that this portable trip binder will also serve as a memento of our amazing road trip.
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MUST-HAVE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS:
So there you have it, a simple yet functional portable road trip binder that will keep your trip organized, and be a resource in case of any emergency. I hope that you prepare one too! 
Tags : family travel, planning essentials, road trip, vacation hacks
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