by kathilipp | Nov 22, 2016 | Christmas, Clutter Free, Podcast, Travel |
Get Yourself Organized for Christmas
Have you lost your Christmas joy? Does the thought of jam-packed malls, maxed-out credit cards, overcrowded supermarkets, and endless to-do lists give you the feeling that maybe Scrooge was on to something?
Get the book for just $.99!
And follow along on the blog for quick daily projects to get you ready for the holidays so you can relax and enjoy the season rather than stress and miss out on the beautiful moments happening all around you!
Recorded on the road in a recent trip across the country, Kathi and Roger share there favorite travel tips. Traveling is usually stressful enough and the holidays really ramp up that stress level. Packing the right things and having the right tools can save a ton of headaches (and money!) Kathi and Roger Lipp discuss tips for everything from how many pairs of shoes you need to pack to what to stash in your carry-on to your tech travel needs. As a couple traveling several times every month, they have the packing down to a science. Their tips are sure to help you as you pack for your next trip.
Kathi’s Best Tips
• Only pack two pairs of shoes (and wear one on the plane): Walking shoes, flats and heels. Plan all your clothes around those three pairs of shoes. • All your clothes should go together and should be based around a color or two. My last trip everything was brown and turquoise. Everything “went” with everything else. • Carry Woolite packets for quick loads of laundry in your hotel sink. • If you have access to a washing machine, carry a few Tide Pods in a travel soap case. • If you check a bag, throw a pair of underwear in your carry on. You can face anything (even lost luggage,) with a clean pair of underwear. • A Contigo cup will keep your coffee warm, and keep you from spilling hot liquid all over yourself on the plane. • Don’t buy travel sized items (the price per ounce is obscene.) Refill travel size bottles. • Hoard the travel size toothpaste you get from your dentist. (And the ones your kids get.) • If you forget something when you travel, ask the front desk of your hotel. They often have toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, etc. • Carry long USB cords for inconvenient plugs in hotels. • Carry a multi-USB plug for charging on the go. • Buy snacks at your local grocery store instead of at the airport or hotels. The prices are a fraction at home. • Bring lots of Ziploc bags.
Podcast Extras
Roger and Kathi mentioned many items that are must have’s when they travel. For more info on each, simply click. Links take you to Amazon.com and are affiliate links. Pack-it-Flat Toiletry Kit Contigo Cups Waze: Free Community-based Mapping, Traffic & Navigation App 5ft Nylon Braided Tangle Free Micro USB Cable Cord Dual USB Travel Wall Charger The Curly Co. Collapsible Hair Diffuser Woolite Travel Detergent Packets 2-in-1 Mobile Phone Car Mount, Holder
WIN!
If we forgot any important travel tips or you have advice for packing and traveling, please leave your comments below so we can include them in a future podcast. Everyone that leaves a comment will be entered into a drawing for Kathi’s book, The Get Yourself Organized Project.
by kathilipp | Oct 27, 2014 | Me, Travel, Uncategorized |
When my agent asked me if I wanted to speak on behalf of Compassion International two years ago, I was intrigued. I’ve always loved their work, and our church has a project in Nicaragua.
But you know how these things go – we had a couple of conversations, but it never really went anywhere. Yes, we sponsored a child, but I didn’t really have a story that was compelling for audiences about Compassion and the idea of supporting kids.
About six months ago, I hired a new booking agent, Julie. Julie has a huge heart, is super talented, and oh – she used to work for Compassion with their Artist Program (working with speakers and musicians.)
So I told Julie about my desire to work with Compassion – and she set up the call. The call that changed it all…
When we talked with Nate with Compassion, he said yes, we’d love for you to speak on behalf of Compassion. Then he asked, “Do you already have a Compassion child?” When I told him that yes, we sponsored Roger in Nicaragua, Nate suddenly got very quiet. Finally he asked, “What are you doing November third through seventh?”
Ummmm…
That’s when Nate invited me to go to Nicaragua to meet Roger and see the work that Compassion was doing there. Then Nate asked, “Do you want to go?”
And my first thought was “Um – NO!”
I’m not ready.
I need to speak Spanish first.
I need to lose more weight first.
I need to be in better shape.
I need to write more letters to Roger.
I’m not ready.
But good thing I didn’t say that out loud.
What I did say was, “Let me talk to my husband and pray about it.”
In other words, I did the Jesus-y stall tactic.
As much as I feared going. (“What if I held other people back? What if I got sick from bug bites like in Japan and had to be hospitalized again? What if…”) What I realized I feared more was not going.
Not doing what so clearly felt like a divine God-only opportunity.
Not doing what I knew I wanted to do, but feared.
So we said yes.
My Roger (my husband) is also going. We are taking the typhoid meds, we are learning very bad Spanish, and we are shopping for shoes and T-shirts for little Roger, who we get to meet in just over a week.
Fear almost kept me from the God-adventure of a lifetime. But I refuse to let fear have a foothold in my life. Fear is the one thing that will keep me from saying yes to God. I want fear to have no room to get comfortable in my life.
by kathilipp | Apr 12, 2011 | Because Sometime? I'm Just All Shallow - You Know?, Home, The Get Organized Project, tips and ideas, Travel |
I have a giant purse. Huge.
I was even given the cocktail napkins at a retreat after people heard me talk about my undying devotion for oversized bags.
I remember one time telling Roger that I needed a purse with wheels to lug around all my stuff.
Roger told me, “That’s called a suitcase and you have a problem.”
I will always have a giant purse (because I love them and see the napkin above…) but I don’t need to have the back and shoulder pain that go with an overstuffed purse.
So once a week I do my three step method (I use this all over the house, but here it will apply to handbags,) to keeping my bag from overflowing.
1. CLEAR IT OUT I simple take my purse and dump it out in a grocery bag.
- Anything I want to keep (but doesn’t belong in my purse) gets put away. (This is when I go through receipts in my wallet – or the ones that have been thrown in my purse, pieces of paper, etc.)
- Anything that is garbage stays in the bag and gets thrown away.
2. PUT IT BACK Anything that belongs in the purse, stays in the purse. This includes
Wallet (I like the kind that has a place for a checkbook because I still have to write a couple of checks a month, plus, it keeps my business receipts better organized.
Make-up bag
- Lipstick and gloss
- Eye liner
- Powder
- Sunscreen stick
- Blush and brush
- Eyeglass cleaner wipes
- Hand sanitize
Sunglasses case
Cell phone
Keys
Emergency kit
- Hollywood Tape
- $20
- Needle and thread
- Nail glue
3. KEEP IT UP If I do it once a week, it really is easy to stay on top of it.
Also, have a small bag for makeup, and an emergency bag, it makes it easy to transfer the contents of the purse into my computer bag.
So tell me – do you have any fab tips for keeping your bag clean and light?
by kathilipp | Nov 22, 2010 | Because Sometime? I'm Just All Shallow - You Know?, Christmas, Travel |
For the Airport
Since I have spent a considerable amount of time on an airplane in the past week – and I know some of you will as well, here are some of the Little Comforts that have made flying cross country a little mroe bareable…
Contigo
I am an unpaid sales person for the Contigo Travel Mug. I evangelize everywhere I go about how much I LOVE this little gadget for one reason and one reason only – it does not spill or leak.
Ever.
There is a button at the back of the lid you have to push in order to take a sip – keeping you from spilling. The cup is dishwasher safe but the lid must be cleaned by hand. That is how confident I am about this mug. It keeps coffee hot for about 3 hours, and tea cold for about 4. I throw my coffee into my computer case – that is how confident I am about this cup.
I was at a conference in the New Mexico desert for almost a week. I was without a car and about 90 minutes from the closest Starbucks. My Contigo became my best friend.
At the airport, I pack it in my carryon and then fill it up once I get past security. That way, if I have a super early flight, my morning Peet’s coffee doesn’t land on the lap of the guy sitting next to me.
Southwest Airlines’ Early Bird Check In
For only $10 one way, you can be in the early borading group assuring that you will at least get the window or aisle seat – whatever your preference. This is definately worth the extra $10 when I’m traveling with Roger or a friend so we can sit together.
Neck Pillow
If you are someone who can fall asleep on a plane or in a car or on a train, (thank you, Dr. Suess…) this little pillow is a must have in order for you to keep from drooling on your seatmate. I always do the Early Bird ticketing so I can have a window seat and fall asleep with my head in the neck pillow, leaning against a window.
Noise Canceling Headphones
I didn’t buy noise candeling headphones for a while since I thought if I wanted to get some effective ones I would have to pay the $200 for the ones that are avaiable from foo-foo chi-chi shops. No thanks.
However, after a long flight of trying to watch movies with my cheapo headphones, I knew I had to try something… Sony makes a pair that retails for around $50 that is just great.I can hear every word of How I Met Your Mother on my iPad. And that’s a good thing.
So tell me – what is your favorite travel tip for those long flights.
by kathilipp | Aug 15, 2010 | Travel |
I’m taking the day off blogging because Roger and I will be camping.
Well, at least my version of camping.
We are going to be in Bug Sur on the California coast on Monday staying in a yurt.
A yurt is a tent with a hardwood floor, a sink, and a queen-sized bed topped with a handmade velvet quilt.
For those of you who have heard my camping story, you know that this is about as rustic as I want to get…
Oh, and if you’re worried that I am telling the world that I will be gone overnight and you think this is an invitation to burglars to come and rob our house. said house will be filled with assorted adult children and guarded by our killer attack dog:
“I’s guard d puppy fuds.”
