Are any Mom’s out there wondering if they are coming or going? I wanted to objectively assess the crazy comings and goings at our house so I did little math. We have three teens. Each teen participates in 3 or more activities at any given time. Activities range from music lessons, to jobs, to church, to plays, band, and booster clubs. You get the drift. According to my calculations our family can have up to 10 destinations in one week. Good grief!

The good news is, generally speaking, we get to wherever it is we need to go. The bad news is, sometimes we arrive lacking “this or that”. For example,

Band Competition-“Where are my black shoes?!”

Football Booster Club-“Where did we put the blankets?”

Guitar Practice-“Have you seen my music?”

Please tell me our tribe is not alone in this! Some of you DoAheads already have this figured out. I on the other hand did not. That is, until about a year ago when a dear friend and fellow Cross Country supporter made a casual comment about grabbing her “Cross Country bag”. I quizzed her on it and she shared her practice of packing a bag that accompanies her all season. It had headbands, water bottles, and a stopwatch among other things. All I know is that I walked away thinking…

“Brilliant!” One bag for all season!”

Some of you sweet sisters are saying (or at least thinking) “Cin…you are a master of the obvious!” Yup. That’s me. BUT in the off chance anyone else out there hasn’t thought up this quick trick to Doing Ahead I’ll say it simply:

Pack a Bag that can travel to each activity for all season.

If you’re a soccer Mom…have a bag designated for the shin splints.

If it’s football…have a bag for the extra mouth guard and Tylenol.

If it’s marching band…have gloves and hand warmers.

The key is to having the designated bag ready to go all season so you’re not repacking for each activity. The source for many of our bags are give-a ways! They may come from the fire department, a field trip or the cosmetologist! You name it-we grab a bag. The sack pack is a favored one. It’s smaller, and lightweight. It’s especially helpful when you’ve got several kiddos and several seasons of activity all happening at the same time. In the event you don’t have any of these babies laying around you can check out the link below.