Getting Organized… how planning for a trip can shape up your home style

While planning a six-month trip around the world, i've been thrilled to find that my travel plans are also helping to organize my stay-at-home life.

   It's no secret that planning a trip takes a lot of time and thought, even if it's just a weekend out of town.  But a spin-off of that planning is the potential for putting many housekeeping duties in order before you depart.

   These are some of the improvements i've made in my life in advance of my travels:

  -- Converting to online bill payment will allow me to pay invoices from anywhere on the planet.

  -- I've switched our NetFlix account from receiving DVDs in the mail to live-streaming only -- perfect for downloading films online at some faraway hostel and one less piece of mail to deal with.

  -- Speaking of which, our home address mail will be diverted to a postbox while we're gone.

  -- I've converted all auto and home insurance bills to self-renewing payments on my credit card.  This will mean fewer online bills to pay while adding up credit card air-miles.

  -- Planning for a six-month trip has also prompted me to take action on the bushels of junk mail my wife and i receive each week.  Financial come-ons for credit cards and insurance offers can be stopped by contacting the Direct Marketing Association (Google it) which is a joint venture of four credit bureaus.

  In general, my travel plans have prompted me to 'think ahead.'  I'll be leaving checks for my property tax payments with a friend, for instance, which can be dropped in the mail when they come due, months after i've left town.

   Result:  a complicated, well-planned trip is making my own life simpler to boot. 

   Robert Downes is author of 'Planet Backpacker:  The Good Life Bumming Around the World,' available on amazon.com Kindle and Apple iBooks.  Check out Bob's junk at www.planetbackpacker.net