This isn’t really about organization, but just to point out two things. The idea with planning is so that you can relax. If I am on edge, everyone is on edge. I’m guessing it’s that way for you too. If you are stressed up till the moment you leave, you will be stressed for the drive. Get it done early so that you and your family can relax.
Second, don’t overplan. A few years ago, we went out on a nice road-trip vacation through Nevada/Arizona and Utah. I had activities, hotels, restaurants completely planned. The first day, we were immediately sidetracked with a trip to urgent care to gets x-rays on Ryan’s hand. I also didn’t know how much time it would take to see the Hoover Dam. Our timeline was majorly thrown off. We were traveling to our hotel in Utah afterwards and didn’t make it to one of my other “scheduled stops”. When we got there, everyone was tired and/or cranky.
The next day, we were hiking in Zion and according to my plan, we would have had to leave to get to the next thing. Everyone was enjoying themselves and Ryan said, “it’s more fun when things aren’t so organized”. He was right. Spontaneity is always more fun. The rest of the trip, we changed our plans based on how we felt and what we wanted to do. We stopped places that were unplanned and had a very memorable vacation. We all consider it to be the best vacation we have ever had.
If you are a list-maker or a little bit perfectionistic, remember that when vacation starts, just relax. The best vacations aren’t really the ones that you do everything on your list— just enjoy the moment!