As much as I love to travel and explore new places— being gone from home is really tiring for the organized, routine, mommy side of me. The longer I’m gone, the more I realize how I’ve actually put a lot of great habits in place at home to make sure I am taking good care of myself physically and mentally, and it can be really difficult to keep them up while I’m away!

What I miss: When I’m at home, I love cooking healthy, usually homemade meals. Typically my breakfast includes hard boiled eggs, some fruit, some nuts and always a coffee to get myself going right away. I usually have a quick but delicious lunch and I love a stir fry with veggies and some kind of protein for dinner. I definitely mix it up from day to day, but I still have my favorites, and I start to miss them when I’m traveling for so long! Don’t get me wrong – I love trying new foods and eating out, but it would be nice to have a good home cooked meal sometime soon!

How to solve: It’s probably unreasonable to try to cook every meal while you’re on the go, but you can definitely find good breakfasts and healthy snacks to pack or buy at a local supermarket. It always feels like you have to eat out while you’re gone, but most hotel rooms actually have a fridge and some even have a microwave, so it’s such a great idea to make a stop at the nearest grocery store when you arrive and stock up for the week. I’m also normally a little more lax with my nutrition when I’m on vacation, but for longer trips I think it’s totally ok to stick to the health habits you have at home and try to eat well!

What I miss: I’ve figured out that the best workout routines for me are Reformer Pilates and Hot Yoga. I’m pretty disciplined with my schedule at home when it comes to working out and I make sure to get in regular workouts each week, whether it’s through a class or just on my own. Currently, I’m suffering 100% from MAJOR jetlag and a busy schedule so it’s hard to find time to work out.

How to solve:This is a really difficult one if your schedule is busy, but two things help: 1. Most hotels have free gyms with great equipment! and 2. You can work activity into your day. When I’m at home, I’m working at my laptop a lot more, so it’s super essential to schedule workouts in order to get exercise. When I’m away, most times it’s to a big city with lots of activities and I can easily get in a lot of walking. They say even if you only have 10 minutes for a yoga video on youtube or a quick walk, that’s enough to feel a lot better than doing nothing at all!

What I miss: Another routine I really like to keep at home is having a full, quiet hour or so in the mornings for me to plan my day, have a cup of coffee, read something and just get my thoughts sorted out. During Fashion Weeks especially, I almost always have an event or a meeting right away in the morning, and tend to start the day off in a rush! I’m excited to be able to collect my thoughts each morning when I return.

How to solve: Especially with the jetlag, I’m not sure if I can get my quiet mornings back while I’m away, but I can get quiet evenings! Most of my rooms have had nice bathtubs that are perfect for a relaxing, evening bubble bath. If I go to sleep feeling relaxed, I’m more likely to wake up that way and start off my day a little better.

What I miss: I think we can all agree that living out of a suitcase is not an organized way to live (lol). I’m not an extremist about things staying perfectly clean, but I definitely feel better when everything is in its place and my room looks nice. I miss my closet space (I mean, it’s never really enough is it?), my desk and my organized bathroom drawers.

How to solve: The best solution I’ve found to staying organized is to unpack right away when I arrive. Even though I’m only in one place for a week or so usually, I feel so much better if my tops are hanging in the closet and my jeans are folded in the drawers. Everything feels more at home when it has a place. A lot of hotels have great housekeeping which also helps, but I still like to spend 10 minutes at night rearranging and organizing my room in the areas that the hotel can’t really do for me.

Do you guys have any tips for staying sane while you’re gone for a long time? I’d love to hear them!

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