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Summer vacation season will be here soon. With it is plenty of stress inducing things but also the chance to relax (no really). Below are some of my favorite tips for a smooth summer vacation. And to help make your summer travel planning smooth, I’ve included a free printable checklist.
- Ensure Your Vehicle is Ready for the Hot Weather and the Road. Before heading out on summer vacation, make sure your car is ready. This could involve an oil change, air filter change, antifreeze check, and tire rotation/balance. An often overlooked maintenance item is the cabin air filter. Located behind a glove box or center console, this filter keeps things smelling better and keeps things less dusty inside your car, minivan, or truck. Nothing is worse than those old fast food odors first thing in the morning. And changing out the cabin air filter can help. If really clogged up, it can also increase the amount of air coming into your vehicle’s cabin.
- Getting Your Car Ready, Part II: Feeling really industrious? Give your vehicle a wash, wax, and interior cleaning. There are probably some things on the exterior from spring or worse… winter. Between the road salt from winter and pollen of spring your car is pretty trashed. Wash it, then wax it. By all means DO NOT use liquid detergent from your kitchen to wash your car.
- Getting Your Car Ready, Part III: And don’t forget the interior! Vacuum, and clean the glass, plastic, and vinyl parts. For these last two materials, find a good quality protectant to keep your vehicle’s interior looking new.
- Stock Up on Summer Essentials Early: Things like sunscreen, sun canopies, and beach chairs can add up when purchased at your vacation destination. To the extent possible, buy those summer essentials and bring them with you. You’ll wind up keeping more of your money for a round of golf, putt-putt, or a few drinks at the bar.
- Do Some Planning, But Leave Room to Breathe: If you are the super scheduler at home, try giving yourself and your family more unstructured time. It is vacation after all. Consider putting a few activities on the calendar, but give yourself plenty of time to rest and recuperate. The calendar will be there when you get home. For now, enjoy your time off the clock.
Trip to Costco to Pre-Shop Some Summer Supplies
On a recent trip to Costco, I did some pre-shopping to see what summer supplies my club had. While looking for some sunscreen in the HABA section I saw a new Gillette® Mach3® Signature Edition razor blade that caught my attention. I had a few bad trimmer run ins in the last few months and thought it might be time for a “summer reset.” In years past, I would trim down from a beard to a goatee when the weather warmed up. But, lately have been keeping the full beard year round.
The Costco pack included 14 cartridges and 1 handle. I was intrigued by the claim that a smooth shave that’s up to 100% redness-free (it’s possible with Mach3®). I was hopeful that an extra-lubricating gel strip vs. Mach3® and having more Skin Guard fins vs. Sensor2® Disposable would give me a more comfortable shave. It seems like whenever I shave, it’s red afterwards. So much so, that I always use an aftershave lotion of some type. I also spotted some Gillette® Fusion ProGlide 2-in-1 Shave Gel in a 3ct 6.oz (Ocean Breeze). I thought it might be a good time to give my beard a reset and try out this new razor and shave cream.
Shaving Your Beard for Smooth Summer Re-Growth
If you want to give your beard a Summer “reset” check out my information below.
Gear I Used
- Electric beard trimmer
- Gillette® Fusion ProGlide 2-in-1 Shave Gel (Ocean Breeze)
- Gillette® Mach3® Signature Edition Razor Blade
- Pantene® Advanced Care® Conditioner
My Process
- Before Shot – Here’s my mug before the festivities began. Don’t I look thrilled?
- Clean Up: I find it helpful to trim down my beard with the beard trimmer before taking a shower. Laying down a towel to catch the hair from the beard trimmer helps make cleanup easier. Adjusting the trimmer as I complete a pass ensures it doesn’t grab my hair or get bogged down from the trimmed hair.
- Shower: Clean up as usual. I take an extra minute to put some Pantene® Advanced Care® Conditioner in my now shorter beard.
- Shave: Wet face, then apply a generous amount of shave cream
The last of the beard is now in the bowl.
Overall impressions of the Gillette® Fusion ProGlide 2-in-1 Shave Gel (Ocean Breeze) and the Gillette® Mach3® Signature Edition Razor Blade were positive. I got a very close shave and very little redness. My usual neck area redness wasn’t a factor. Really impressive. In fact, my wife checked the closeness and was pleasantly surprised.
Download FREE Summer Checklist
Download FREE Summer Checklist
31 Responses
This is a cool way to get ready for summer trips. I have already shared this post with my dad.
Great, thank you! Hope it helps!
I do my best to avoid road trips, but I never truly can. Great tips – and trust me, those of us in the car appreciate that shower and shave! #client
Thanks for your comments Michelle. If we could fly this year, we would. But, so pricey! Always hit the road clean and fresh. Now, my daughter with her dry shampoo? That’s another matter.
This is a great post, it’s like a Dad Summer Cheat Sheet!
Thanks very much! I hope it helps!
Great tips and a lovely way to get ready for the trips planned for the summer. I should share it with my husband.
Fatima, thanks very much. I hope the tips help.
Great advice. I really have to make sure our cars are ready before any big trips. The new shave looks great!
Thanks for stopping by Liz. I think it’s important to give the car it’s due before hitting the road. The new shave has already grown in, again.
Great tips for getting ready for the hot weather. One thing I need to do is clean the interior really well and then stock up for summer sports!
Alison, thanks for stopping by and for your comments. I think stocking up for Summer sports is smart. I’ve seen a few deals lately.
Love this article Rob! Great tips and I can tell you have put a lot of effort into this. Great review too, I will need to pass it on to my brother so thanks for sharing :)
Thanks Kerry! I appreciate the feedback. Hope the tips help out.
Good tips! Is always a pain to get everything done before doing some vacations. I try to avoid using a car so I can relax a bit more but in the end, if you can make an effort, having a car will help a lot. Cool pictures mate!
Hey Nic,
Thanks for stopping by. Airfare is a bit more steep and when you add in a rental car things really stack up. So, it’s cost move for us.
I appreciate your compliment on my photos. Something I’ve been working to improve upon. Video is next for me.
Love the printable checklist. I always make a packing checklist for me and my kids when we go on a trip. You may have inspired a future post for me including my packing checklist! I hadn’t thought to make a “to do” checklist of things to prepare. I tend to over-schedule – so I know you are speaking the truth when you say it’s important to leave some breathing room!
Karla, thank you. It’s actually the first printable I’ve done. I was inspired by another post I read recently. So, I am happy to hear it’s inspired you!
We’ve tried to always be conscious of scheduling. We learned that early in our child’s life.
great post! Checklists are so helpful when preparing for anything really!
These are great tips, and how I love road trips! I’ll be sure to share this with my boyfriend:)
I love being organised so I make checklists whenever I can :) my dad always taught me to check my car before driving long journeys too. Better to be safe!
Rosie | http://www.rosieromance.com
Thank goodness I have my dad to help me with my car maintenance! It is not my forte.
Great Checklist but I liked the beard, man. However I do understand it gets quite annoying during the summer so I might have a shave as well.
Thanks Chris. Yeah, like I said in the post, I had some run ins with my trimmer that messed things up.
But, no fear it’s growing back. That razor, wow.
I don`t know what my father used but I might mention this to him. At 16, my brother doesn`t have a beard yet so I might recommend this to him when the time comes.
These are some great tips! We just got our cars all ready for summer last week.
Great timing! Hope your summer is a fun one!
Wow! What a cool post for a summer trip! Thanks for sharing tips with us!
Thanks Ana!
I never hand wash my car but I didn’t know I shouldn’t use kitchen dish soap. Good tip!
Yes, as I understand it… washing with kitchen dish soap “strips” the paint of some it’s inherint oils. This will lead to paint damage, over time.