The Simple Trick That Will Make The Morning Before Your Road Trip Go Smoother

When you're preparing for a road trip, there are lots of things to consider. How many people in your party can drive? Where will you be sleeping on your journey? And what interesting things can you see along the way? With so many elements that require some advanced planning long before you hit the road, anything that will make your life easier on your adventure should be welcomed with open arms. Luckily, there is a small but mighty trick that could greatly improve your departure process.

For some unfathomable reason, there are people that exist out in the world that enjoy waking up early and getting their day started before the sun rises. But even when you're a late riser, if you're going on a road trip, it's always better to leave as early as possible to maximize your drive time during the day. However, if you leave the task of packing up your vehicle until the morning of your trip, then you're wasting precious road time.

So, how can you save time on the morning of your trip, leave as early as possible, and still get a good rest? Pack up the car the night before you leave, of course. Doing it in advance saves hassle and means an extra hour or so in bed, which will be especially beneficial to the people driving. Not everybody has this luxury (for reasons that we're about to discuss), but here's why you should prep the car the night before you go if you can.

You'll have a lot less to do and worry about before you embark on a road trip if you do as much of the packing as you reasonably can before going to bed the night before. Although, before you do that, there are some things to consider. If you're going to give this whole pack-the-night-before thing a go, you'll need to be comfortable with leaving things in your car overnight. Not everyone has access to a driveway or garage. If you tend to park your car on the street, then filling it to the brim with stuff that could potentially be stolen is a risk that you may or may not be willing to take.

We recommend not taking this risk: Getting your stuff stolen is a surefire way to ruin a road trip. A sensible compromise is to fill the trunk of your car with stuff that won't be seen from the outside while leaving the parts of the car that are on view from the street empty. Just leave some room for important last-minute additions (like any pets that are coming along, for example) and you'll be good to go in the morning. It might take a little longer than it would have done if you'd packed everything in advance, but you'll sleep better knowing your stuff is out of sight, and a good rest the night before your road trip is vital.

Another advantage to packing your car the night before your road trip is that you have time to determine what you really need to bring with you and how much space you'll have left. It's important to remember that whatever gets packed also needs to be unpacked eventually. And if you or a member of your party is fond of souvenirs, it would serve you well to account for the things you're potentially bringing home — there's no point in buying cool posters if they're going to get squashed by a suitcase en route home.

Depending on the size of your trunk and how much you're attempting to squeeze into it, packing for your road trip can quickly turn into the most stressful game of "Tetris" of your life. With that in mind, try to place the heavier, more awkward items on the bottom as a base. If there are bags that you might need to access during the trip, make sure they're on the top. Or better yet, try to hit that sweet spot where you don't need to open the trunk at all until you get to your final destination by keeping essentials in smaller bags on the back seat.

With most of the literal heavy lifting out of the way the night before, you can go to sleep knowing that all you have to do is wake up and go on your next exciting adventure.