I'm really excited to leave for Chicago in the next few days, but I'm having trouble motivating myself to get the packing done. In that spirit, here's a list of useful things you can do instead of packing for a trip.

1. Suddenly realize your house/apartment/condo is in dire need of a deep clean. Don't just tidy, get on your hands and knees to scrub those floors, go through the back of that closet you haven't cleaned in a year; these things are highly important and necessary at the exact moment.

2. Get caught up deleting old emails from your inbox while checking for flight and/or hotel confirmations.

3. Go through every item of clothing in your wardrobe and try on pieces in bizarre combinations. Silk harem pants, an oversized cropped tee and a black velvet blazer? How bad could it be?

4. Watch some of the things that have been piling up in your Netflix queue.

5. Begin rereading an old favourite book in the middle of hunting through your bookshelves for unread novels to pack for the plane/drive.

6. Eat all of the food left in your fridge. I've heard that ice cream can go bad after five days in the freezer.

7. Make a mixed CD (tape?) or iTunes playlist for the road.

8. Look at photos on Instagram and begin mentally planning the next trip you want to take.

9. Stare blankly into space.

10. Guilt-play with your dog. I'm sorry I'm leaving buddy, it'll all be okay.

Just so you know, you can expect posts to continue as usual while I'm gone, although I'll likely be slower on the commenting and social media front.