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This blog post was originally published on November 14th, 2018.
Since travel is finally back in my life, I thought it was time to reshare this blog post with my best travel tips! The funniest part is that they still hold up! LOL. As I say in the post below, travel was a HUGE part of my life growing up, and in my early adulthood. It really does spark so much joy for me, and I’m excited to share the lesson I’ve learned while on the road. Let me know in the post below if you have any tried and true tips you want to share!
I’ve been traveling a lot recently and believe me, I am GRATEFUL. I mentioned in a blog post a few months ago how much I’ve missed traveling as I focused on growing our family– and I’ve been honoring the recent commitment I made to myself to explore more! When I was growing up we traveled almost nonstop, and on top of that, I split my time between Italy and the United States. I find travel to be very soothing to the soul, and adventure to be such a huge spark to my personality as I’ve grown and changed over the years. Traveling recently has reminded me of some of my best travel tips, and so I thought I would share them with you today. Here are my ten best!
in this picture
1. Pack A Travel Medicine Kit
I’ve obviously been doing this since I’ve had kids (you NEVER know what a kid will come down with, or where) but I used to do it for myself as well! For the travel medicine kit without kids, I packed: bandaids, Neosporin, Immodium, echinacea capsules, oil of oregano capsules, lavender essential oil, lemon essential oil, tea tree oil, Tylenol, Alka Seltzer, and a thermometer. For travel with my kiddos, I add children’s Tylenol, children’s Motrin, saline spray, Pedialyte packets, a Nose Frieda, and Benadryl (the topical gel and the oral suspension). Surprisingly, I can fit this all into a ziplock bag, since most of these brands make smaller or travel sizes, and for the pills, I only travel with a couple of doses of each.
2. Use Packing Cubes
If you love staying organized, packing cubes are a must! Especially when packing for kids.
Travel Packing Cubes
$20.99
Packing cubes streamline the organization process when packing. You can fit so much more when you use packing cubes and you never lose items in the travel shuffle.
Compression Packing Cubes
$26.99
These flamingo compression packing cubes are so cute and you save up to 60% of space with these!
3. Roll, Don’t Fold
The truth is, rolling your clothes before placing them in your suitcase lets you pack way more– and I find that my clothes get less wrinkled in transit. You can even throw a couple of dryer sheets in there to keep them fresh!
4. Invest in Travel Sized Duplicates
Stay fabulous even when you’re away from home! Don’t use crappy shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, or hair styling products just because you’re traveling. Now, most great brands have travel-sized duplicates of your faves. And if they don’t, you can just buy 3 oz. refillable bottles and make smaller sizes.
Travel Size Refillable Containers
$10.99
A great option if your favorite products don’t come in a travel size option- easy fix, just pour into one of these leak-proof containers!
Silicone Travel Bottles
$12.59
These are great options as they come in a clear pouch for extra protection against any leakage.
Clear Travel Bottles with Flip Cap
$8.99
These are a great option if you like to physically see what is in each container without opening it.
5. Carry A Pouch For In-Flight Items
My personal motto is “you can’t have too many pouches”. Well maybe that’s not THE motto I live by, but pretty close. LOL. Staying organized keeps me sane, and having coordinating pouches to pack smaller items in helps me know where everything is while I’m flying or driving.
Watercolor Travel Zip Bags
$13.95
I love the watercolor pattern on these and how they come in three different sizes!
3 Assorted Piped Pouches
$27.50
Mesh pouches are great because you can see everything in them without opening them up.
6. Take Three Things Out
Whenever I travel, I tend to overpack. I have a rule that I put everything aside that I think I want to bring, and then I carefully edit out three items. You always want to have a smidge of room to pack a vacation purchase on the way home!
7. Pack Socks Inside Shoes
The inside of shoes can account for so much wasted space in your suitcase. I pack socks, and sometimes underwear, inside my shoe cavities to use up that extra room!
8. Dollar Store Toys Save The Day
When I’m traveling with my kiddos, I visit the Dollar Store beforehand. I take a shoe bag (the key is you want an opaque bag you can’t see through) and I spend about $10 buying some toys for the kids. Every hour while in-flight I pull out one item for each child from the bag. Since it’s a brand new thing they haven’t seen before, they can usually play with it happily for a while. I have them switch toys at the thirty-minute mark.
9. Print Your Itinerary, And Place It In Each Bag
I always create a paper itinerary before I leave on a trip, including my flight numbers, airports, hotel names, and reservation numbers. I include any reservations we may have while on location, and any other pertinent info or recommendations. Then I print out two copies, one for my carry-on bag, and one for my luggage. I like to have hard copies in case my phone or email or working– or if my phone runs out of battery!
10. Pack An External Battery For Your Phone
And speaking of phones running out of battery! I like to travel with an external battery pack to recharge my phone if needed. I also travel with a power cord, but you never know if you’ll have access to an outlet while traveling. These things have saved me on multiple occasions.
Small Portable Charger
$29.99
This option is my favorite, it goes right into the bottom of your phone and makes it easy to still use your phone while it is charging.
Portable Power Bank
$35.99
This is a great option for those wanting to charge multiple devices at a time or on a given trip.
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What do you use the oregano oil for?
If I’m starting to feel under the weather, I take a capsule or two– it’s an amazing immune booster!
Thanks for the tips! Heading to Hawaii Sunday for the first time and am having trouble deciding on outfits! I always pack too many, but I like choices!
Help?
Omg sounds amazing! For trips like that, I always try to go with pieces that can be mixed and matched together in to different outfits. Everything you pack should be able to be worn at least two ways, if that makes sense! Hope that helps, enjoy!
Pick one color palette for clothes and stick with it.
What are packing cubes?? I have a time packing I like my underwear, socks separated from my shirts and pants. I really love to travel but hate to pack !!
I linked the packing cubes where I mentioned them so you can click and see what I’m talking about!
I LOVE everything about this post! The socks inside shoes in genius. And removing three things- such a good idea. I always over pack at first. And those shoes are ?! What kind are they?
I remove three things and still don’t wear everything I pack…LOL!
Which shoes are you referring to?
Me too! I figured out the shoes- they’re you’re blue polka dot Birdies slides, love them!
omg yes! my faves 🙂
Great post!
I do : 3,4,6,7,9
Always roll my clothes and always leave space for items purchased. I’ve done a 7 day cruise with a carryon suitcase. Extra tops a must. Can’t wait for upcoming trips. I love to travel and go on adventures. So much fun.
omg that’s amazing! Def an impressive feat. Go girl
These are so good! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Eva,
Those are great tips! My only other one would be to stay packed as much as possible. Have extras that you just keep in the bag (maybe not clothes but other stuff). It makes quick trips so much easier.
Totally agree!
Packing cubes are the bomb.com ?? I swear by them and usually gift people (family members haha) with them every year!
AGREE!! Ha, omg I love gifting them lol amazing
Thanks for sharing, Tip Nr. 7 is gold!:)
OMG I do the same thing with the itineraries! I’ll type each day out on a separate sheet with the order I’ll need things in (with reservation #s, Flight #s, phone #s, and addresses of hotels – everything) or what order we are planning on doing things in and then lines on the bottom of the sheet to make notes of the day that I want to remember to blog about later. Makes it so I can enjoy the day and just do my blog posts at the end of the trip. Adding a second copy to the luggage is a GREAT idea. Oh and thanks for the pouch idea…I’ve been trying to look up ideas for toiletry bags, but I’ve only found the bulky, multi-pocketed type of bags when I really wanted something like the pouches – genius!
Geez. I should’ve visited this post last week, LOL! We just got back from a great trip to Toronto! And (side note), last night I watched “Mighty Joe Young” with my 6 year old (a must, if you haven’t already seen it) and found myself planning an African safari for myself and the oldest. When you go a bit without traveling, it’s easy to forget how rejuvenating it is to your spirit. You’re super fortunate to have the means to do it regularly, but your appreciation for it shines through! 🙂