How many times have you found you packed too much or too little for a trip? How many times have you found yourself going up and down store aisles late at night to buy something essential that you really could have brought with you if you’d only thought about it? The trip packing list below is the result of much trial and error by my husband and me on recent road trips where we’ve stayed in hotels, in rental properties, and with family. Sure, you could say it’s a list for catastrophic thinkers but these situations really have happened to us (and fellow travelers) and we’ve really wished we had these travel things with us that don’t take up much room. As we’ve come to understand, fewer issues equals more fun when you travel!
Keep this list of tips handy for when you pack for your next getaway.
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Here’s our list of essential, unusual things to pack for travelling:
For safety and security
Wireless, Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide/Smoke Detector
Hotels have them (but are they working?) but a rental property (or your relative’s or friend’s house) might not. If you carry your own and place it in your room, you know you have one you can trust. Sure, you have your furnace checked every year to make sure it isn’t leaking Carbon Monoxide, but do they?
D-Rings
One frequent traveler we know, Chris, from EatWalkLearn.com, takes D-rings with her which she says are “great for hooking water bottles or wet clothes to the outside of a bag.” Hook them to the pull-end of a zipper, attach keys, and tuck them inside the pocket to keep them handy but secure.
Door Alarms
Feel a little more secure in a hotel room or rental property where you assume they’ve changed the keycode from the last people who stayed there. But for an extra measure of security, slip one of these door jam/alarms under the exterior doors to alert you – and an invader. It requires a 9V battery (something we also recommend you bring – see below).
Flashlight
This one came to us when the power went out in the house we were staying in late at night. We didn’t know the place well enough yet to navigate it safely. Let’s just say toes were stubbed and swear words were said. You can get small-ish flashlights that still put out a good amount of light.
Super Glue
Why? In case something of yours breaks or something at an AirBnB in which you’re staying that needs to be fixed right away. A spindle of a chair broke at a place we were staying. Rather than risk it getting worse, we pulled out the glue and fixed it. We told the landlord so they could find a more permanent fix if needed. Use it to fill a chip in a windshield in a pinch on a roadtrip. It helps prevent the chip from turning into a crack and a more expensive repair/replacement. There are also similar products out there, specifically for windshields, including one by Rainex. And, weird stuff just happens like the piece of trim that came loose on a rental car we had. It kept flapping in the wind and we were concerned it would break off and create a problem for us with the rental company. A few dots of Super Glue and it was fixed.
For health and wellbeing
BlendJet is a portable blender that you can use to make smoothies, slushies, cocktails, salad dressings and other liquid concoctions. Keep the lid on and it’s a portable drink (etc.) carrier. To wash it, just put a drop of dishwashing soap and some hot water in, press “blend,” rinse, and you’re done. Perfect for when you don’t know if your rental has a blender and you want to make all your blended favorites while traveling.
Save money by blending your own smoothies, and much more, on the go with the BlendJet portable blender. Photo courtesy BlendJet.
Disinfecting Cloths and Hand Sanitizer
The host of your rental or the hotel cleaning staff might have done a fantastic job of cleaning before you arrived. But they might not have cleaned all of the “high touch” things you would touch. So, before you unpack and start making yourself at home-away-from-home, give things a good wipe down (especially faucet and door handles and TV remotes). Rather than lug a lumpy barrel of disinfecting wipes that may dry out over time, we recently discovered Persik’s Pure Sky antibacterial cloths that you wet with water (no cleansers) and it removes more than 99% of bacteria. Rinse and dry them and you’re good to go for next time. We’re hooked.
Your own TP, at least one roll, because A) you may hate the texture of the toilet paper where you’re staying or B) the hosts don’t provide enough which, I think is a holdover from Covid toilet-paper-hoarding days. A kind you can feel extra good about taking is your own non toxic toilet paper from ecoHiny, made of natural and sustainable bamboo. It’s soft but strong, free of chemicals and dye. Keep it in mind too for camping and boating since it’s flushable and septic safe. We’ve found ourselves short on TP at the wrong time, or having to use really rough stuff so, strange as it may seem, you’re going to be glad you did this one.
Laundy soap sheets are a game-changer when traveling. I pack a couple of sheets in a sandwich bag and use them in two ways: 1. if I just need to spot-clean something or handwash an item or two, I tear off a piece and wash in the sink. 2. if the rental I’m in, (hotels too), don’t have laundry soap, I have backup and toss in a whole sheet. They do a great job and can’t spill. There are a lot of brands out there these days, but I like Earth Breeze.
Food Ingredients You Can’t Live Without
Do you have a favorite kind of sugar to go with your coffee? (I’m talking to you, husband, with your turbinado sugar). Your truffle oil that makes everything better? Heck, salt and pepper (you’d be surprised how many places we’ve stayed that didn’t have any)? We bought one of these multi-spice containers on a recent trip when the kitchen in our rental had only packets of mustard to season our food. We take the container with us every time we travel now.
Healthy Non-Perishable Food
You can’t always grab a bite when you need to like when your flight is delayed and the airport shops have closed for the night. Or when you’re stuck in traffic and the exit for food is a long ways away. We love Kate’s Real Food Bars because they taste good, are healthy, stay fresh, and aren’t dry as a bone like other bars can be.
Organized Pills and Meds
Forget packing a bag of pill bottles or loose pills! Keep a streamlined pill box, divided by day (and even A.M. and P.M.) in your suitcase to remind you to pack your meds. You can lose track of time when you’re traveling and this type of pill box keeps you from forgetting to take your pills. Throw in some pain reliever medicine too, in case a bad headache or muscle aches happen while you’re traveling.
Plastic Bags
We’re talking plastic grocery bags (from the stash we have from before we started using re-usable bags, of course) to be trash bags in the car (loop one handle over an arm rest) and for, uh, toilet paper you aren’t able to bury for said shrub-side emergency, above. Also, take a couple of gallon size zipper bags for wet items, like a swimsuit, to keep dry items from getting wet until you can hang it up to dry.
Hungry for more? Get these tips for safe and healthy travel.
Storage Containers
Sometimes rental places have very well-stocked kitchens and sometimes they don’t. If you’re planning to cook at your home away from home, and have leftovers, you’ll want containers to put them in versus crusting over on a plate in the fridge. One or two that nest inside each other (and don’t take up much room in your bag) are probably plenty. This set, though, is so compact (and darned colorful), you could take them all.
Things to pack for comfort and convenience
A Shawl
Maybe the place you’re staying in is chilly and you were told not to touch the thermostat. Maybe you want to take a little catnap on the couch. Maybe the evenings are cooler than expected but the restaurant patio is so inviting. For any of these reasons and more, I always take this wrap with me that folds up into its own carrying case (aka, a travel pillow), but instantly unfolds to be that pretty little extra something I need.
The Mer-Sea Classic Travel Wrap comes in its own pouch which can be used as a travel pillow, and to keep it clean and easy to stash in a tote when not in use.
Hair Dryer
Not every hotel or rental has a hair dryer and sometimes they are just not very good. Keep a small one dedicated to travel in your suitcase and you’ll always be well-coiffed.
Lip Balm
Heading to a hotter or dryer climate? Or, are you not drinking as much water as you usually do? You’ll find your lips getting chapped. Keep a couple of tubes of something colorless in your purse or toiletries case to grab in a pinch. We like Burt’s Bees’ products but good old Chapstick or Carmex do the trick, too. Why “colorless”? Because you may want to apply some before you go to bed but don’t want to wake up to a smear of color on the pillow case (even if it’s your own).
Your Pillow
I know you know what I’m talking about here – if the pillow(s) are too mushy, firm, small or lumpy, you aren’t going to sleep well, plain and simple. Yes, it’s bulky to take in the car but, hey, your good night’s sleep is worth it.
Being able to sleep on your own pillow when you travel can be the difference between getting a good night’s sleep or being really cranky and stiff-necked the next day. Photo by Pixabay.com.
Favorite Bedding or Blanket
Although it can be bulky to take, it can be so worth it to take a favorite set of bedding or just a cozy blanket to make some away from home feel a lot more comfy.
Essential things to pack for staying productive
Batteries
Put 4 AA, AAA, and 1 9V batteries (the most commonly used ones) in a zipper bag in case the TV remote, smoke detector, etc. goes out where you’re staying. You can either put back the old one and leave the landlord a note or be really kind and leave the new battery in there for the next person.
Laptop Equipment
Make any workspace more productive with the SideTrak portable monitor for your laptop. It’s a second screen that attaches to the back of your laptop and slides out when you are ready to use it. It makes multi-tasking for work much easier so you don’t miss a beat even though you’re far from home. Because it’s slim, it hardly takes up any extra room in your laptop case.
Power Chords
Buy an extra laptop charging chord and an extra chord for your phone. Label them as “Travel” and keep them (along with other chords, computer power cords and mice) in an organizer, in your suitcase. This way, you don’t accidentally forget either of these essentials at home. And, heaven forbid, if you leave it behind on your trip, you aren’t left “powerless” at home. Just make sure the chords really are for your devices (not a knock off) and that you’ve tested them to make sure they really do charge. I bought cheapy chords and found they didn’t really work with my devices when I needed them most.
Put an extra phone charger, designated for travel, on your trip packing list. Photo by Pixabay.com.
Please note: if you find a place you love to stay and work remotely, Jooble helps you find online jobs around the world:
Hungry for more? Tips for saving your sanity and relationship when you’re working and traveling together.
Keep this article handy to know which things to pack for a trip.
-Article by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, Real Food Traveler
Note, we’ve provided some links for some of the products we recommend for your convenience. These are affiliate links which means that, if you make a purchase on Amazon as a result of these links, Real Food Traveler may make a few cents (literally) as a result. But the links don’t change your shopping experience or pricing in any way.
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