Top 10 Items that I travel with ALWAYS

It’s no surprise that I love to travel, at some points in my life spending up to 10 months a year on the road between work and personal travel. After awhile, you develop a packing routine, an airport routine, a hotel routine, and all of these are aided with the help of a couple things that you always have on you. Here are mine-

10. Sea Bands. Yes, you might think, I’m not going on a boat, why would I need motion sickness acupressure bands, especially super attractive ones like these. However, I’ve found them helpful on trains and when I end up riding in the backseat of a coworkers car or even on a turbulent flight. They’re so small, it’s worth having a pair in your work bag.

9. Cuticle Nippers. So you can’t take scissors or a knife on the plane, and security often confiscates nail clippers because of the file, but my nippers have always made it through. While I’m sure it shortens their life as an actual manicure implement, I use them for anything you need small scissors for, such as cutting off a tag or a stray thread. Feel free to use them for their actual purpose as well.

8. Moleskin. When you travel, there’s no routine and your feet suffer. They swell, you walk further than normal, you walk in different weather or terrain, and inevitably, a blister forms or your shoe starts rubbing a toe wrong. Yes, you can get moleskin at the drugstore, but I’ve found that it’s too thick and doesn’t stick well. I carry a small baggie with precut pieces that can be applied to either your foot, or the inside of your shoe. If you need to trim the pieces further… remember that you also packed Item #9 Cuticle Nippers.

7. Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer. Okay, most everyone probably carries hand sanitizer with them nowadays. Get the unscented, uncolored type and use it in case of scrapes and cuts, apply it to a tissue and wipe remote controls, keyboards, or phones, and maybe even use it on your hands. I buy in bulk and tend to use one or two on a trip, but there are many quantities and sizes available.

6. Lip Balm. Like the hand sanitizer above, most everyone probably has a favorite lip balm! I love Eos, it lasts forever because I don’t have to reapply it a zillion times a day. Even if you don’t normally use lip balm, if you’re flying, headed somewhere drier than normal, or plan to be out in the sun, you’ll wish you had thrown one in your bag. For those of you not so enamored with the egg-shaped container, I recently found some in a more traditional tube shape.

5. Sunglasses. Sure, you have some super expensive trendy sunglasses, but is that what you want to take with you on travel? I prefer to take a moderately priced, nearly indestructible pair with me. My favorites lately are from Suncloud. They’re polarized and provide 100% UV protection. Better yet the lenses are polycarbonate and the frames are nylon which means they’ll withstand being thrown in a purse or briefcase or being dropped while juggling rental car keys and a cup of coffee on the way to work.

4. Power Bank. Ok, I’m going to link to a ginormous one that I literally use all week to charge my phone. It charges my device more quickly than the wall charger and is great for those hotel rooms that still don’t seem to have an easily accessible outlet or USB port by the bed. This one also has two USB ports in case you’re like me and have a personal and a work phone to deal with. The second one is purse/pocket sized and will charge my phone 2-3 times before it needs to be charged. To be completely truthful, this smaller one isn’t exactly the one I have, as mine is older, but it has all the same specs. I really like the batteries from this company, I’ve never felt them even get warm, so I feel safe operating them while I’m sleeping or on a plane.

3. Magnetic Phone Mount. Just go order these now! I’ve had several friends see one in my car and order while we were driving down the road. They work well in most rental cars I’ve tried and they’re cheap enough that you won’t be too mad if you forget it when you return your car (speaking from experience.) All you need to do is slip a small metal disk inside your phone case, stick the mount into your air vent and voilà, instant GPS mount.

2. Travel Mug. I’ve been using these mugs for 15 years, ever since I learned I needed coffee to operate. They keep the liquid warm all day (or keep ice frozen), and I’ve never had one leak or spill, no matter how much I’ve flung my backpack around trying to get it into an overhead or into the backseat. There is actually a lock on the lid to ensure that the button that opens the hole for sipping can’t accidentally be pressed. Choose the straight up silver one, even if you like the colored ones, because eventually the colored coating will start to flake off.

1. Solid Shampoo. Lush solid shampoo bars have been a multitasker in my cosmetic bag for a long time. I’ve used it for shampoo, soap, and even laundry detergent in a pinch. Make sure to buy the tin and dry the inside of the tin and the bar off before storing, otherwise you’ll end up with a mushy mess that you won’t get back out of the container. My favorite scent was Karma, which was recently discontinued, so I’ll update this when I find a new favorite bar. A single bar lasts me 60+ shampoos and you’ve seen how much hair I have to wash, right?

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