7 Travel Items I Can’t Live Without

I spend most of my year traveling around the country for my job. That means I spend A LOT of time packing. Luckily, I have found a few items that have changed the game!

  1. The most important place to start when packing is deciding what to pack IN. I have tried everything. The duffel bags, weekender bags, carry-ons, spinners, non-spinners, expensive, and budget-friendly. I have found that I prefer spinner suitcases, they are so easy to get around with and most are at the perfect height that I don’t even need to use the handle. I have purchased and used a $1000 piece of luggage and $60 piece of luggage and I seem to find my preference to be towards the mid-range brands. This one here from Target is the most similar to what I have and has done well for 1-4 week long trips. for about 3 years. My backpack however I do tend to spend more on. I have gone through too many travel backpacks where the zippers stick, the seams come apart or the storage just isn’t what I want. This Briggs and Riley bag fit all of my work technology as well as my personal items.

2. This may seem so simple to some but, a luggage tag makes a world of difference at the baggage claim. Especially if you have a standard black suitcase. I used to use one of my old, very sparkly cheer bows until I realized that while it made spotting my bag easy, if it ever got lost, my lucky bow wasn’t going to tell anyone where to send my bag. So I tried using the little paper bag tags that you can get standing at the check-in line at the airport but those were so unreliable and flimsy, there was no real point to using them. My tag is pretty simple but Target sells all types of tags!

3. Now time for the actual packing! I love opening my luggage and having everything still in its place. Something that makes this a possibility is the use of packing cubes. I used to think it was so silly when I would see people use them, until I started traveling regularly. I can use one large cube for all of my work attire (4 polos, 2 pairs of pants, and 2 undershirts) easily. Overall packing for a month generally takes 3 large cubes and 2 small cubes. They stack super easily and keep everything intact and in place. I use the EagleCreek Brand and they have been great for the last 3 years!

4. The next one is a more specific type of item but could be used for other reasons, if you get creative. I am a makeup LOVER! So when I travel, I know there will be some nights where I want to get dolled up and I also wear a “normal” face of makeup daily anyways. I used to cram all of my makeup into multiple bags and do my best to try and separate all my items based on loose categories. Then I saw a Youtube video by KathleenLights where she shared this bag and I knew I had found my solution to traveling with all of my favorite makeup. It is fairly cheap as far as makeup bags go, and can be found on the Sephora website. The bag comes with two small cubes along with a pouch. There is also an area to store brushes but I found that carriers like this and the brush rolls will only damage them and cause their shape to change. Jaclyn Hill introduced me to this Morphe case which has kept my brushes in great condition and protected during travel.

5. This items has become so much more relevant as technology use has increased. I currently carry 2 phones, 2 laptops, a camera, a drone, a printer and sometimes an iPad or my Nintendo Switch. With all of those devices come even more wires and charging cables. My backpack and my luggage were all kinds of messy due to the random wires everywhere. I found this organizer on Amazon and it fits most of my cables, now all I have to carry in my backpack are my laptop chargers and an extra phone cord if I want.

6. Are you the person that always over packs, no matter what type of trip you are going on, which then causes you to worry about your luggage weight? I am. So this small luggage scale has been a life-saver and takes up no room and provides a significant amount of reassurance on my way to the airport.

7. So, this isn’t exactly unique or magical, but it is honest and it’s cheap. Everyone buys the fancy toiletry case and the cute little bottles for shampoo and conditioner, but those have never worked for me. I have seen shampoo explode inside the carrier and mix with Motrin pills into a nasty orange mess and those tiny bottles don’t carry enough product to last me 2 days. So, I stick with good old-fashioned ziplock baggies for the more expensive/necessary products (Leave-in conditioner, tooth-paste, dry shampoo, and perfume) and then purchase body wash, shampoo and conditioner wherever I am traveling to. It saves me weight in my suitcase and also lowers the chance of explosions.

I hope that some of these items make your packing time that much shorter or your travel that much easier!