Travel Kit Made Easy

Travel sized nightmare

Okay, so I travel.  Plus, I think hotel freebies are adorable and that I will certainly use them some day when I get home.  So every time the maid restocks the freebies, I stock up.  Sound familiar?  It's okay.  We can stop the madness together.


 First of all, if you don't have a guest bathroom that is used regularly by guests these little bottles will collect and, I swear, multiply in your bathroom.  Secondly, if you do collect them and now you're up to your eyeballs in travel shampoo and conditioner don't worry.  They need not go to waste.  Call around.  A rape crisis center or homeless shelter may be willing to take them off your hands.  Then you can feel good about this addiction.  I've finally reached a point where I can walk away from the freebies.  That is unless they are a really high end freebie.  Aveda?  Keeping it.  Paul Mitchell?  Yes please.  I never said I was perfect.

What frustrates me the most about packing my traveling bathroom is that I find products I like and I want to take them with me everywhere.  Unless I'm going away for two weeks or more, it just doesn't make sense to lug those huge bottles around.  Not to mention those weekend get aways where I'm not checking a bag which, as you know, creates a three ounces or less nightmare.  It never fails that I pack my bag up with everything I think I'll need only to arrive and find I've left something out and a trip to the nearest CVS is in order duplicating something I know I have at home.  So I've decided to create a travel drawer that lets me keep all the things I need for my travel kit in one place.  Then I can pack from it according to how long I'll be gone.

I dug through the pile you see pictured above along with several other shoe boxes worth of "travel" items I have.  Don't judge.  Once the travel drawer was complete the other items got tossed or donated.  Here's the finished drawer.

Just my favorite things

I found as I dug through the piles and piles of items, there were only a handful that really stood out as high quality things I want to take with me.  I know it looks like a lot of items but like I said, I pack according to how long I'll be gone and the type of trip I'll be taking.  Not all of these things go on every trip.  But this drawer makes "shopping" for what I need so easy.   Here's a list of what's in the drawer based on many many trips.

1.  A good body wash.  I'm not talking about that tube of SLS and water they give you at the hotel.  Pack some Organic Nourishing Soap.  Something that won't leave you itchy and smelling weird. It sounds simple but it makes a difference.

2.  A quality lotion. I like Aveda. It sinks in quickly and smells lovely. I don't want to walk around smelling like lemons and verbena. 

3.  Dry shampoo.  Let's face it, while we're away we don't always want to wash our hair every single morning. On vacation you don't have to.

4.  A homemade first aid kit. I use a plastic soap holder. It's the perfect size to hold band-aids, a little neosporin and some sudafed. Some alka-seltzer and maybe some pepto-bismal tablets and you should be able to handle and minor emergencies.

5.  A sample kit. We all get a sample of eye cream or sunblock. Maybe a hand wipe or a night serum. Ever wonder what to do with all those?  Get another soap holder and fill it up with the freebies. What better time to try them than while you're away.

Aside from these key items I feel every kit needs the following:  a sewing kit, cotton pads, toothpaste, a travel toothbrush, a shower cap, floss, tweezers, a facial scrub, a wide toothed comb, a good sunblock, zit coverup cream that's tinted, a portable brush, some anti-bac gel, a tide to go stick, q-tips, a razor, headache medicine and some foot deodorant spray.  That last one can double as a bathroom freshener should the need arise. If you can find a small downy wrinkle release it works great with a hair dryer to make a shirt look a little fresher.

I know it sounds like a lot, but you'd be amazed how often you'll reach for these items while you're away. I also take some sanitizing wipes with me to give the hotel phone, door knob, sink knobs and tv remote the once over. I watch too many special reports I know, but it gives me peace of mind and that's what it's all about isn't it?

Let me hear some of your travel tips. What's in your kit?

Safe Travels.