I feel like there is always a lot of work right before you get ready for a trip. You go through the routine of packing and sometimes repacking a few times to make sure you got everything and that everything fits just right. Right now I am out of town on a business trip at the Society of Women Engineers National Conference recruiting for my company and I have found that packing my carry-on for these trips is almost more important than when I pack it for leisure trips. Maybe it is because I am away from my husband for a week on my own in a hotel room with little to do but watch crappy TV and explore a new city, so making sure I have the right comforts from home is really important.
I think I have gotten pretty good at packing my carry-on in the last few years, and not much changes between business and personal trips, but this is what I had to start this week:
First let me say how amazing a Longchamp bag is for traveling. I am on my fourth bag (I have 3 different sizes) and I love them. They fold up nice and small - so they are great to take as an extra bag in your suitcase, and are super lightweight. Their handles are also very strong and durable, so they last forever and can actually be thrown in the washing machine to be cleaned when they get dirty. All in all, a Longchamp is a great investment.
Anyways in my Longchamp, I have my Macbook, always protected in a laptop sleeve (you never know what bumps and bruises are coming your way during your travels). Currently my laptop sleeve is monogrammed, which is a great way to locate it and is cute for any prepster. Next goes my iPad and Kindle, both in their respective cases. I got a great iPad case from Anthropologie a few years ago that is great for travel and is very secure. Perhaps my Kindle case is the best of them all though, like a lot of my belongings, it is hot pink and has an internal light that runs of the battery of the Kindle. Great for the plane (I have been on many flights where my light does not work), the Kindle is much easier on the eyes than an iPad and if you have the 3G version and download a new book for free almost anywhere in the world. Next I have my two cellphones (yes I have two). My blackberry is my work phone and my iPhone is my personal phone. At least they are different platforms so its easy to tell the difference? Still I know I look like a totally tech nerd with two cell phones, you don't have to tell me.
Finally comes all my non-tech stuff. The wallet is probably pretty self-explanatory, but I choose to travel with a checkbook size wallet when I travel because I have to save receipts and it makes it a lot easier. I know it takes up some more room, but its worth it, to organize personal stuff from business stuff. The last two items in my bag are due to living in California the last few years. I always travel with a pair of grey socks in my carry-on because we Southern California girls live in flip-flops and therefore fly in flips a lot. Grey socks are great for walking through security lines after you have to remove your shoes and after you sit down at your seat on the plane (I always go with grey because the white get dirty really fast). The metal water bottle is the other California habit I have picked up. I actually travel almost everywhere with one on a daily basis and traveling is no different. I hate getting dehydrated on the plane and don't like to wait for drink service to come around to get my first drink of water. Instead I pack my own water bottle and fill it up once I get through security. It ensures that I always have fresh drinking water on hand and I almost never get off the plane feeling bloated and swollen.
What travel tips do you guys live by? What can you not live without in your carry-on?
I'm going through your older posts and seriously loving your blog. I do hate you for the fact that my wish list is grown exponentially now... =P
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