In order for travel to be efficient and enjoyable, organization of your stuff is key. This is where travel hacks can help. We’ve read a lot of articles, heard from a lot of travelers, and even spoke with our fellow road warriors. And, of course, we found a great article on Huffington Post about the topic of travel hacks.
Here are a few of our favorites.
Travelpro Crew 10 with suiter
- All those lotions, shampoos, conditioners, sunscreen, makeup foundation, and eye creams you use take up a lot of space. Seal off a drinking straw with a heat sealer, fill it with your favorite lotions and creams, and seal off the other end. Label them with tape, and you’ve got some single servings of your different products. It saves space and you won’t run afoul of TSA rules.
- If you’re like me, you’re tired of wrestling with all those different charging cables and earbuds you carry around. Rather than unpacking and unraveling a tangled mess every time you need a cable, put them in an eyeglass case you’re not using. The hard shell ones that spring shut work best.
- Black binder clips that hold large amounts of papers can be clipped over a razor head to eliminate the blade dulling when it rubs against all the other stuff in your kit bag. The clip can also be used to neatly wrap your earbuds AND secure them to your purse or backpack. And, when you’re at home, fold up your half-full toothpaste tube and clip the end in place to keep everything from squishing back to the bottom.
- You never have to buy travel-sized toothpaste again. Just align the openings and transfer the contents between the full size tube into the smaller tube. You may want to tape them together to help hold them in place. You don’t want to slip and get off center!
- An empty medicine bottle will hold cotton swabs or cotton balls. You can cram a surprising amount of cotton balls into a medicine bottle.
- Packing a suit jacket folded inside out will reduce wrinkles. Of course, so will using a suiter in your Travelpro bag, but if you don’t have one, or don’t feel like taking it along, try folding it inside out.
What are some other travel hacks you use before you leave on a trip? How do you reduce space in your checked or carry-on bags? Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page.