Do you keep a travel drawer?
 

I do. It's not where I keep souvenirs of prior trips, but where I keep things that I generally need when I travel abroad and wouldn't otherwise use.

Mine contains...

1. my children's passports (mine is in my purse, where it always is, and my husband's is, well, someplace---he's hoping he can lay his hands on it next time around)

2. Two European plug adapters

3. Foreign currency (sorted)

4. European currency flat iron for hair

5. Small hair dryer (U.S. and European)

6. Noise-cancelling head phones.

7. Small umbrellas

What's in yours?

Please send me your drawer!

My spare bedroom is kind of a 'travel room' - I call it "the staging area". I have two large 'rubbermaid' bins. One is for supplies (various baggies with sample size items, cold-weather undies, etc) and one is for the articles we always take (my travel purse, leg stashes, wine kit, adaptor plugs, etc).

The bed is usually a mess, where I've dumped out our suitcases, pockets, handbag, backpacks, etc and often stays in that condition by the time I'm packing for something else.

I'm not going to list everything found in there, as it would be embarrassing!

no, I wish I could keep everything for travel in one drawer, but it would be impossible--not enough space. Especially when adding appliances (which I don't do).

Some of the things you have in yours are things I use all the time, so I wouldn't put them in a special drawer -- like small umbrellas. I do have a hair dryer, but it's dual voltage so I wouldn't put it away.

I have sort of a travel "box" in a spare room, with small sizes of toiletries, plug adaptors, things like that. I never would keep my passport and money in that -- I keep my passport in a metal fireproof box with important papers, and I keep foreign currency in a special box in my desk. I have about five different currencies in there now: euro, koruna, GBP, Canadian, and zloties, and a few Swiss francs. I keep electronic stuff like portable headphones, CD players, etc., in a box for stereo equipment and electronics.

I stash my passport and money belt in my top dresser drawer; my husband never knows where his passport is either, Therese!!

travel cabinet includes -
plug adapters
extra luggage tags
extra luggage locks
Extra ribbon to ID luggage
the little disposalbe rain ponchos
travel size stuff (shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc)
extra passport size photos

Since we live in a 220 environment - hair dryer, curling iron, etc are in my bathroom

Our passports and yellow vaccination cards are in my husband's "drawer" in the dining room buffet - as are FF mileage cards, extra insurance cards, etc

We have SOOOO much misc currency around - most of it is just sitting in various drawers. If anyone needs money from Russia, UAE, India, UK, Egypt, South Africa, Czech Republic, New Zealand, China or Republic of Georgia.....just let me know!!!!!

Top drawer of my dresser, but mine's nowhere near so neat as Therese's!

Various luggage tags, coin purses, that kind of thing mostly.

Yes - we have a drawer for much of the same already mentioned. Currency (with our strong Canadian dollar we just purchased a whole schwackload of euros and pounds yesterday to add to our collection); luggage tags; passport; photocopies of driver's license, medical insurance, etc.; extra pair of glasses; money belt.

A drawer in my bedroom. It contains passports, vaccination books,DEET, Avon Skin-so-soft dry oil spray, first aid kit, multi voltage battery and phone chargers, with car adapters, purses of different currencies, a couple of microfibre towels, a travel alarm, a torch, plug adapters, and a few other odds and ends.

I didn't say my drawer was particularly tidy, suze, just that I've got one! Mine's the top drawer of my lingerie chest, and it shares space with scarves and nice jewelry.

Grcxx3's piles of money all over the place is what led me to consolidate my funds (so that I'll have them next time I go and won't have to hunt for them) in the first place, and putting passports in with them seemed a reasonable thing to do. Casual inspection of my desk drawer here at work reveals a Deutsche mark coin and a 50 lire coin. Oh, and a loony---what a nice surprise1

The small umbrellas are because small umbrellas in my house seem to grow legs and walk away. Or into the backpacks of my children. So I keep a couple in my travel drawer so that I don't have to go searching for them.

My toiletries travel stuff stays in the bathroom cabinet. I use it for domestric travel as well, of course.

DEET. Heh heh.

I live in Atlanta, so DEET isn't something I take on trips, but something that I carry around with me in my purse. Along with a really good product for applying to mosquito bites after the fact, After Bite.

What about stuff like travel pillows? I've never found one that I liked well enough to cart along.

And I don't like eyeshades either, as the elastic eventually ends up rubbing against the tops of my ears.

I have a plastic tub - the kind you get to store your Xmas decorations in. I keep the money belts, travel wallets, dual-voltage hair dryer, travel iron, etc.

It's bulging and there are things stacked on top that won't fit inside:))

Tide-to-Go stays in the drawer, too. It has certainly come in handy! :)

I have 3 travel drawers just for maps.

I keep the stuff (electric things, small umbrella, etc.) for trips to Europe in one suitcase that I use for those trips. It is a larger case and better constructed than those I use for domestic travel. The maps, guidebooks, internet print-outs and all that, I keep in a bookshelf in the living room, close at hand, because it seems like most evenings I need to look up something and then the evening ends up passing with me reading guidebooks.

Therese, I hadn't thought of it in such organized terms, but I have learned to keep my travel things together in a box in the spare room. I think I'm now going to get a plastic bin, though, a la Travelnut and name it my travel drawer to give it bit more dignity!

I throw things in as I think of them so I won't forget them when it's time to pack. Like you, I have my plug adapters; a travel iron, (call me anal); copies of passport, credit cards (with the number to call in case one is stolen); eyeshades in case the hotel rooms aren't dark enough; a very small flashlight (in case the rooms are TOO dark -- or the power goes out); a rubber doorstop because I often travel alone and it makes me feel a bit more secure!

I also keep an eye out for travel-sized toiletries, which I'll toss in; a few purse-sized bottles of hand sanitizer; extra set of contact lenses; my travel purse; a few clothespins (handy for handwashing or closing things up)

I think I should throw my spare eyeglasses in there now, so I don't forget them for my next trip.

I've got a big plastic tub filled with stuff. I really need to go through it and weed some stuff out.

Plus, I have 2.5 36" wide bookshelves filled with guidebooks and travel related books!

I also keep my toiletries bag stocked so that's always ready to go.

I have a travel "basement" - the lower shelf of the bookcase, a travel drawer and a travel file on my computer.

When I am getting ready, I print out a detailed list of things to pack off my travel file, and mark them off as I toss things in a bag.

My travel list has parts: clothing, medications, documents, cosmetics, things to do before leaving.

Lets see. Passport, some GBP, and yeah, my poncho for winter travel.

I don't have anything like travel pillow, travel umbrella, don't need adapters because I never travel with anything electric (no hair dryer, no flat iron, no cell phone, no laptop) no noise-cancelling head phones (although I wouldn't mind a pair of those!)

Noise-cancelling headphones have changed my life. Noisy plane, noisy travel companions, unintelligible in-flight movies---all a thing of the past. I keep them on while I'm sleeping, without any sort of input, just to cancel out ambient noise.

The thing I'm most likely to use plug adapters for is my camera battery charger. And of course my daughter's iPod if she's along for the trip.

Since the last trip we took was Huge...we moved from the US to Argentina..I decided to keep all the things I really need for a trip, in the big suitcase that we would take with us...we now use the transformers here that we would use in Europe etc so this is no longer needed.. we bought new hair dryer, shaver etc for this voltage. If I go to the US, I have my old ones :)

Passports , valuables are kept in a safe in our apt..and in my roller carry-on size bag, I have a small kit that is just lotions potions and makeup..

So it looks like I can be ready in a flash to take off...if only Pup could travel so easily ((&))

Inside one of my closet doors I have hung a transparent over-the-door shoe holder. I keep all the little odds and ends in the shoe pockets - sample sized shampoos, portable umbrellas, clothesline & pins, small roll of duct-tape, travel sewing kit, maps and guides, etc.

I keep my passport and any other travel documents (e-tickets, reservation invoices, etc.) in a file cabinet ...

[Therese - do you REALLY keep your passport your purse all the time? Why? I would be worried about somehow losing it and having to go through the hassle of replacing it! But maybe you are one of the lucky ones who could be whisked away at the drop of a hat to some exotic locale! ;) ]

I do have a travel drawer:) Not a lot in it though...adapters, money belts, travel pillow...thats about it. Never thought to put our passports in there. Those are in the fire safe.

I do have a bookshelf though in a closet. And then plastic accordian style folders in there, by destination or activity (like hiking).

Yes, I really do keep my passport in my purse. I use it as ID whenever I travel (both domestically and abroad) and it's always in exactly the same place. When I get a new purse I designate a new place for it.

I keep photocopies at home, and in my wallet. Replacing it would be thrash, but then so would replacing all the other stuff in my bag.

I do like the idea that I could, at any moment, just drive to the airport and get on the next place to someplace cool.

Yes I have multiple travel drawers with...plug adaptors, travel alarm clock, emergency ponchos, various hats, neck pouch, travel iron, electric travel fan, tiny umbrella, various small purses, pocket size tissues, small bottles to hold shampoo, conditioner and detergent, inexpensive washcloths,sewing kit, small clothespins and clothes line with suction cup ends,bug repellant, sunblock, foreign currency, bottle opener, wine opener,tape player with earphones, luggage locks,rubber bands, yellow ribbon for my suitcase, vaccination records, water heating coil, passport copy, flashlights, hand wipes...I don't take all on each trip obviously..

I just leave the stuff in the suitcase. :)

I usually travel with the same rollaboard anyway. I leave behind:

inflatable neck pillow and eyeshade
slippers
voltage adapter
scented travel candle

The rest of the stuff is scattered all over the house
travel alarm clock and passport on my desk
travel wallet and foreign currency on my bureau
lightweight umbrella at the shoe rack next to our front door
travel-sized toiletries in the bathroom

No wonder I spend so much time packing for each trip!

Gee, I cannot imagine having just one drawer for travel stuff. We have lots of stuff for all seasons of the year. Since our son moved out, we use his room, closet and dresser for travel iems. We hang special travel clothing in the closet, and we use tubs to store travel items. The dresser contains luggage tugs, currency that isn't very valuable, underwear that is used for travel only, a just in case walking cane, special purses, money belts, bra stashes, scarves, cheap jewelry, adaptors, hair dryer, curling iron, etc. The bed is currently covered with travel stuff from the last trip that needs to be sorted before Thanksgiving and repacked because we leave again after turkey day. Since we live in a high fire danger area, the passports and valuable currency, Euros and USA cash, are stored at the bank in a safe deposit box.

My husband collects maps and guidebooks and stores those in his "den" along with various cameras and video equipment. I have a filing cabinet that I store files of information from past trips and future trips. I have stacks of information that I have printed from Fodor's for future trips. We are also on the lists of many tour companies, so I have brochures that come in handy when planning a trip. We also have a section near the TV where we store travel DVD's. There is also a special enclosed cupboard in the garage to store suitcases. Did I mention that retirement and travel are wonderful.

Sacc and others, I have learned to segregate my supplies into large baggies before I toss them into the Rubbermaid bin - one bag for shampoos, one for lotions, one for toothbrush, toothpaste, one for medicines/first aid, one for.... that way, I can pull the baggies out and line them up on the bed and see what I've got there.

I keep our bathkits and a med kit filled all the time, and a partial cosmetic kit (just toss in a couple more things when I pack).

For more packing madness, see the "Travel Check List" thread:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34648432

I use the gallon or quart size zipper top bags and label them with black marking pen as follows:

FIRST AID--in here I have a few band-aids, a small tube of antibiotic ointment,eye drops, meds for diarrhea or upset stomach, moleskin for blisters, antihistamine, a few cold lozenges, ibuprofen or aleve for muscle aches

CLOTHING CARE--small sewing kit with scissors, needles, thread, a couple of buttons, safety pins, spot remover packs, a small container of liquid laundry soap, a travel size Febreze spray

MAKE-UP here I have small sizes of each necessity plus samples of cologne,

DENTAL travel size toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, and spare toothbrushes

TOILETRIES here I have disposable razors, small can of shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, styling mousse, talcum powder, hand lotion, cotton ear buds, cotton balls

This method works better for me than putting all the above in one container for 2 reasons: first, I can easily see what I have on the trip without necessarily unpacking every item onto the hotel bathroom counter, and second, I may want to have small quantities of these things available, but I certainly won't use them all every trip, and being able to grab the ziploc bag and see what I have is fast and convenient.

Other things, like travel pillow, mask, earplugs, mini umbrella, etc are kept in my most-used suitcase.

I use to use opaque make-up and toiletries bags, but far prefer the see-through ziplocs. I replenish the used items as I unpack, and add new things as needed for specific destinations--suntan lotion, bug spray, and this helps me feel in control of my packing.

I'm still trying to figure out how this works:

<b>4. European currency flat iron for hair</b>

Do you &pound; your hair into shape?

To answer the original question: no. I have a carry-on suitcase that has all my travel stuff in it at all times - except my passport, which is kept in a fireproof box in the front hall closet. When I need to go somewhere, I grab it, (and the passport if I'm leaving the country) and throw it in the car. When I was going to Taiwan several times a year, all I needed was the passport, because a Chinese friend kept my clothes in a drawer in <i>his</i> home.

I didn't know I was the only one with a travel drawer!

The stuff I need for any trip, domestic or international, stays in my suitcase (except for clothing). I have a shower kit with shampoo,conditioner, razor, sewing kit, dual voltage hair dryer, brush, travel alarm etc.

Then I have a drawer that has things specifically for international travel like money belt, adapters, neck pillow, travel iron, disposable wash cloths, clothes line etc. Passports are in a separate place and a journal is always nearby. I can pack everything but clothing in ten minutes. Clothing takes about 4 hours!!LOL

We're like TRAVELNUT, we have an extra bedroom where we keep all the travel stuff, suitcases, travel iron, hair dryer, Steamer, etc.
I keep the passports in a fireproof file filed under &quot;P&quot;. and my husband is impressed that I don't have them filed under &quot;T&quot; for Things We Need When We Travel. ( I used to have them filed there when my husband did'nt know.)

Therese - ironically, even tho the extra currency is scattered around....I actually know where it all is!!!

The GBP are sitting in my husband's &quot;drawer&quot;...handy for his frequent business trips to London.

Extra Euros are in our travel wallet for transiting thru Europe on our way home each summer.

The Turkish Lira, UAE dirhams, and Egyptian pounds are in my &quot;drawer&quot; ....readily accessible to exchange for any friends traveling that way (frequent destinations from here).

The money from Russia, India, NZ, China, South Africa, Czech Republic, Georgia, and Tanzania are all sitting in my scrapbook area so I can add some of the bills and coins to the boys' or family albums.

Organized chaos!!!!!!

Hi

I have a second wallet....my travel wallet contains all my travel insurance cards, my frequent flyer cards, foreign currency, my travel &quot;business card&quot; etc. So the only thing I have to do is to move the credit/debit card over to the wallet and then I'm good to go :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Getting jealous of all of you who have extra rooms in your house to put your travel stuff in. . .

For all of you with old coins laying around - for years I have glued small magnets on the back of some of our extra coins and use them as magnets on the fridge. They remind us of our travels - plus now that Europe is on the Euro, it is kind of cool to see the old currency no longer in use.

You can also glue earring-post backs onto good-looking coins like the old two-metal lira. I have a few pairs of &quot;lira earrings.&quot;

Whee does one buy magnets..in a hardware store?

We have a travel tomato.

It's a huge ceramic majolica style tomato with lid given to us as a wedding gift. At first, we didn't know what to do with the thing, but now it holds passports, hotel and travel confirmation print-outs, various Eurostar and Thalys tickets for upcoming trips, Brussels and Paris metro tickets, and a couple of Vienna mass transit ticket strips. Plus various plug adapters.

One of the bedrooms in my house is my office-guest bedroom-travel drawer. When I start getting ready for a trip I put my suitcase on the day bed and things are scattered all over the room. I store a lot of my things that I take with me in a treasure chest. It's decorated with world maps and exotic plants. When I first bought it, everything fit inside. Now I have hat boxes sitting next to it stacked up with the overflow of things.

Monica ((F))