BED, Bath and Beyond has a great selection of soaps and other items and of course the little containers..from shampoos, toilet paper, liquid and dry soaps like Woolite and Tide. If your a recipient of their coupons it's even a better deal

When I surfed, the most popular sunscreen was bullfrog. It's fully waterproof and comes in small containers so you don't need a lot to reapply.

I bought a kit of small spray and lotion containers that can carry anything I need that doesn't come (or is too expensive) in small sizes like fabreeze.

I found a great travel size sunscreen last summer at CVS
or another drug store. It was made by Nutragena, and was a small plastic container filled with a "deoderant like" hard gel...that you just rolled up and applied as needed. It was definitely under the 3 oz. size and easily fit in with all the other stuff in the quart zip lock. It came in SPF 50 as well as 30 (maybe others, but that is what I used).
It fit in anything I was carrying...camera bag or whatever, and was very effective. It comes with a plastic wrap over a card backing, if that helps.

I pulled up this oldish thread to let folks know that today Target was carrying a 3 oz. size Colgate toothpaste over by their travel goodies. (At 99 cents, it was cheaper than those bitty tubes!)
First time I've seen that size so I stocked up.

Thanks NGail. That's the only thing that can't be refilled.

How hard is it to "decant" something to a 3 oz bottle and mark it? The handiest tool I have is a little cone like thing with grips that is made to transfer liquid from one bottle to the next. Whenever I'm almost out of shampoo I pull it out and fill my travel size shampoo or moisturizer etc. I always have the product I like.

For marking bottles, I usually just use a permanent marker. I keep refilling the same bottles and they're $1 anyway so it's no biggie to mark them up.

As for decanting things into the small bottles it depends on what it is. Many body washes, shampoos and conditioners have small openings on the top that you can simply set on top of the small bottle and pour in. I use a ton of conditioner so I buy the liter bottles and have a pump top for that size (Sally beauty has them). That works great for putting conditioner into bottles. Everything else has always been able to simply pour from the original directly into the tiny bottles. I have seen tiny funnels that work pretty well in WalMart and possibly in a store like Sally beauty.

If you're looking for travel size toiletries, go back and forth between WalMart and Target. They carry slightly different things and while Target has more items, I generally prefer the things WalMart has in their section.

3 oz. is HUGE to me for things like shampoo. Really take a look at the 1 oz. and 2 oz. sizes available (empty). No need to carry more than you need, of any one thing, for the length of your trip.

travelnut,
i too have bought from www.minimus.biz and liked the products and service.

I thought this thread might help me make a decision. Bought the LL Bean toiletry kit -the one that hangs -size Medium- and it just arrived and looks huge. Before I return it (what with having focused on buying all my stuff travel-size)I thought I'd see if anyone here has it and how they like it. What else do you carry in it? It does have a separate hanging shower caddy which I do like.

NGail, I don't have the LLBean kit. I have an older Lands End one which I no longer use. I put everything in ziplock bags which weigh less and take less space.

Esm - thanks for the feedback. My old Lands End was very simple - just a rectangular shape with zipper and I'd stuff it with all those baggied things. It was so beat up I thought I'd try something new but this one is so bulky - it may well go back.

And BTW - I just got 2 of the tiniest umbrellas by Tote. They're only 6" long, have a plastic (not metal) handle, and are very light. Open to a decent size too. My Rite-Aid pharmacy had them for 13 bucks.
Now DH and I don't have to share.

I've never liked those "all in one" bathroom kits. Hanging on the door can be nice, but I'm only 5'3" so getting the hanger over the door was a complete hassle. I have a small clear plastic cosmetics bag from WalMart for all of my various little items, and then I use a quart size ziplock for my containers of shampoo, conditioner and bodywash. This way I have two small/medium pieces to pack instead of one large piece. I've often ended up with the ziplock on the complete opposite side as the misc bag and it was a lot easier to pack that way. I love having a clear bag for all the little stuff, it's much easier to find things.

I dislike the shower caddy idea simply because when I tried one it seemed like I had to spend 10 minutes just drying it and the containers in it.

It's all personal preference though. Some people would never go back to not having a hanging kit.

I use various sized ziplocks, double bagged and layered in with my clothes in the suitcase. My vacations recently have been to stay in one place for 1-2 weeks, so I unpack once I get there for the duration of my stay.

It's a different strategy packing up and moving every day or two (like trains around Europe). Then I would use a simple zippered fabric cosmetic tote of some sort.

Those hanging ones seem too huge to me and kind of a hassle (what if there's no hook or good place to hang it in the bathroom?)

My husband has the small personal organizer (hanging toiletry kit) from LL Bean, and I think it's a good size (price is $19.95). Although he carries less products that I do, it is the size that I would choose for myself. But like a previous poster said, the hanging bag just doesn't work for me. I like it in theory, but in practice it doesn't work. My hubby loves it, though, so to each his own. I agree with you--when we looked at the three sizes in the store and chose the small for him, the medium looked too big, and the large was just positively enormous! Maybe that size would work for a family, but I think two (or more) smaller bags are better than one large one. Just my opinion, but I would exchange it for the smaller size.

Just returned the bag and I'm sticking with my old Lands End one. It's way smaller, has no bells and whistles and has served me well for years. I also use another little bag by my bedside -holds daily meds, clock, baby flashlight, reading glasses, hand lotion, even a tiny journal and pen. Works for me.
Thanks for all the feedback.

NGail,

Thank you thank you thank you. I LOVE your Little Bag for the Bedside idea. I've been traveling for a long time, take lists and add to/edit them each trip, and am fundamentally a "continuous improvement" kind of person, so I didn't think there would be any great new ideas left for me, but you did it! I think I will even incorporate the "baggie for the remote" idea from that germophobe who takes her own sheets - she's right about remotes, they are gross.

I have dedicated little bags for laundry-related things, for in-flight comforts and for rental car comforts. But I will be adding a bed-side bag for my next trip.

Hmmm-
"Little Bag for the Bedside". Should we patent it?

Taking over 3 oz liquids? If this is your only reason for checking baggage, consider this - if your 8 oz sunscreen costs $7 and your 1st checked bag costs you $25, you are paying the equivalent of $32 for your sunscreen and the inconvenience of waiting for your luggage to be offloaded. Better to buy it there!

Cheudean, you bring up a good point of determining if you should buy more liquids at your destination or pay to check a bag. People are often hesitant to buy supplies at their destination for various reasons.

However, do remember that for any container over 3oz you can simply decant it into smaller containers. I bought a handful of 3oz bottles in the travel section of walmart for $0.98 and reuse them constantly for shampoo, conditioner, etc. Instead of taking one large bottle of conditioner, I take 2 or 3 small bottles. As for the cost, remember that if you're flying internationally you often get one free checked bag (check your airline website for specifics).

Also, if you're traveling with a partner you can share baggie space. I have very long hair so need more liquids and my Mom doesn't. If she wasn't checking a bag when we go to Italy next month, then I'd simply put one or two containers of stuff in her (mostly empty) quart zippy bag. This is often the case for couples as well... one needs a lot of liquids and the other doesn't.