don't forget to bring the....
 

Hi... what tips or ideas or special things do you pack when you leave on a trip.. the one I do now ( after hearing it from a fellow passenger at airport) bring plastic bags, all sizes... great for wet clothes, packing sunscreen in... bringing home beach sand for my collection ! Special shells.. anything !! We use them all the time .. what are you thinks that are good tips for all !!!??

A small candle in a tin with a lid. It's great for smelly rooms, power outages, or even a romantic evening. ;;)

Just don't forget matches or a lighter.

Wine opener!

That too, No_name, but don't forget the beer bottle opener as well!

My mother also always brings those wine stopper things in case she doesn't drink the whole bottle. I never have to worry too much about that!

Benadryl....hey you never know!

I thought this was really cool...I bought my husband a pair of reefs and there is a bottle opener built into the bottom of the shoe. One less thing to pack!

Annabel - what kind of Reefs? That is a great idea!

Dayquil and Nyquil - if I take it I don't need it. If I don't take it, I need it and can't find it anywhere (or it's $30 for two days' worth).

Tylenol - same reason.

Flip flops.

Umbrella.

Tote bag.

Baby stuff is a whole other topic! It seems the older they get, the less stuff they need, though.

ear plugs

prescription medicine

charger for cell phone

passport if needed

And along those lines, Cantstayhome, how about Immodium? Who really wants to go too far away from a toilet on an Immodium-finding mission when you really need it??

I have a whole bunch of things I bring...
- A few granola bars so I stay out of the minibar at night.
- 2 Shout Wipes
- A pumice stone. Sandals in the city = very UGLY feet!
- A baggie with several dry drinks... a few packets of instant coffee, a few tiny tubes of Crystal Light, a few envelopes of cold brew tea + a few packets of sweetener.
- A snack baggie with individual salt and pepper packets
- 10 produce bags (clean from the roll at the store... they will give them to you free)
- A lint mitt I bought in the Pet aisle at the store. It is just a flat piece of that red material that gets lint off your clothes.
- A flat, soft dispenser of disinfectant wipes. I empty half of it so it lays flat.
- A basic first-aid kit with alcohol preps, bandaids, antibiotic cream, all in little flat blister packets
- My 'pillfold' which is a little pill wallet I got at Wal-Mart. It is about 3x2x1 and has a bunch of little compartments. I carry Advil, Tylenol, Excedrin, PeptoBismal, prescriptions, sinus meds, Immodium, Vitamins, Tums, etc...
That's all I can think of at the moment. Crazy, but all this takes very little room.
All this stuff takes very little room.
For long trips I carry a medium size bottle of 3 parts ultra concentrated laundry soap with 1 part fabric softener for hand washing.
I am the go-to person for people that travel with me. I am almost always prepared for problems.

travel addict - so right! I used to include it, but mine expired and I threw it away (having been fortunate enough not to need it after adding it to the kit). I'll be going to CVS right now to replace it, lest I forget!

Oh! I forgot earplugs and Lunesta!
And I have the tiniest umbrella.
I use a hotel umbrella if available because most hotels I stay at offer them and they are bigger than mine.
Since I travel for work, I carry multiple chargers, batteries and cables.

I always take a night light for the bathroom. And our pillows from home with crazy pillow cases on them so we don't forget them. Extra plastic hooks to hang over the door to hold things.

And always the wine opener.

Just a wine/bottle opener.

*insect repellent
*sunscreen
*lightweight disposable rain ponchos (under $1 at WalMart)
*swimsuit and clean undies in carry-on in case luggage is lost
*sunglasses
*wet wipes or wet wash cloth in baggie
*extra baggies
*small garbage bag for wet clothes or dirty laundry
*cell phone chargers
*small waterless antibacterial cleanser
*anti-diarrheal med
*pain reliever
*collapsable or foldable luggage/duffle in case you plan to bring home more than you left with (WalMart sells the duffles that zip up and Samsonite makes bags that zip and fold up very small)
*bandaids and/or new skin
*antibiotic ointment
*extra batteries and/or charger for electronics

An open mind and a little extra patience so you don't blow a gasket when confronted by the stinking, farting, drooling, snoring, boring, self righteous finger wagging, seat kicking members of the travel universe.

I always bring some kind of itch relief...bugs love me.

I usually bring two or three cameras -- an SLR for hiking and sightseeing, a point-and-shoot for nights out, and a disposable waterproof.

LOL, obxgirl.

(Just book the same flight as I, darlin, for the "seat kicking members" always sit behind me and then you will be saved. Seriously, EVERY time, my husband just looks at me and shakes his head for it is my curse!)

Too funny, mille grazie for my morning giggle!

Duct tape, wrap some around a pen or a sharpie.
Lysine- take some at the first tingle of a cold sore and it will zap it.
Notebook and pen.

Do you guys have space for clothes after packing all this stuff? :)

In Italy I bought (and still travel with) a pair of pliers. Every time I get my suitcase off the ramp I find my zipper pull tab thingy twisted. I have to straighten it out with the pliers in order to open it.
Pliers...go figure :)

I love this thread! So many great ideas.

OMG... how could I forget my credit card swiss army tool kit???

http://www.swissknifeshop.com/prodin...?number=5SCARD

Too funny, Obxgirl! :) Tiff, maybe you & I should travel together - it would be a fun contest to see who gets the seat kicker. I seem to be destined to always have them behind me too. (Our luck, we'd probably sit in front of a pair of twin seat kickers!)

Swiss Army Knife (packed of course)O:-) (covers the wine opener).
Box of Coffeemate creamers (closed circuit to NW Airlines-skim milk is not cream)
Bottle of water for the plane.
Portable DVD player.

I do not get the seat kicker but I do always get seated behind the seat that seems to recline further compared to the others. The person just about ends up in my lap!

reading material! Never know when you'll have time to kick back and relax.

But I have to say - ewwwwwwwwww! on the bottle opener sandals. I've seen them. The bottle opener is right on the bottom. No way, no how is anyone using the bottom of their shoe to open a bottle of beer on which I will proceed to put my mouth in order to drink the contents. :&

...suitcases. We live in San Francisco, and a few years back we were spending a weekend in Monterey with our Alfa Romeo car club, vintage races, dinners etc...

DH got stuck at work, so we left rushed out of our househ about 10:00PM on Friday night. Our two bags were fully packed and sitting by the front door.

We arrived at the hotel after midnight, and when we opened the trunk, we realized that neither of us had taken our cases. It turned into a 'I thought that you had taken them' arguement in the middle of the parking lot. Although we were very quiet and considerate of the other guests. It was our quietest arguement ever.

No make up, tooth brushes, underwear, etc.... All we had is what we were wearing, jeans and sandals, and my purse.

It was too late to drive back to SF that night, and we decided that we didn't want to waste the time driving back the next day and miss the races.

Fortunately there was a K-Mart or Walmart, I forget which one, across from the the hotel and we were able to stock up on the necessities the next morning.

We were clean, but way underdressed for the banquet.

Fortunately I wasn't taking any medications at the time and one good thing came out of it ... we discovered Fruit of the Loom underwear! DH still has some walking shorts from that shopping venture and loves them.

Talk about traveling light ;-) I wish that I had the nerve to do that again - deliberately.

Nina

whistles.

When we traveled as a family group, everyone wore a whistle around his or her neck under the clothing. If someone got separated in a crowd, a few whistles and we were able to meet back up. Of course, this was way before cellphones, but it might be a good idea for smaller children still today.

Don't laugh - Charmin has a little travel roll of toilet tissue & seat covers - those both came in very handy in the crumbling castle we discovered while driving through Ireland!

We also always bring moist towelettes.

Suerich - where do you find those? I wanted seat covers for a recent trip, but CVS didn't have any. The guy there said I had to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond, which just didn't seem right. I still haven't found any!

passport
business cards
eyeglass cloth
booze & mixers
plastic glasses
itinerary sheet
matches
joke sheet
suncap - hat
paper back book
sewing kit
ice scoop
spike
fan
swiss army knife
iPod
head set
speakers
battery charger
extra batteries
tri-pod

When motoring

pillows
shower head
wrench
extention cord
cooler
beverages
hard boiled eggs
salt

Duane Read, the home of every travel necessity known to man/woman!

Look for the Charmin items in the travel section at Walmart. I always carry them when I travel.
And depending on where you're going - binoculars and a small flashlight.

Laughing at me now, but knowing I am truely later: I packing all the time for my family some snack for plane/bus/taxi. We own a statement in my country what say : "Happy stomach is happy travels."
Attaching to that one I am saying you to bringing some medicins for upset stomachs on trip. Hapens to many people near to us. Motion sick. Food sick. Amy, Diss and Teri. When those three girls show up for a meals it's a bad news. I knowing what Im say to you. Hear it.

We normal yes bring foods for camel/horse/ect. Make them trip better like yours. So, you can use for own travel like bribe taxi man or what yoiu want for ticket man or hotel man. wink.

And are you search here for words as Packing List in box above for SEARCH box using? Other talks have done before today with great idea for us.

Must have flashlight only. And take calculater for on money trades. Some place I read here that you buy when travel. Mabye some things too high for that one. We bring on magic carpet ride all our things.

Do seek truth in all your travels and you will never be sickly, sorry, or hungry.

AR

Bag for dirty laundry.

Be sure to have swimsuit, sunscreen, beach towels, etc. in a separate bag in case you get to the hotel before your room is ready. That is, of course, if you want to go to the beach or pool. 8-)

Ones and fives for taxi drivers who can't make change and for tips. Coins for buses or subways. A general rule in life, never count on any machine to work that involves breaking a dollar bill.

The internet printout for a Hotel reservation, you never know when the staff will be incompetent.

Not to bring, but to do: call any restaurant you plan on going to and make sure they are still open and open at the hours you want to go. Last couple of years I had many places I used to go to close down.

passport
plane ticket
ATM card, credit card, cash
prescription glasses/sunglasses
prescription meds
ballpoint pen
3x5 spiral notebook
flashlight
watch
earplugs
swiss army knife
a couple plastic hangers

Hot sauce

Condom

Leatherman

Pappy, it sounds like you have some GREAT trips! ;-)

Pappy, do you also wrap some duct tape around a pencil, just in case?
-ouch- :O