What should you pack for your next trip? Packing the correct items for the upcoming trip ensures you bring everything needed for a seamless getaway. However, we tend to slip up and forget certain items, remembering the essentials once we begin our journey to our destination. We’re here to remind you to always pack these items on your trips.   

1. Charger

As I’m writing this, I’ve stopped at two stores in search of a charger. I’m on a plane from Florida to New York for the holidays, and I forgot a crucial device necessary for communicating with my relatives. My charger. My phone died on the car ride to the Orlando airport, so I borrowed my friend's charger, believing I solved the issue. Turns out her charger failed me, too, forcing a last-minute stop at Five Below. I purchased a cord and subsequent wall charger. I put all my trust in this final destination, and luckily, I powered my phone up to 20% before jogging through airport security. 

2. Fan

A travel essential I constantly forget is a fan. You don’t need a fancy portable fan, especially if you’re traveling somewhere with a lack of electricity. All you need is a hand fan to pop open during heat waves. Bring out the fan during amusement park lines, on lengthy tours, at the zoo, in the car, anywhere present with heat. Your family and friends will treasure you and douse you with compliments. 

3. Portable Toothbrush 

Portable toothbrushes are the best item to carry on long-haul flights. After 8+ hours stuck in a stale plane, you’ll want to do the minimum to refresh your appearance. Even when you spend a short time traveling in a car, plane, or bus, a portable toothbrush topped with a dab of toothpaste revitalizes you in the middle of a journey. 

4. First-Aid Kit

Put a first aid kit in your bag or purse wherever you go. Accidents happen everywhere, regardless of the location. For example, my friend stepped on a piece of glass while strolling the beach in Greece. I know someone else who cut open her finger while making a sandwich at home. Both instances demanded first aid assistance until medical authorities arrived. Travelers can either buy or DIY their own first aid kits. Items to start with include burn cream, gauze, wipes, band-aids, Neosporin, and disinfectant. 

5. Blister Patches

The worst decision I ever made was to trek through the Parisian catacombs in a pair of thrift store boots I picked up the week prior to the trip. The black boots completed the look I hoped for: a sleek, touristy garb suitable for blending into whatever activity was planned for the night. The boots fooled me with their upscale look, tricking me with a guise of comfort. 

An hour into Parisian paradise, I noticed an irritation spreading throughout the bottom of my foot. I brushed the pain off, continuing along the catacomb trail. After the catacombs, we headed to a speakeasy tour, where I examined the pain emanating from my feet, though I couldn’t do anything about it. The stores were closed, and I underestimated the damage. The next day, I woke up to a cluster of blisters spread across my feet, tinted with blood. I longed for the sweet relief of a blister patch. 

6. Compression Socks

Compression socks help in preparation for long, grueling flights or long car rides. They also increase blood flow and reduce swelling on shorter trips. I suggest bringing a backup pair even on shorter flights because you never know how your body will react to intense cabin pressure or a stationary stint in a car. Various lengths and pressures of the socks provide a range of options for all customers. 

7. Reusable Cutlery

The scent of a steaming bowl of soup wafts up your nostrils, luring you to the closest food stand. You peer over your options, deciding on the freshest, tastiest mixture, and order a bowl to go. In a hurry, you grab the hot soup and scurry off to your next stop, planning to slurp the soup pre-plane departure. As you sit down, ready for your boiling hot bowl, you realize your immense mistake. You forgot to grab cutlery. To counteract this mistake, always bring a set of reusable or single-use cutlery with you when traveling. 

8. Water Bottle

Never leave for a trip without a water bottle. It doesn’t matter what kind of water bottle you choose, as long as you bring a device capable of storing liquid. I bring foldable water bottles for music festivals and camping scenarios that shrink into themselves for easy storage. For flights or long drives, bring reusable, refillable bottles. You save a ton of money by using water bottle refill stations while saving pounds of plastic waste each year. 

9. Ziploc Bags 

Everyone can use a Ziploc bag. The plastic bags help store and transport food, toys, dirty clothes, and sanitary products. Anything imaginable finds a home in a Ziploc bag. A few hacks for Ziplocs consist of laying them in between dirty and clean clothes, storing wet clothes, doubling as a bathtub plug, protecting dirt-caked shoes from clean clothes, or holding documents. 

10. Earplugs

You’ve just settled into your assigned seat on a plane. You cozy up with a neck pillow, wrap yourself in a blanket of choice, and shimmy into a comfortable corner. You close your eyes, seemingly signaling the war cry of the children on the flight. All at once, they rally together for a screaming session between toddlers and infants. Elevating the chaos, your seat neighbor blares YouTube sans headphones, and the flight attendants announce security measures. Drown out all of that noise with a pair of earplugs.  

11. Eye Mask

Eye masks complement earplugs. Say you’re sitting on the same airplane with screaming children and endless noise. Add bright light streaming through the plane windows to enhance the foreboding headache. Slap on a sleep mask to ward off unwanted light (and gossipy strangers desperate to chit-chat). Eye masks work well in lodging arrangements with little curtains or ample natural light, too. 

12. Door Lock 

A few years ago, I took a trip to New York City. Well, I explored the city, opting to stay in New Jersey right outside the state line. I saved a few hundred dollars in lodging, collecting the saved dollars for transportation into the city. I had no idea what kind of area I booked a hotel in, so I brought a door lock to latch to the inside of the hotel door. The contraption prevented outside guests from detaching the lock, reinforcing my safety.