When I travel, I love to explore new places, try new foods, and meet new people. I want to have fun and hang out on my vacations, and I’m sure that you do too. Swimming in the ocean is ten times better than swimming through an ever-widening band of red tape. Forgetting the time as you dance the night away, is infinitely preferable to having forgotten any necessities along the way. What I don’t want is a headache at Airport Security or at the hotel. These five travel hacks are a must for anyone who wants minimum hassle and maximum fun.
1. Getting Liquids Through the TSA
Is anyone else annoyed when you have to throw away all of your liquids when you go through the TSA? I have thick curly hair, and I need my conditioner and shampoo, and a lot of it. One travel sized bottle of shampoo won’t last more than two hair-washes. One solution, save empty travel bottles and fill them at home. Then, re-pack them in your suitcase. Rinse and repeat.
Another idea? Pack an empty water bottle. After you get through the checking lines, find a drinking fountain and fill up before you get on the plane. Bags are only checked once, so filling up before you are boarded is a safe bet to keeping your water with you. And having a bit of comfort, like your own water bottle, can make a flight a lot better for a traveler.
2. Target, CVS, Amazon and almost every big retailer sells travel-sized bottles of pretty much anything.
Can’t find many travel sized bottles from your last trip? My answer: Amazon. This one is straight from my father, who travels a lot on business. Amazon has all kinds of travel items (from must- haves to pure craziness). So, before you go on your trip, stock up. It’ll save you the hassle of constantly calling room service for more shampoo, or having to spend your hard-earned vacation cash on necessities while you are away.
Also, you won’t find better prices at a Bath and Body, or Macy’s. Amazon is cheap and convenient for a quick fix to a forgotten shampoo or deodorant. Check our selection of travel size bottles.
3. Check your bag as fragile.
I hate waiting in baggage check after a long flight. My bag never seems to come through. And although a lot of people may know about making your bag stand out, not many know about this neat trick. When someone checks a bag as fragile, it is carefully marked so that the baggage handler knows that something breakable is in it, and he or she will put bags marked as such on the top of the pile. Baggage is unloaded from top to bottom, so, the bags on top, the ones marked fragile, will be the first rolling down the belt. Also, if there is something precious in your bag, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
4. Wind bendable cords around a binder clip.
Have you ever taken out your carefully packed chargers only to find them in a devil’s knot at the bottom of your suitcase, hopelessly tangled together? I have, more times than you can count. It is annoying, frustrating, and time-consuming. You may wonder, how do I prevent this? A binder clip can help. Begin wrapping the wire around the back of the clip carefully without tangling them. Do this by opening the clip and wrapping the wires long-ways around it. Be sure to secure the ends so that it doesn’t unwind, perhaps by taping the two ear buds or ends of the wire to each other. Then, once they have been secured to the clip, you can snap them to the inside of your suitcase, or carry-on, for easy storage. And it’s that simple.
5. Email your important documents to yourself.
Ok, so this one is crucial and an absolute must. Scan your passport, your birth certificate, driver’s license, confirmations of any tickets, etc and e-mail them to yourself or upload them to a secure cloud storage (Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox or even better if you have a secure virtual vault, provided by most financial institutions). That way, you aren’t taking a chance with the originals. Anything important should be scanned and kept with you for emergencies. Do this immediately! You never know what you might need or what might happen on a trip. It’s better to be prepared than not, and if you do need it, for whatever reason, having a copy with you will save you a world of pain.
What are your travel tips? Do you have any experience you want to share? If so, just do it in the comments below.
