How to Fill a Perfect Travel Kit!

Host Bee on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

Packing the Perfect Travel Kit! – Fill your travel kit with the best essentials!

Have you ever arrived at your destination and realized you had forgotten your favorite hair gel or perhaps a razor? Paying attention to the contents of your toiletry kit can lead to a much more enjoyable trip. Don’t find yourself searching in the hotel lobby shop or even worse, a gas station mini-mart! Check your kit against this list and you’ll be covered from head to toe! (Don’t worry, the list may seem long, but each item is small and fits well into a travel kit.)

Include Travel Sizes

Band-aids
Breath mints
Cotton swabs
Dental floss
Deodorant
Eyeglass repair kit (you need this if you wear glasses or sunglasses)
Face and body moisturizers
Hair gel/styling aid
Hair spray
Hair clips or ties
Jewelry cleaner (I found this in a tube the size of mascara!)
Lint remover
Lip balm
Nail file
Nail polish remover
Nail scissors (if traveling by plane, make sure that these are in a bag that will be checked, not carried on)
A Pen (don’t laugh!)
Perfume
Razor and shaving cream
Sewing kit with extra safety pins
Shampoo and conditioner
Simply Sleep (sleep aid)
Soap
Spray on stockings like Sally Hansen’s
Static Guard
Sunscreen
Tampons (1 or 2)
Tide to Go stick
Tissues
Toothpaste
Tweezers
Tylenol
Vaseline
Visine
If you wear contact lenses – a spare set of contact lenses, case and small bottle of saline solution.
For added quality of life on the road – corkscrew, matches, scented candle in a tin.

Include Full Sizes

hair brushes, regular and round
comb, if you use one
hair dryer
makeup

Even if you don’t take more than a few true vacations a year, it’s likely that you take more trips than you realize when you consider long weekends away and visiting friends and family. So, I highly recommend that you purchase duplicates of your daily routine supplies and pack a travel kit, keeping it ready to go whenever needed. When packing for a trip of any duration, it is especially satisfying to just grab your travel kit and pack it in your suitcase! When I return from a trip, I replenish my travel kit and put it away, ready for the next adventure! I have only two exceptions to my “doubles” rule, eyeglasses and makeup. Leaving makeup sit for long periods of time just isn’t a good idea, and I haven’t yet splurged on two pairs of glasses!

Traveling with Kids

I have tried many times to create individual toiletry kits for my children, but it really wasn’t worth the effort! When I travel with my family, I pack their travel toothbrushes in my bag and add a few other essentials such as children’s Tylenol, Sudafed, children’s sunscreen and Neosporin.

Some Final Thoughts

You may wonder if I’ve taken into consideration the various amenities provided by hotels like shampoo, soap, moisturizers, and hair dryer. Inevitably, the offerings of hotels vary from place to place and I have to say that for the most part, I prefer my own brands of shampoo and moisturizers to those found in hotels.

Even if you are traveling to the home of a relative or a friend, it’s better to be well prepared as opposed to asking your host for all sorts of toiletries!

If you’ve been inspired to improve the contents of your travel bags, consider investing in a new bag as well! My favorite, hands down, are the bags made by Vera Bradley. These fabric bags are colorful, fun and come in a very wide range of sizes and styles. I like to purchase these bags from amongtheflowers. Although Vera Bradley is sold at many retailers, this website offers free monogramming on all bags and free shipping on orders of $100 or more!

If you’re looking to fill your travel kit, take a look at minimus.biz for travel sizes of almost ANY product that you might need or can think of!

Tags: how to fill a travel kit, tips on what to put in a travel kit, travel cosmetic kit, items to bring on a trip, toiletry kits