Organizing Chaos: Travel Kits -

Our picture in Lahore in front of Badshahi mosque

Irrespective of our reasons, most of us wander a lot in our lives. Some want to just explore the world; others travel for work or family.

During a road trip to Dolgellau, Wales

I have been a travel enthusiast all my life. My dad was in the air force, we moved cities every year or so. As a family, we went on a number of holidays and loved exploring new places. What I have learned through travelling would not have been taught to me any other way. I have gained so much through it and I feel it has given me just the confidence I needed.

I regret buying a lot of things in life, but I have never felt sorry for booking a holiday as traveling has always been worth it.

Travelling is really the best bonding activity that couple, family or friends can do together. I strongly feel we must save up for a long vacation abroad annually and short weekend vacation quarterly. The truth is that sooner or later, we won’t be together, its these holidays that remain as vivid recollections when there’s nothing else to hold on to.

Foldable items (travel iron with a removable handle, scissors, sunglasses and eyeshadow palette)

It is vital for us to travel light.

Most of us don’t have porters who carry our suitcases whenever we travel. Even if we do, we have weight restrictions on coaches and airlines.

Travelling with liquids

After years of travelling, I have learned some important lessons in life. Liquids are pretty heavy to carry. It’s always best to take liquids in small quantity whenever we travel. Travelling by air restricts liquid containers more than 75 ml in hand carry. Honestly, it is the best rule we should follow, even when we are not travelling by air.

The following containers were bought from Poundland in the UK but one can look for small sized bottles elsewhere also. If you can’t find them, small containers of cremes, shampoos and body washes are always available and can be refilled.

My travel toiletries

Toiletteries list for travelling

Foldable comb & brush
Mouthwash
Travel perfume
Heat protector spray (It is applied to hair before straightening)
Rosewater spray
Shampoo
Sanitizer
Nail polish remover pads
Face wash
Vaseline
Body Creme
Hair Conditioner
Body wash

Travelling with bags

Bags are really helpful when it comes to travelling.

Sealable plastic bags

I also learned to always keep all toiletry items in a sealable plastic bag. The reason is that no matter how careful you are, liquids do tend to leak. I also use a bit of tape on the lids of bottles to ensure tightness.

Separate bags are also great for organizing different things while travelling.

Sealable sandwich bag and see-through pencil case used for junk jewelry while travelling

Toiletry bags

Using cosmetic/travelling bags

Bags and containers very useful for travelling

Small bags as shown in the above picture are perfect for cosmetics, earrings, necklaces and other accessories. Whenever I find these in a good deal, I save these for travelling. Smaller sized items should only be placed inside these bags before being put in suitcases. This will make sure you don’t lose important items.

Extra shopping bags

When I am travelling, I also try to always keep extra shopping bags with me. They can be used for dirty clothes, garbage etc.

Garment packing tips

As far as garments are concerned, we should try to take jeans or tights which go with a number of shirts. Mix and match is an excellent way to save space in the suitcase.

If you are tight on space, rolling up clothes takes lesser space than folding them.

Other travel essentials

Following is another picture of some bare necessities while travelling:

Travel essentials

Cosmetics bag
Hairpins (kept in Tic Tac fresh mints container)
Travel pack tissues
inflatable neck pillow (by Samsonite bought from Tk maxx in London)
Makeup remover wipes/Johnsons baby wipes
Hair conditioner sachet
Vaseline
Paper soap
Nail polish removing wipes
Mini straighteners/hair dryers

Mini straighteners come in different funky colours

Mini straighteners and foldable hair dryers are I think great buys. Most of the girls I know only straighten their bangs on a regular basis. Therefore mini straighteners are a good investment as they save space.

Travel suitcases

It is vital to invest in good quality suitcases. The best ones to buy come in a set of different sizes with wheels at the bottom. I dislike the old style, typical rectangular shaped suitcases because they tend to lose their balance and are difficult to handle. Tagging your suitcase and locking it up are the two most important aspects of travelling.

My preference in suitcases

Suitcase tags

You may want to use the typical suitcase tags available as shown on the right. Or you can do what our dad has been doing for us which is more creative and customized. He bought orange coloured A4 sticker and printed (on MS Excel) our luggage tags on them. These were then stuck on all our suitcases. The tags had the name of the person, flight nos, departure address, destination address, and contact phone numbers. Last year I ordered some really cute luggage tags from Ali express. I use them on my suitcases now.

Travelling locks

Although they are easy to use, I haven’t had very good luck with number locks and in remembering the number that had been set on it, so I prefer to use small sized padlocks on my luggage. My dad used to tie up a unique coloured ribbon on all our bags so they could easily be recognized at the conveyer belt. It was funny to see the same coloured ribbons on another family’s luggage. Maybe next time, we can choose a more bizarre colour like parrot green so it really stands out and is unique.

Legal travel essentials

We are very vulnerable while travelling so we have to be proactive and keep an eye open around us at all times.

I have learned the hard way that it is absolutely vital to keep a scanned copy of all your legal documents on your personal online space. Click this to view the article where I talked about this in detail.

A USB with your important documents is also a good idea as you may require our personal important information anytime.

Important contact details should be with us while travelling. In case we lose our bank cards, cash, mobile phone or luggage itself, we should know what steps to take.

Unfortunately, the most beautiful cities in the world are also the most visited ones and have the highest crime rates. I spent about a day and a half in Paris and had a narrow escape from theft about four times from different people.

Paris, August 2012

We have to be vigilant when we are travelling, as we are the most exposed then. Robbers realize that we are in a new environment and therefore we are most exposed.

Holiday in Dubai

Preparing for a road trip

If you also love going on road trips, the following are some ideas for your next trip:

Portable car kettle
Canned food (corn, olives, tuna, red beans, chickpeas etc)
An endless supply of great music
Instant noodles & crisps
Extra shopping bags
Inflatable neck pillows
Juices
Sanitizer & wipes
Beach towels
Paper plates, paper glasses & plastic cutlery
Fruit (oranges, apples, bananas etc)

Portable car kettle is a good buy to make coffee/tea while you are driving. It is advisable to carry FMCGs like crisps, juices, water bottles in your car boot as tourist areas are very expensive. Beach towels are great for picnics also.