Packing

Spot in need of a wash - Haines Junction, Yukon
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

After traveling a great deal (10,000+ miles) over the past six months, I have come up with some travel/packing tips that might be of interest. I also figure that if I write them down here, I won't forget them.

The primo tip, from my brilliant husband:
Bring a surge protector. Then in the hotel room you only have to find one outlet and you can plug all your rechargeables into it and you won’t accidentally leave a cord or device in the hotel room.

Packing Tips for Car Travel:

• Mp3 player, and transmitter
• A cheapo plastic tarp. It can keep the rain off the stuff in the trunk when loading and unloading. Alternately, it can be used on the ground when you have to pull everything out to fix the spare tire.
• A bag of condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce, mayo, honey, salt & pepper. If you get the individual serving kinds like they serve at fast food restaurants no refrigeration is needed. Though I might worry about the mayo. Why? Because then you can doctor any food you need to. You might also add individual tea or coffee pouches to the bag.
• Ziplock bags
• Paper towels
  
• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer (I had two, one in the glove compartment and one in the condiment bag).
• Book-light and flashlight in glove compartment
• Mints, Tums, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, Kleenex, telephone, CDs, camera, binoculars, if traveling alone these can be placed in a box on the passenger seat for easy access. (The box idea is from my friend Barb in circulation).
• Big white shirt and cotton gloves to keep the sun from burning you. The windshield is somewhat effective at keeping out the rays, but in most cars, the side windows do not have the same type of glass and then the sun will get you. Especially true when driving 10+ hours in Texas sunshine.
• Full size spare tire
• Emergency kit with tools, jumper cables and flares
• Car recharger for cell phone

Tips for Clothing:

• Monochromatic is your friend. If your socks, pants, shoes, and most shirts are black, then you know what you’re wearing in the morning. Just add jacket.
• Polyester is your friend, fewer wrinkles and packs tightly. There are a Lot of good polyester based clothing out there that masquerade as silk, linen, wool and other high end materials.
• Layers, one good cashmere cardigan is invaluable. Thin enough to go under jackets, yet a warming layer over shirts.
• Keep jewelry and accessories simple. The fewer, the easier. One good pair of real gold earrings, a couple of necklaces, a couple of broaches and a really good watch is really all you need.
• Keep styling products simple, maybe it’s time to rethink your haircut if it’s going to require a zillion products and devices to maintain. Don’t rely on the fact that most hotels provide shampoo, rinse, and blow-dryers. I discovered that the ones I stayed at had migrated to an ‘all-in-one shampoo/conditioner’ product. The blow-dryers are frequently not up to par. Best bet is a wash and go hair style

I expect I’ll add things to this list as I remember them. - Jenny