Packing Toiletries

I try to keep this motto in mind for everything I pack.  What do you want to do on your trip, look cute or have a great time?  Besides underwear, toiletries are going to be the most important thing you pack.  Use things that can have dual purpose such as conditioner.  You can use conditioner as a shaving cream.

These are the toiletries I bring for every trip.  I always pack my toiletries in my carry-on in case anything checked is lost or delayed, I don't want to wow my fellow travelers with my awesome smell!  Everything is under 3oz and goes in a clear bag according to TSA rules.  If I didn't have plant-based sensitivities, I might not bring most of this.  It's also because you never know how long you might be delayed or in a country that these things are hard to come by.  In the back, moving from right to left, the Aquaphor is a great all-around non-scented ointment for dry patches, minor bug bites and scrapes.  I bring the Downy wrinkle release to straighten my clothes as well as freshen them up in between washes.  There's the shampoo and conditioner.  I also bring body wash as it can double for shampoo if necessary.  That aerosol bottle with the pink cap is a great little product.  When I travel for more than a couple of hours, I tend to feel gritty and yucky.  This is just a mist of purified spring water.  It makes me feel fresh and dewy!  Finally, there's the deodorant.  And moving back around, there are razors, hand sanitizer, soap, q-tips, toothpaste and toothbrush.  The Tide packets are single wash use gel packs.  This way I can pack less clothes.  I also bring a travel size spray of Poopourri.  Nothing like going to the bathroom before or after someone else on the plane!

The only thing not included in the picture is the combination sunscreen and insect spray or lotion.  You can find this at most sporting goods stores.  Be careful and research your product.  Sometimes, one chemical can negate the effects of the other.  You may also need just sunscreen, but rarely do I find that you need bug spray without sunscreen.

My final tip of this post is geared toward women.  A lot of our clothes are made without pockets.  Pockets are essential for traveling!  You don't want to hold up a line because you have grabbed the wrong boarding pass and now you need to dig in your bag to find the right one.  I don't like to carry a lot of bags and I like to wear skirts because I have fat thighs.  A great compromise is a light vest or jacket.  I found an outdoor quick-dry vest (all of your clothes should be quick dry) that has four zippered pockets on the outside and two zippered pockets on the inside.  I'm really excited to try it out on our trip next month to Cuba since we are limited to packing in a backpack.  I told Lance I will probably look like a dork or a hamster with beef jerky hanging out of my pockets, but I might be able to quickly bribe the security agents with Jolly Ranchers!  -Que tengas buenos días!