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Friday OT: Leaving on a jet plane

CivEFootball said:
Remind myself people live where I'm going and whatever I forget to pack, if it's that important can be found in a store.

Otherwise my preferred method is to pack right after I'm all caught up on laundry. Also I try to pack everything in two bags: a carry on (actual international size carry on), and a backpack.
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Yeah necessities are a phone and wallet and that's all then anything that's missing, there's always a Kohl's or similar somewhere.

Personally the one positive of airlines jacking up the bag check prices was learning to pack light to just carry on and I go by the same principle for car trips. I bring a surplus of underwear and socks but otherwise I'll wear like two shirts and pairs of pants/shorts the whole time except for outdoor gear. If none is available I'll find a laundromat if needed.

One thing I try to pack is running shoes/clothes as I think it's important to keep that sort of routine going on vacation and that will get washed too.
 
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CivEFootball said:
Remind myself people live where I'm going and whatever I forget to pack, if it's that important can be found in a store.

Otherwise my preferred method is to pack right after I'm all caught up on laundry. Also I try to pack everything in two bags: a carry on (actual international size carry on), and a backpack.
Click to expand...
After spending a day on a trip to Ecuador trying to find an inhaler due to an asthma flare and not speaking Spanish, I no longer believe this. I did discover that you don't need a prescription to buy them there, though. :D

I have long been a believer in lists. We have one for road trips, one for trips where we fly somewhere within the US, and one for international trips.

When we're flying somewhere, we put our suitcases in a room behind a closed door. The closed door is because seeing suitcases stresses our cats, and because we try to avoid taking cat hair with us. He puts his clothes in the room, I put mine in there, and we both put everything that we won't be needing before the trip in there, then I pact the bags. We don't have "his & hers" suitcases; we've learned from hard experience that we put half of our clothes in each bag. That way if one bag goes astray, we both still have something to wear. Always have meds, a shirt, clean underwear and a pair of socks in the carry-ons. I do all the packing, distributing heavy stuff (extra shoes, etc) between the two bags. Day of the trip we put the last stuff in there and go.

We also have a list to remind us of what we need to do around the house before we leave (clean the cat's water fountain, buy extra food & litter, check the cameras around the house, pay any bills, stuff like that. We travel a lot' lists are a lifesaver given the fact that our memories just ain't what they used to be!
 
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Angie said:
Janny and I used to travel every other week for our jobs back when we first got together, so we both very much developed our packing styles then.

Me:
- Start about 4-7 days in advance
- Have a second makeup bag with all hair and toiletry items in there, just pack that
- Have a second bag with all over the counter meds and sunscreen/bug spray/etc ready to throw in
- Make sure travel phone and watch chargers are packed for kids and me
- Get any prescription meds counted out and ready in pill organizer before I go for me (and now kids)
- Get enough clothes for each day + about two extra outfits/underwear/socks/etc. for kids and me. I always overpack but am rarely unprepared. Rolling vs folding depends on space - rolling wrinkles more so I don’t love it, but it can be a necessity
- Keep anything that I will use the morning of out and visible so I remember to pack it

Janny:
- Pack day prior, usually just sort of wings it. Either I make him pack a separate bag or get frustrated if he messes up my system. (He did better this spring about packing in advance than I have ever seen.)

I was telling @JP4CY that perhaps my greatest achievement as a mom was to get all four of us packed in advance and under the 50 pound weight limit in one suitcase for a four day trip to Florida that included the beach, Universal, and Disney. It was the best case of suitcase Tetris I have ever played.
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Yup - we have an OTC bag, a toiletry bag, and a meds bag (when you leave the country for several weeks, you need more than the weekly pill organizers). Those things just get thrown in because I know what's in them. I rotate the OTC stuff so that it doesn't get outdated.
 
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My wife would just as soon stay home and never travel, and I am the complete opposite. As a result, our travels are generally 5 days or longer by the time I convince her that we need to get away and recharge, so we're usually packing a lot wherever we go. It eases her mind some and it's what I have to concede if I want to travel. She'll get pretty stressed out leading up to the travel day and HAS to have a list so she doesn't forget anything.

Generally, I step back and let her over-pack, knowing that we are going to be checking a bag every time. I get the benefits of not checking a bag, but I've never had an issue with it. It just adds a few more minutes. I also think seeing our luggage come down the chute is a necessary mental trigger that allows my wife to finally relax for our vacation.
 
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Angie said:
Janny and I used to travel every other week for our jobs back when we first got together, so we both very much developed our packing styles then.

Me:
- Start about 4-7 days in advance
- Have a second makeup bag with all hair and toiletry items in there, just pack that
- Have a second bag with all over the counter meds and sunscreen/bug spray/etc ready to throw in
- Make sure travel phone and watch chargers are packed for kids and me
- Get any prescription meds counted out and ready in pill organizer before I go for me (and now kids)
- Get enough clothes for each day + about two extra outfits/underwear/socks/etc. for kids and me. I always overpack but am rarely unprepared. Rolling vs folding depends on space - rolling wrinkles more so I don’t love it, but it can be a necessity
- Keep anything that I will use the morning of out and visible so I remember to pack it

Janny:
- Pack day prior, usually just sort of wings it. Either I make him pack a separate bag or get frustrated if he messes up my system. (He did better this spring about packing in advance than I have ever seen.)

I was telling @JP4CY that perhaps my greatest achievement as a mom was to get all four of us packed in advance and under the 50 pound weight limit in one suitcase for a four day trip to Florida that included the beach, Universal, and Disney. It was the best case of suitcase Tetris I have ever played.
Click to expand...

If you can pack like that can I hire you to organize my house?:)
 
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Angie said:
I was telling @JP4CY that perhaps my greatest achievement as a mom was to get all four of us packed in advance and under the 50 pound weight limit in one suitcase for a four day trip to Florida that included the beach, Universal, and Disney. It was the best case of suitcase Tetris I have ever played.
Click to expand...

I first read that as TARDIS (cause it's how my brain works). A TARDIS suitcase would be handy as heck. "Bigger on the inside" would be a great sales pitch. Probably would be transcendental in weight to.


felt-tardis-backpack_400x333.jpg
 
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I'm very much a last minute packer. I don't even think about it until the night before. If i need specific things I'll put them all together earlier like for dives.

I'm also a bad over packer. I used to think I needed options because I never know what I'll want. I've gotten so much better at that. Got rid of all the "what ifs". Like should I bring x and y because I might play tennis at the resort. Sounds good in theory, but never happens.
 
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I pack the night before because I'm usually doing laundry the day before. I'm your classic over packer that packs for all weather conditions and 10 pairs of extra underwear in case I start crapping myself twice a day.
 
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Let's just say I've taken a flight or two....

If everything is clean I can pack for about 2 weeks worth of travel in 15min and fit it all in a carry on. I use the rolling method for all clothes and have purchased slightly thinner clothes so I can pack more into it and almost exclusively have a set of clothes for travel, especially business travel. I have a tech bag that is exclusively used for travel and NOTHING LEAVES IT PERIOD so I don't forget anything. The best thing is this an awesome charger that has can charge multiple laptops, phones, tablets etc at once and comes with swappable plugs for international use. - https://amzn.to/44yBv29

I also bring a WiFi extender which can connect to the hotel WiFi and then I don't need to connect all my devices to the hotel internet individually, also saves on the device count limit that a lot of luxury hotels do, and it also routes everything through a VPN for extra protection. So just fire this boy up and now my chromecast, laptop, both phones, tablet and e-reader are all ready to go - https://amzn.to/3pY7U2Z

If you do buy a sim card, I don't want to wait at the phone store again in broken english so I use Ding.com

Get Global Entry if you can because it also includes PreCheck. Saves me hours every year waiting in security or going through customs and its only a difference of $5 a year.

Pack a pair of underwear somewhere in a pocket in your carry on, just in case you're forced to put your bag underneath for any reason.

Traveling is kind of autopilot to me now so I think I do a lot of little things but not sure if they would be considered tips. Willing to answer questions. Already have 93,000 miles logged in 2023 so far.

Stats since I graduated college in May 2015:

FoHrXlx.png
 
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Big one for me is prescription meds and OTC meds. Nothing worse that 11:00 in a strange hotel and no antacids available.

I've had the 'travel only' toiletries bag for decades. I do make sure it's got one of everything I need, each time, since I'm traveling less and less these days.

I also have a 'thing' about my fingernails. When they reach a certain length I absolutely HAVE to trim them, otherwise I'm picking at them constantly and driving myself crazy, so there's always an extra nail clippers in my bag (and even and extra one in the side pocket of my car!)

Wallet, Phone, Keys!
 
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ISUCyclones2015 said:
Let's just say I've taken a flight or two....

If everything is clean I can pack for about 2 weeks worth of travel in 15min and fit it all in a carry on. I use the rolling method for all clothes and have purchased slightly thinner clothes so I can pack more into it and almost exclusively have a set of clothes for travel, especially business travel. I have a tech bag that is exclusively used for travel and NOTHING LEAVES IT PERIOD so I don't forget anything. The best thing is this an awesome charger that has can charge multiple laptops, phones, tablets etc at once and comes with swappable plugs for international use. - https://amzn.to/44yBv29

I also bring a WiFi extender which can connect to the hotel WiFi and then I don't need to connect all my devices to the hotel internet individually, also saves on the device count limit that a lot of luxury hotels do, and it also routes everything through a VPN for extra protection. So just fire this boy up and now my chromecast, laptop, both phones, tablet and e-reader are all ready to go - https://amzn.to/3pY7U2Z

If you do buy a sim card, I don't want to wait at the phone store again in broken english so I use Ding.com

Get Global Entry if you can because it also includes PreCheck. Saves me hours every year waiting in security or going through customs and its only a difference of $5 a year.

Pack a pair of underwear somewhere in a pocket in your carry on, just in case you're forced to put your bag underneath for any reason.

Traveling is kind of autopilot to me now so I think I do a lot of little things but not sure if they would be considered tips. Willing to answer questions. Already have 93,000 miles logged in 2023 so far.

Stats since I graduated college in May 2015:

FoHrXlx.png
Click to expand...

Global Entry is the unsung hero of air travel. It has saved us from missing connections so many times, and TSA Precheck is bliss.
 
dmclone said:
For vacations, both domestic and international, my wife makes lists. To most people this would probably be overkill but I also like it and we've never forgotten anything. We very rarely check luggage, have gotten better at under-packing, use things like packing cubes, etc.
Click to expand...

I also have a list and use packing cubes. Started that when we'd go to Jamaica and yes, you could buy stuff you forgot but it was a little harder and definitely $$$. Especially now with kids, there's no way we'd remember everything on our own.

We actually leave in a week and will be gone a week. I'll probably start prepping on Wednesday and then actually pack Thursday. Try to load the car as much as possible that night so we can leave at a decent time on Friday.

For the kids, I sort the packing cubes by time of day. All jammies and underwear in a cube, shirts and shorts in a cube, and then swim stuff/hoodies/extra clothes in another.
 
ISUCyclones2015 said:
Let's just say I've taken a flight or two....

If everything is clean I can pack for about 2 weeks worth of travel in 15min and fit it all in a carry on. I use the rolling method for all clothes and have purchased slightly thinner clothes so I can pack more into it and almost exclusively have a set of clothes for travel, especially business travel. I have a tech bag that is exclusively used for travel and NOTHING LEAVES IT PERIOD so I don't forget anything. The best thing is this an awesome charger that has can charge multiple laptops, phones, tablets etc at once and comes with swappable plugs for international use. - https://amzn.to/44yBv29

I also bring a WiFi extender which can connect to the hotel WiFi and then I don't need to connect all my devices to the hotel internet individually, also saves on the device count limit that a lot of luxury hotels do, and it also routes everything through a VPN for extra protection. So just fire this boy up and now my chromecast, laptop, both phones, tablet and e-reader are all ready to go - https://amzn.to/3pY7U2Z

If you do buy a sim card, I don't want to wait at the phone store again in broken english so I use Ding.com

Get Global Entry if you can because it also includes PreCheck. Saves me hours every year waiting in security or going through customs and its only a difference of $5 a year.

Pack a pair of underwear somewhere in a pocket in your carry on, just in case you're forced to put your bag underneath for any reason.

Traveling is kind of autopilot to me now so I think I do a lot of little things but not sure if they would be considered tips. Willing to answer questions. Already have 93,000 miles logged in 2023 so far.

Stats since I graduated college in May 2015:

FoHrXlx.png
Click to expand...
I hope you have a Amex Platinum or similar. That's some serious travel.
 
We bring a Sonos roam with us now whenever we go on a trip. USBC charger, it's really small, wifi/Bluetooth, withstands water well.


img-0613-mos-jpg-1617721061.jpg
 
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