Originally Posted by
Quickbeam
Soap:
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*** Unfortunately carrying a bar of soap is messy business no matter how you cut it. I'd love to hear from folks about how you handle the potential mess of carrying a damp bar in your luggage!
Have you tried breaking a bar of your regular soap into small pieces? I haven't tried this but guessing that a partially used bar from home would probably work best. I used to carry around travel bars but found that I used the hotel soap 99% of the time.
Originally Posted by
Quickbeam
The ladies out there may want to add their particular tips and tricks to the thread below this post.
I dislike checking bags and am not a big fan of lugging around a roller-board either (I usually overpack with all that space
). I have been known to pack 3 or 4-day trips in a backpack or my rolling laptop bag. Planning a basic color scheme and comfortable, versitle shoes allows me to pack everything needed into every available nook.
When it comes to liquids, I only take what is needed for the trip + 1 day. Travel "in miniatrue" has been a quirk even pre-baggie. I know what will be available at the hotel & omit them from my baggie. When I buy a full-size product, I ask for a sample size as well...and keep refilling it. This avoids any potential issues with unlabeled products & TSA. It also minimizes $$ lost if the item is lost during my trip. ($5 sample vs $200 bottle...). I also reuse any sample 'squeezy' tubes like hair gel as these aren't the easiest to find in miniature. Sephora's 'sample' containers are great for small amounts of product as well.
I always travel with either a Kiva bag or mega-large Ziploc bag in case something happens to the zipper (or I go shopping
). Don't get me wrong, some days I have to take the 22" carry-on, but I try to avoid it if possible--especially on a non-status airline or small planes (not a fan of waiting on plane-checked luggage to reappear either!).