ElmhurstNick

One of the things with which I struggle is keeping track of both city-specific accessories as well as generic travel accessories. The list of categories is actually much longer than I realized:

1. Credit and stored value cards. My daily trio at home is SPG AMEX, Chase Freedom, and Citi Forward. But if I'm flying DL or AA then I need my AMEX PLT instead, and if I'm staying at a Hilton then I need that AMEX too, so then I forgo the SPG and Chase cards. Washington DC means my Metro card, Hong Kong means my Octopus card, and overseas in general means I have to haul out my no-forex Capital One cards that I don't use for anything else.

2. Electronics. Do I take the Ipod nano? (I haven't for a while now because I misplaced it.) How about the male-to-male aux jack for my cellphone so I can stream MLB Gameday Audio over the car radio if I'm alone? Do I need a laptop if it's a leisure trip or can I rely on the hotel's business center? All I know for sure is that I need my Kindle regardless, and a GPS if I'm driving a car.

3. City-specific reference sheets. Some of this has been replaced by PDFs both on my cellphone and on my Kindle. People to call, things to do, gifts to buy, places to eat.

4. Other gizmos and tzochkes. Am I using government contractor rate? If so, I need one of my badges. Casino loyalty cards for Milwaukee, Vegas, Detroit, and Pittsburgh? Did I remember to take the last couple of ESPN Magazines (I purchased 4 years for $7) for takeoff/landing? Am I sightseeing on foot in a city center, if so I need to bring my compass. Camera (and extra battery and SD cards, and card reader)? And do I need sunglasses???

After doing this for 20 years, I can get the clothes and the work materials packed easily and efficiently. The rest of it, it's still a struggle every time. I did find out that Eclipse 60-piece chewing cum canisters make great storage cases for electronic accessories, and 8 of them fit into a Tom Bihn mesh "snake bag."

What do you do? Do you organize your possessions by city? By trip purpose? Alphabetically? Randomly???

oldpenny16

Yes, the 60 piece chewing gum containers are very handy.

I color code everything. I use packing cubes and Red Oxx's Lil Roy bags (they have a handle) to sort everything out. Due to the color coding I can look at the outside of a cube or Lil Roy and know what is in it.

Many things I keep packed all the time. Anything work related is kept packed so that I don't have to hunt around for stuff when doing the final packing.

I also use a lot of Zippy bags to keep things organized. ID badges are put into a Zippy bag and ride in my purse.

Basic clothing items are always kept packed in color codes cubes so that I don't have to hunt and sort. The colors of the cubes are for climate, and dressiness of the trip.

I use the same carry on bags and checkable bag for all trips as I don't like suprises.

kingalien

I do something similar to oldpenny16, have packs of clothing ready to go. I organize by trip, i.e. same day, one day, two days and three days mileage runs. I have specific carryon bags for each type of mileage run and I have chargers and cables in all bags so I don't need to transfer or hunt for them. I also have separate carryon bags for 1-3 day business trips as well.

Materdei

Wow. Just...wow.

lwildernorva

With excess cards (Starbucks cards, Costco card, perhaps some credit cards that I'll use for one specific purpose on a trip and then not again), I've found very useful the cheap business card wallets that you can find in places like OfficeMax and Staples. In my car, I keep a wallet in my glove box with cards that I wouldn't care too much if someone stole (Starbucks, Costco, or any other card other than a credit card). When I'm traveling by air, I'll take a similar wallet, add in any credit cards that might be necessary for one purpose (a hotel-specific credit card other than SPG, for instance), and keep that in a secure part of my carryon bag.

An additional benefit: I've stripped out all those cards that I use to carry in my everyday wallet but didn't use everyday. My wallet generally contains only my driver's license, a business card printed with my office address and telephone number with some additional emergency information on the back side, including two contact telephone numbers, three credit cards, an ATM card, my health insurance card, and a small amount of cash. And since I was able to complete a four-day trip to London over this past weekend without any cash, I'm thinking about dropping the ATM card and, maybe, the cash.

tcl

Are there any credit cards and loyalty cards that go together for a specific region? For example, if you were going to Boston you would always stay at a Fairmont and no other?

I use slim credit card wallets to hold my cards for each destination. Each one is a different colour so I know that the red one is my Canadian one, the blue one is my Euro one, the black one is my US one, silver one is my HK one etc etc. One of the larger ones I use is this one that has an ID slot, 5 additional card slots and a passport pocket/paper money pocket and a zippered pocket for some small change.

If I don't need something with a passport slot, then I use one of these if I need to carry cash and some coins, otherwise it's just a simple card case.

Everything is modular and colour-coded similar to my toiletries kit refills and event/activity specific clothing that is prepacked in cubes or divided in my closet with coloured twist ties on the hangers.

The upside of having things modular other than speed and organization, is that if you loose something you know exactly what was in it.

airportairplane

Don't have that many cards, so everything fits in my wallet. If I do need city/airline/hotel specific ones, I just swap them out as I need them.

As far as electronics: My iPhone is invaluable. I can do basic internet things on it if needed (search for something, look up a map, read a pdf, read/send emails, etc.), take photos (thus working as a camera replacement in a pinch), use it as a GPS, use it as an iPod, use it to play games, and I can store books on it (and yes, I can read entire novels on my iPhone)! And by having the iPhone, I really only need one cable and charger. I rarely, if ever, bring a laptop on my travels.

But in terms of organizing little bits and pieces, I like those little cosmetic bags or things that are similar. IKEA seems to have a bunch of little travel bags available, so I'm thinking of picking some up.

ElmhurstNick

The minimum that I always carry with me is: Smartphone, Kindle, USB charger (handles both), extra power (handles both), USB->Car charger and USB->Wall charger adapters, flashdrive. Everything else is conditional.

I like the theory of the multiple carry-on bags for the multiple permutations of trips. For this stuff, since it'll all fit either into my small REI duffel or my Tom Bihn Brain bag, I can probably just color code the packing cubes and be done with it. The pitfall of modular to me has been the fact that some things just seem to belong in multiple modules.

The other part is to not stress out over a few pennies. Yes, it's going to cost me money if the guy at the Hampton gets the Zip-In checkin wrong and I can't use my Hilton AMEX unless I bring it with me. But on a $100 one-night stay, we're talking about 1100 HH points vs. 100 SPG points - probably a $3-4 difference - if they insist on taking another impression of the card. Likewise, it doesn't bother me not to have music with me on a MDW-BNA flight, but it's rather annoying on MDW-SAN or in case I get stuck with an Impala with no sat radio while I'm spending 200 miles driving around small cities in central Missouri.

Silver Fox

You are all OCD - just throw it in any old how !

oldpenny16

Well, I, for one, am willing to stand up and admit that I'm OCD about travel but all it takes is a very bad experience with jet lag and having trouble functioning to realize that being organized can help save the day.

I recently met a young (28-30) year old woman who has me beat on organization. She travels so much that she dosen't keep a residence anywhere but keeps a stash of personal stuff at her parent's home and at a friend's flat in London.

Her entire travel kit including electronics and make up weighs 33 pounds and never checks a bag.

She has all of her clothng custom made and looks fantastic.

Emma65

Indeed!

I keep stuff at friends place in Canada. I just keep forgetting what I have there. LOL.

How the heck does she do that?

kingalien

I hope the make up doesn't weigh more than the electronics .

oldpenny16

I honestly believe that her secret to success in travel is that she has her business clothing custom made. Every piece looks fantastic. She has an admiralty blue color scheme with jacket, slacks, skirt and expensive shoes. Her blouses are supurb. She doesn't take risks with off the rack items.

If I wasn't so close to retirement I would do the same!

She avoids the 'just in case' items and has a couple luxury items such as a silk dressing gown and nice work out items.

No one cares if she wears the same outfit in Cape Town and in Dallas!

It takes self confidence!

ElmhurstNick

I agree that custom-made clothing helps tremendously. I know that when I travel using clothes I picked up in HKG, I feel more comfortable because I don't have the "damn, that isn't quite in the right place" feeling coexisting in my head with the "I wish the guy in the seat next to me would stop doing XYZ" feeling....

And I am not OCD, I'm forgetful. And it's REALLY annoying to have to pay $39 for a phone charger because a) you have to make an important work call in the car, b) you forgot to bring your charger, and c) you forgot to put AA batteries in the backup battery-based charger.

I'm in the process of getting another 18" Eagle Creek folder and an extra pair of chinos, and having a perpetual "weekend getaway" bag for 2.5-3 day weekends, since I tend to do one every 3-4 weeks. It would have the standard set of clothes I pack and take with me for 2 days alone, a few days of medications and a duplicate set of toiletries. All I'd need to add the day of the trip are the items from my original post, and whatever clothes I'm going to wear that day (which will vary depending on if I have to go into the office or not).

oldpenny16

I pre-pack underwear and scarves, but keep my travel clothing on hangers in a special area of my closet. No point in keeping the wrinkles.

Toothbrush and etc are kept fresh and are packed.

Set of make up is kept packed.

Chargers and etc...kept packed.

Likewise, hotel slippers, dressing gown and hair gear....packed.

I am willing to take the risk and travel with one pair of shoes and those are worn.

We have a company rule that we have to travel in business attire which oes help with packing.

Very curious to see what Santa brings tonight. A Red Oxx box has been seen in the house....then disappeared.

Happy Holidays to all!