LUG-Lugging It All Along

When my old wheeled computer bag died, I promised you a review of new wheeled computer cases/attaches.  Newest addition to my luggage collection comes from LUG, a quirky-but-trendy collection of colorful luggage, totes and bags.

It doesn’t take long to assess bag basics, although durability tests might take years (as with my DayMakers handbag).

So here’s the Good, Bad and Ugly – what I like or not about using this particular wheeled computer bag I got.  (Note that it was a gift, so I don’t have model name or number.  No, this was not sent to me by the company for product review purposes.)

Like: that it holds a lot!  Laptop, accessories, files and legal pads, more.  An ingenious side-entrance pocket is perfect for CD/DVDs in their jewel boxes.  Since I have an expensive set of brain entrainment CDs which cannot be downloaded (or play on my ’puter), the whole set and portable CD player fit into that pocket.  There’s a water bottle holder on the other side.

Dislike: vertical design means digging deeply, and stuff gets lost in the bottom.  The office supplies pocket has pen loops and pockets, but is a bit too tight for a real collection of doodads: paper clips and clamps, earbuds, phone recharger, Post-It Note pads, and that wild assortment of itty-bitty stuff in need of organization and accessibility.  The old wheelies did better on that score.  Zipper pulls have no holes to accommodate luggage locks, and there always comes a time when you need to zip up more securely.

Open for Debate: the extendable handle seems a bit flexible, which could be a worry.  Too early to say.

On the whole, it’s working for me at the moment.  For daily commuter use, it’s a cute, stylish, functional office on wheels.  For the really long haul, I just don’t know.

May your road rise to meet you – and your wheelies rise to the occasion!

Ann

More Bumpf About Bags

This seems as good a time as any to chat a bit more about bags.  Who can survive without them?  Nobody nowhere.  But for the Road Warrioress, toting your life and livelihood around the planet, your luggage is just about your - and your "stuff's" - most crucial survival tool.

Your luggage has to fit your needs.  And a primary need for a Road Warrioress is durability.  Well, my Western Pack brand wheeled computer bag did not pass my most modest test.

Another bag passes with flying colors!  I have a Hartmann bag that I love and have been using extensively for months.  Ironically, it's my only bag without wheels.  Still, it has proven amazingly useful.

I have no idea how old this Hartmann bag is - decades, probably.  I'm sure I've had it at least a decade now myself.  A friend, cleaning out the attic when they moved, gave it to me as they had new sets of luggage and no longer wanted their old Hartmann bag.  You'd never know by looking at it that it must have lasted at least a couple of decades by now!

It's plain-old Hartmann classic tan ballistic nylon with tan belting leather handles and trim.  No clue to its age there.  This stuff seemingly lasts longer than the Ice Age.

What I love about it is its organization.  There are three zippered compartments, and you can open each compartment flat, one at a time, to pack and unpack.  One compartment I reserve for things I need, but do not use daily.  Here goes a dress with matching jacket, a pantsuit with a more formally styled blazer, slips, hose, dress shoes.  The "good" clothes, business clothes, dinner dress sort of attire all fit in here.  I only open this section when needed.

The middle section holds my daily wear, which for me is casual slacks and shirts.  Most of the time, I hardly need anything very "fancy," just plain and durable cotton knits.  My travel wardrobe happens to be exceptionally casual, for the most part.  Still, this compartmentalization would work well for anyone.

Nightie, light cotton robe or duster, and undies go in the third compartment.  As I use up clothing during the week, these go into the main compartment, and this section becomes my laundry bag.

On one side of the bag is a gusseted flap pocket with latch.  Here go a shawl and sarong, clear plastic TSA-required toiletries bag with its little bottles of everything. 

On the other side is a large open slash-pocket which can hold a magazine or paperback book (my "airplane reading), a legal pad or two, and a pair of flip-flops or ballerina slippers wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.  Accumulated "mish-mash" seems to get stuffed in there while traveling, too.  Then there's a small zippered pocket which holds a travel sewing kit, travel first aid kit, manicure set, and such like.

It easily holds a week's worth of clothing and whatsits.  It's easy to keep things neat and organized.  It's easy to pull together an outfit to dress quickly and pack up in a rush.

Despite the lack of wheels, it's easy to carry - and I have a miserable wreck of a back.  I do admit to not carrying it any great distance, however!  But it certainly has been hauled up and down numerous staircases - where wheeled bags dare not go.

With this, a handbag and "office on wheels" - the wheeled computer bag, now deceased - I can keep going for months at a time.  And I have been doing exactly that!

Hartmann has a long-standing reputation for durability.  I can attest to that!  My Hartmann bag is about the best luggage I've ever had in my life.  Even though it was a used bag when it came to me.  Even though it lacks wheels, which I consider among the most essential features of any travel bag.  It's extraordinarily useful and far more convenient than I ever imagined it could be.

May your road rise to meet you - and may your luggage live long!
Ann

I'm a Busy Girl - for You!

Well, I think I mentioned (probably ages ago - alas!) that I was planning to prepare a Special Report for Road Warrioresses, Perpetual Travelers, and solo women travelers on "Packing for the Long Haul."  It is underway at last!  And I have a publisher awaiting final copy.
A few posts from the blog are included - often expanded.  Lots of new material, though.  The back of the book will include handy charts or tables so you can prepare a packing list for each of your trips, update it on the road, if necessary, and keep track of what you need and what you have.

It will first be published as a Kindle Edition e-book available from Amazon.com.  The nice thing about Kindle books is that they can be downloaded to so many gadgets and gizmos.  Kindle books are not just for Kindle readers - there's Kindle for PC, as well as apps for tablets, iPads, and whosits and whatsits.  Amazon's website includes complete details on usable devices, as well as free downloads of the various apps. 

Once you buy a Kindle book from amazon, you can access your purchase on all of your various electronic equipment.  So you can read materials on your laptop or notebook one day, and on a Kindle or tablet at the beach the next.  You can look up something in hurry on your iPad, iPod, or whatever.  I've become rather fond of Kindle!

I assume the publisher will get an edition up on Barnes & Noble's Nook, although they plan to release on Amazon first.

As soon as this is done and available online, I'll let you know!  We're working out some way to reward this blog's readers with some sort of win-a-freebie, discount, or something.  So watch for details.  They'll be posted as soon as available.

Here are details available so far:
Author:  Ann Teller (that's me!  LOL!)
Title:  Packing for the Long Haul:  A TravelTellers™ Quick Guide for Road Warrioresses
Publisher:  AngeLines Publishing^®
ISBN: to be assigned
Price: to be determined
Release Date: to be announced

Hang around for more info!  I think you'll all like this and find it useful, so I'm looking forward to sharing more tips, tricks, ideas I gathered while riding the rails through China, continent-crossing on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, business trips, and what-have-you.

May your road rise to meet you!

Best regards, Ann

Nifty Tricks with Fabric Softener Sheets

Packing for a week, month, or more?  Sooner or later, the Road Warrior-ess, Perpetual Traveler, backpacker, business traveler has to do laundry.  Wash-outs in the bathroom sink work about twice, but simply don't do a proper job of it.  But whether you will hit the laundry facilities or not. . .

Pack a batch of fabric softener sheets!  These sheets, the kind which work in the clothes dryer, are a multi-purpose item which belong in every suitcase.

Tuck one into each pocket and compartment of your suitcase(s) or bags.  Lay one or two in the base before you add clothing.  As you fold or roll clothing to pack, lay a sheet on at least a few of the garments you’re taking.  A dozen can easily slip into one suitcase or carry-on bag.  You’ll find them very handy.

Fabric softener sheets have several nifty uses:

1.   They keep your suitcase and clothing smelling fresh while traveling.

2.   Use one each time you do laundry on the road.  Save the cost of fabric softener, since laudromats charge a small fortune for one or two sheets.  And save the trouble of finding them on the road.  You don't want to lug a boxful.

3.   Forget your bug repellent?  Or forego it due to TSA regulations?  Take one sheet, rub it on arms, legs, neck, then stuff the sheet in your pocket when you head outdoors.  The scent helps repel mosquitoes, gnats, sand flies and such pesky critters.  No, it’s not as good as bug repellent spray, but it certainly works in a pinch!

4.   Slip some into empty suitcases before you stow them away between trips.  It helps prevent musty odors travel bags develop while closed and stored.

Got any more ideas?  Share them with us!  Meanwhile, don’t forget to pack them before you head out on your next sojourn.

May your road rise to meet you!

Best, Ann

Cut Your Losses

When I first joined the Road Warrior class, I quickly lost a hat, hair dryer, Georg Jensen sterling silver ring with a large smoky topaz, a bottle of pricy perfume, and more.  The ring was the clincher.  With a job involving tightly scheduled near-100% travel, I clearly needed a system to hang onto my stuff.  So does every Road Warrior.  Here are my “rules of the road.”

1.  Write a packing list as you pack.  Keep hard copy in your wallet or attaché, and save one as a draft in your email – don’t email it to yourself.  I keep a standing list used for each trip & just add that trip’s special items, e.g. parka when heading for wintry weather.

2.  Only unpack what you immediately need, for example, for that night’s stay and the next morning’s attire.  And NEVER stick anything in any drawer!

3.  Whatever you use, put it away immediately.  Never leave anything lying around your hotel room.  As soon as the nail polish is dry, plop implements and polishes back into their pouch in your suitcase.  When you put on your nightie, drop the day’s laundry in its section of your suitcase.  (I dump laundry in a plastic bag and stuff bag into suitcase.)

4.  Before you check out, take a minute to survey your surroundings.  I’ve found the best order to do this is tub/toilet area for shampoo, razor, et al, left on the tub surround, then the sink & counter area, clothes hangers, bedside table, credenza and/or desk for phone-computer-power supplies.  I turn out the lights at each stop so I know I checked the area!  It also keeps me moving from the rear of the typical hotel room toward the door, loading up as I walk out.

With these put-it-away-instantly habits, and this quick system to gather up luggage as I head out, I haven’t lost anything in years.

May the road rise up to meet you!

Ann

Dealing with Lost Luggage

According to the airlines, only about 2% of bags get lost.  For a Road Warrior-ess, that's quite a risk.  Check a bag 100 times a year, and you could lose two, if you're average.

Slash your risks!  Use only a carryon bag whenever possible.  Use our packing tips and others' to reduce your "stuff" enough to get it down to one bag.  Backpackers and some perpetual travelers can live out of one bag for months at a time.  I spent several months "riding the rails through China" with just one duffle.  Laptops were h-e-a-v-y then, wireless did not really exist, and I had to lug along a "small" (hah!) travel printer.  With the teeny-tiny sizes of so many items these days, and reduced weights, it is much easier to lug an entire office, a library, whatever.  So if your trip is less than a week, you can certainly get it down to one.

There are times when you simply need a lot of clothes, heavy winter clothes, or other stuff, and a single carryon simply won't cut it.  Reduce your risks of your bag failing to land when and where you do.

Luggage tags:  do not use your home address.  Use your office address, private mail facility address, P.O. Box, anything to keep nosy-parkers from discovering you are not at home.  Do not put your home phone number on there, either.  Use a free email addie which you could check in case of lost luggage, a message phone, office phone, pager number or similar contactable email or phone that does not reveal your home location and private numbers/addresses.

Help yourself spot your bag faster.  Decal, neon-colored strap, something!

Get your little butt-sky straight to the baggage claim.  Do not get delayed or sidetracked.  Be there when the belt starts rumbling and the bags roll.  The lonely bag is more likely to get lifted than the one you grab the second it spits out of the chute.

Next up: a post on protecting your possessions within.