Uses for Sandwich/Quart-size Zip-close Plastic Bags

Zip-close bags - those inexpensive kitchen necessities - are incredibly useful for the Road Warrioress!  To continue our previous post, let's move on to the sandwich/quart size. These two are so very close in size, either one generally does the trick.  No real need to buy both. 

Note that TSA “officially” requires quart-size bag for carry-on toiletries.

1.   Carry-on toiletries: travel sizes of deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, facial cleanser, shower gel, hand sanitizer, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer.

2.   Still-wet pouf, hose, bikini, etc, need to go in the suitcase?  Bag it!  Press out the air, tuck it in, and on arrival, set it back out to finish drying.

3.   Keep about 3-4 pairs of hose sorted by color/shade, up to ten pairs of nylon knee-highs, per bag.  Squeeze the bag as you finish sealing to reduce bulk, then tuck away.  If you pack a purse or spare handbag, or your "good" bag, your purse will hold its shape better if you stuff it with these bags full of hosiery.

4.   Stuffing toes of your shoes?  Good idea to put each pair of hose in a bag, squeeze-seal, tuck into toes.  No hosiery snagging, no mismatches.

5.   Ditch those boxes!  Nose strips, make-up remover pads, nail polish remover pads, Q-tips, quilted squares, make-up sponges, and more usually pack more flexibly if you repack them in bags. 

6.   Make-up kit: if you only need one set of make-up, or for a day-pack to refresh, snack-size bags do the trick.  For a more extensive array, sandwich/quart-size will hold it.  By the way, bagging these helps prevent spills or leakage, too.

I find it so much easier to keep track of things, especially small things, when I bag them.  Bet you will, too.  And be sure to share your tips and tricks with the rest of us!  Looking forward to hearing from you. . .

May your road rise to meet you!
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

Pack a Straw!

Of all the surprising items to pack when you travel, a drinking straw has to sound the weirdest!  But pack one or two to spare you from damaged jewelry, knotted chains, and frustration.
Slip one end of your necklaces and bracelets into a length of plastic drinking straw, then fasten the catch.  They will not scratch or tangle.  You only need a piece of straw about one-third the length of your necklace or bracelet, so one straw may suffice for several pieces.  For fine chains, you can often slip two into one section of a straw, and the two necklaces still will not tangle and knot up.  Pendants on your chains, of course, remain outside the straw, so no problem there.

I've found the best straws at (of all places) MacDonald's and Wendy's.  Since they serve thick shakes and Frosties, their straws have a larger diameter than those from, say, KFC.  Perfectly adequate to hold a nice thick rope-style chain necklace.  And they are plastic straws, so these can last for ages.  You can easily cut a convenient length with manicure scissors or whatever is handy. 

When you take off your jewelry, slip chain end into a short piece of straw, fasten the catch, and put away in your jewelry roll.  Keeps your precious possessions safe.  Without adding any weight or bulk to your baggage.  (Mine's usually overstuffed to begin with!)

Pick up a spare straw next time you treat yourself to a shake or soda, and stash that straw in your luggage, ready for your next episode of pack-and-takeoff.

May your road rise up to meet you!

Ann

Customs Matter in What You Wear, How You Act

Don’t pack your little black silk cocktail dress if you are going to Thailand.  Wearing black to a dinner or party, the color of death and mourning, is a serious faux pas among Thais.

An emergency medical service which expanded into Malaysia had to change their corporate color, logo, and reprint all of their business cards, letterhead, promotional materials – everything!  Their corporate color was a deep blue, the color of funeral procession attire and an omen of death.  Better to use ordinary white business cards with standard black print than to use blue paper or ink, especially for a business related to healthcare.

It’s Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dragon – and New Year gifts must always be given in pairs!  Odd numbers are inauspicious in gifts.  For New Year gifts, money is popular, but oranges, which symbolize gold, are even more popular.  Give four oranges (or four dozen) because recipients often “return the good luck” by giving back to the donor, and they would have to reciprocate with an even number or it’s bad luck for the coming year.  By giving four or eight (eight is an especially auspicious “big business” number) oranges, your receiver can return the favor with an even number.

Pay attention to culture, customs, superstitions of the countries you venture to visit.  Internet research can be useful on-the-run.  Better is to study up before you go.  Check travel guides in the public library for sections on customs and culture.  Read books on countries’ traditions, history, culture, customs for more comprehensive cross-cultural training. 

A weekend pouring over the books can spare you from packing unneeded – even dysfunctional – items or insulting your hosts or people you meet.  There’s no point hauling so much as the few ounces of that black silk cocktail dress when every ounce counts on airlines and above all, on your shoulder as you haul your “stuff” around.

May your road rise up to meet you!

Ann

Pack a Nite Lite

I almost fell out of bed in the middle of the night.  Sleeping on the “other” side of the bed from my usual, I rolled over and awakened with a start at the edge of the bed.

Fortunately, I had my nite lite plugged into an outlet by the vanity.  Reorienting myself quickly to unfamiliar territory, I fell straight back to sleep.

Hotels seem to think pitch-black is appropriate for guests to get to sleep and stay asleep.  Unfortunately, strange surroundings are disorienting and disturbing when you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or awaken to a blacked-out day. 

Pack a nite lite.  It's tiny and fits in your cosmetics bag.  And the best place to plug it in is typically in the outlet in the vanity/sink area.  Unplug it and pop it back in your cosmetics bag when you switch on the bathroom light to brush teeth, blow-dry hair, etc, in the morning.   It's a traveler's essential travel equipment.