My Favorite Travel Buddies

Sorry peeps, I’ve got no outfit for you today and for the next few days.  I either didn’t have time to take outfit pics while it was still daylight or I was wearing shorts and an Everlane tee since it was so oddly hot this week.

Since I’ve got no outfit for you, I want to share my favorite travel buddies.  The holiday season usually means lots of traveling, and since I travel often through out the year I have found a few things that make packing much more enjoyable for me.

While I still don’t loooove the act of packing, I do love posts on packing.  Why is that?  No idea.  Anyway, here are some of my favorite travel buddies:

1.  Packing Cubes – Hands down our best packing gear purchase ever.  This might sound like an exaggeration because how amazing can some cubes be?  To me, functionality is amazing.  These things organize your suitcase so that your clothes aren’t spilling out everywhere.  Instead of digging out piles of clothes to find something, all of my stuff is separated into neat little cubes.  They come in different sizes, or you can buy packages of identical sizes.  One of the medium cubes (middle cube) fills half of the base of my carry-on perfectly.  

2.  GoToobs – I’ve gone through LOTS of different types of squeeze tubes over the years, and these are definitely my favorite travel tubes.  I used to use hard plastic squeeze tubes from Target and got really, really, REALLY annoyed that they either cracked or were hard to get contents out of.  GoToobs are a little expensive, but they are the BEST.  They’re made of soft silicone so you can squeeze out every drop of liquid.  When you untwist the lid the opening is big which makes for easy pouring or really easy washing compared to other bottles I’ve tried.  They come in different sizes, primarily 1.25oz and 3oz.  I use a bunch of the 1.25oz so I can fit more in my quart-sized liquids bag.

I also want to try GoTubbs (not shown) for things like pills or gels that don’t need a whole squeeze bottle.  Right now I have things like them but cheaper versions, and they’ve been cracking.  Time to try these!

You can find them on Amazon or even at places like Marshall’s, TJMaxx, and Kohl’s at a discount.

3.  Hanging Organizer – I just got this adorable Orla Kiely makeup case from Target to pack my makeup.  The middle section is great for brushes and the hanging hook makes it easy to access all of the makeup. We’ll see if I keep it, though.  Right now I use something that’s 2/3 of that size, which is preferable, but I was thinking I could fit other things into this besides makeup.  It’s just so darn cute!

4.  Sleeping Mask and Earplugs – I’m sure there are cuter sleeping masks out there, but I just use whatever my husband buys.  And he’s a tech geek, soooo there you have it.  No chevron print for that man–what’s his deal?  ðŸ™‚

What I like about this eye mask is that while most masks have a closed elastic strap to keep it on your head, this strap is velcro and adjustable.  When it’s a closed elastic band it usually feels too tight around my head and tends to gets uncomfortable.  With this one I can adjust it to perfectly fit my head without squeezing me into a headache.  It also has bumps over the eyes so that your eyes are covered but the mask is not squishing your eyes.  Comes with the earplugs and small carrying pouch.

5.  Cosmetic Cube – Another freaking cute Orla Kiely cosmetic bag from Target.  I have several bags like this to pack things like large necklaces, small electronics (phone chargers, USB drive, etc.), and belts…but let’s be honest, they’re mostly for my many statement necklaces!  I used to use ziplock bags, but having cute bags really helps make packing more enjoyable.

6.  Jewelry Roll – I don’t have this exact roll, but I can’t find anything remotely close to the one I have.  Mine is from H&M and I love it!  You can see it here (along with my ziplock bags from years ago…).  I mostly use it for smaller things like earrings or delicate necklaces, but it’s nice to have one that compartmentalizes all those little pieces.

7.  Revlon Travel Dryer – Honestly, not the most amazing hair dryer ever.  I have yet to find a travel dryer that is.  But this one gets the job done.

8.  Pencil Pouch – I can’t find my exact pencil pouch, but this is more or less what I use.  I find them in the cosmetic bag section at Target.  I’m a fiend for office supplies, so I always bring them with me when I travel.  A cute pouch makes me even more nuts for office supplies!

9.  GoRuck Backpack – OKAY, I know you might be like, “Audrey, WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?”  I almost didn’t want to show you because I feel like as a style blogger all of your stuff is supposed to be cute, but I already threw in that not-so-cute eye mask, so I might as well show you the rest.  And yes, I have cute little totes that I carry around day-to-day, but when I’m traveling, this backpack is my BFF.

These are military-grade backpacks (found by my husband of course) and they look a little hardcore and masculine, and they’re like a million dollars ($230 really) but I needed it.  I have major back and shoulder problems, including having had scoliosis surgery, so I need to take care of my back.  My husband just wasn’t gonna let me lug 10-15 lbs of laptop, water, books, and who knows what else in a tote on one shoulder through airports anymore.

Besides being of impeccable quality, GoRucks are designed to distribute weight very, very, very well.  I tried a handful of other big name backpacks that were cuter and cost less and though they felt fine for the first 5-10 minutes, once it got to 15-20 min I could totally feel the pressure on my shoulders.  Not with GoRucks.  I can carry a full load in this thing all day without feeling the strain on my muscles or back.  At one camp my supervisor kept making fun of me because I had this on during meals, walking around, at free time…I just kept forgetting I had it on!

Anyway, this is NOT supposed to be an advertisement for GoRuck.  Like, as if a military-grade backpack company cares about a style blog haha!

Hopefully this helps you plan for your trips a little.  If you have any packing questions, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.

What are some of YOUR favorite travel buddies?



Other posts on packing:


For Bloglovin readers: yesterday’s outfit post is having major issues publishing on Bloglovin.  If you missed it, check here.
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