Today’s question about traveling for business comes from Nancy P…
I’d love a post on tips for traveling for business. (Thought of this last week when I was going to Chicago for a deposition and security took away my spray wax, because apparently it was an aerosol not allowed by the TSA. How am I supposed to sit through 2 days of deposition without hair product?!) Tips for packing? Good travel-sized products?
My (rather obvious) tips:
-Pack in the same color range — black, brown, navy — so you only have to bring one pair of dress shoes
-Bring a nice soft sweater to wear on the way home. I love changing out of a suit jacket to a cashmere sweater on the way home.
-Never bring shampoo/conditioner if you can help it — as long as you stay in decent enough hotels, you’ll have good products.
This is a great question, and we’re hoping our readers will be a wealth of information. For our $.02 — Almost everything can either be bought in a small size (see, e.g., Minimus) or converted to a small size (we like the travel supplies at The Container Store, but most any place has them). You can also ship anything that the TSA might confiscate, or just purchase a new item when you arrive. (The concierge is almost always helpful in directing you to a local drugstore — you may also want to see whether your arrival airport has any stores for beauty purchases, such as an Aveda or Sephora store.) We would advise to save your packing space for things that you truly need large quantities of — for example, if your eye-makeup remover comes in a huge bottle, change it to a much smaller package that holds the quantity you need for your time away. (We’ve actually used stacking pill containers to keep things like eye makeup remover, facial moisturizer with SPF (a little bit goes a long way!), and more serious SPF (on the off chance we go for a run outside or something).) (Pictured: Broken suitcases, originally uploaded to Flickr by toyohara.)
In terms of clothing, we agree with the reader’s advice that the same color range can be helpful for the shoe/accessory reason. We would also suggest bringing a wrap (helpful for sweater/pillow purposes on the plane) and, if you’re bringing workout clothes, bringing nice enough clothes that can do double-duty — for example, if you prefer to fly in comfortable clothes, wear your yoga pants (before you’ve, you know, sweated in them). You may also want to pack a pair of flip flops — not only are they incredibly lightweight, but they can be worn around your hotel room as slippers, and will be handy if you visit the hotel pool or spa. (We prefer not to wear flip flops for airport security — almost every TSA agent makes you remove your flip flops, which means you’re left barefoot in the airport — yick. But, to each their own.)
We might also suggest bringing along a spray bottle filled with vodka, and using it to spray on your suit as a deodorizer when you’re done wearing it for the day. Hang up everything as soon as you’re done with it, and use steam from your shower to help straighten it out even more. Many hotels will bring you an iron (or blowdryer or small coffee machine) if you ask nicely.
Finally — before traveling, be sure to check how many bags your airline allows. It seems as though everyone has changed the rules, and you don’t want to be caught paying a hefty fine and/or being forced to check your bag anyway.
Readers, what are your top tips for surviving business travel?
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My tips, to take or leave:
- just check a bag. I hate seeing people messing with more and bigger carry-ons than they’re supposed to have, it just makes getting on/off the plane (and getting thru security) take that much longer, and then they take up all the room in the storage bins. If you have a particular reason you need to take all your stuff on the plane with you, fine, but if you’re just too lazy to wait for the luggage to come off the plane or don’t want to pay the $20 or whatever, then really you should reconsider. Plus, an added benefit is that if you have say a 4-oz bottle of lotion that’s half-empty, instead of trying to get some into a 3-oz bottle, just throw the 4-oz one in your checked bag. Saves time and hassle, and then when you get back home you won’t have duplicates bottles of everything on your bathroom sink.
- moist towelettes to wipe your hands after eating something (or face/neck if you’re hot on the plane)
- travel-size kleenex, for obvious reasons.
- make a list during the few days before your trip of the essential items that you don’t want to forget (or, all of your items!). Just keep a sheet of paper and write stuff down as it occurs to you. Then check it off as you’re packing.
- to those people who have permanent travel bags w/ travel-size stuff, don’t those things (e.g. makeup) dry out if you don’t travel and use it very often? I think this must only work if you travel more often than I do.
- second the suggestions to also pack feminine products, device chargers, easy-to-eat snacks (plus some food in your checked bag if you have special diet needs and may not control when/where you eat on the trip), extra underwear in your carry-on, and some sleep/lounge clothes for your hotel room. Oh, and a good trashy magazine to read on the flight — I always get headaches and can’t read anything the least bit “sophisticated” while flying, so slipping through some women’s magazine is the best way to pass the time painlessly. And for longer flights, an eye mask so you can sleep or at least pretend to.
Good tips, for the most part, but you shouldn’t have been getting away with the “half-full 4 oz.” trick: http://www.tsa.gov/311/311-carry-ons.shtm
Probably OK to try, since I haven’t seen a TSA agent look specifically at the “liquids” baggie and 4 oz. isn’t too far over the limit. However, don’t do it with anything you just can’t stand losing if it gets taken away someday by an eagle-eyed screener.
I think she was saying that you can just toss the half full 4 oz. into your CHECKED bag, which she is advocating.
Rats, fell prey to the “skimming Corporette when I should have been working” bug again! Sorry, I was fixated on the carryons. Yes, a larger bottle is fine in *checked* luggage. Apologies, it won’t let me delete my earlier comment.
The TSA web site is good for helping avoid arbitrary local enforcement, though–I’m a knitter and often have a print-out of the “accepted items” page in case someone gets huffy about my needles.
How should one pack for a 2-month long assignment in another country? I understand the with toiletries it would then be possible to buy them at the new place, but how about clothes? Obviously I’d like to bring as little as possible but I’m concerned about binge shopping when I get thoroughly bored of what I brought.
I’ve always lurked and never posted here, but I have such a trip to Melbourne coming up and would love to hear some pointers! Thanks!
K, I did just that this past summer. I brought two huge checked bags and one smaller carryon. I bought all the toiletries there (but do bring your essential products, I didn’t because I didn’t realize my hair product was difficult to find and had to order it online).
I would recommend packing as many work clothes as possible, and only a few weekend outfits (your favorite jeans, a pretty dress, workout clothes). I did go shopping but for fun clothes. I find this minimizes the damage to my credit cards. a) I tend to shop at cheaper stores for fun things and b) they’re harder to justify than a pair of work pants.
Also, don’t bring too many shoes: you know you’ll end up wearing the same ones you wear to work everyday here, anyway!
Have fun! I thought being away from home would be a drag but I was amazed how liberating it was to be away. I missed my husband but I worked out a lot more, lost weight, found new hobbies.
I too wrote a blog about business travel tips – one thing I haven’t seen on here yet (unless I missed it!) was the value of the carry-on!
If you must check, check your bag. However, bags will and do get lost. So, in your carry-on, make sure to pack enough of the essentials to get you through a full day (i.e., nylons, panties, your bare-neccesseties toiletries, contacts & case, glasses, medication… you know the drill.) Depending on what you’re wearing on the plane – you can even bring a simple wrinkle-free blouse in your carry-on, enough for one day of meetings!
If you’re bags are lost for more than one day you can utilize the hotel laundry service to keep going for another day or so. Plus, you can always buy an extra skirt or something to make it work while you’re out and about. Most lost bags are returned later that day, or the following day, so one-days worth of bare-necesseties should do it.
Wouldn’t removing creams and makeup removers from their original packings un-sterilize them?
A word on yer actual luggage. After too many years of cheaping out with soft-sided bags, using them 3 or 4 times and then having at least one zipper break, grrr, I finally bought some good hard-sided wheeled suitcases with latches. One is big enough that I have to check it. The other is a carry-on. I’ve used them countless times, and they still look good and nothing has broken. I think they look more, hm, what’s the word I want… grown-up? Professional? No chance of the bulging-at-the-seams look of soft-sided bags.
Do you have a brand/model recommendation? I’m in the market for a good wheeled carryon.
Samsonite. I think the big one is the F’lite series. The carry-on I’ve had for years, so dunno if they still make one with latches.
Briggs & Riley. Super comfortable handles, good assortment of pockets, and clever features like a luggage tag where the end is magnetically held the suitcase so you’re not flashing your name and contact information around indiscriminately.
My advice: Keep a ready-to-go toiletry and make-up bag on hand.
I have two bags I always keep packed. One is a zip-loc with travel sizes of all my liquid toiletry essentials (face wash, moisturizer, toothpaste etc.), the other is an airplane friendly (i.e. no liquids) make-up bag.
For the toiletries, I bought small bottles I can refill with my at-home products. Whenever I get unpack from a trip, any bottles that need it get refilled and the bag goes back in the drawer. For the make-up bag, I use a compact foundation and gel eyeliner instead of my usual liquids and also keep an extra of my favorite lipstick, blush, etc. in this bag. I know it may seem redundant to have two of each of these things, but too often when I was traveling, I was forgetting something basic like lipstick or deodorant becuase I couldn’t pack those until right before the trip because I needed them to get ready, or I would return from the trip and need them the next morning, but hadn’t had time to unpack yet. Now when I travel, I can pack my clothes the night before, throw in these two bags (each of which can be carried onboard) and know I will have everything I need.
Second!
After my first year of traveling and forgetting things because I needed them the morning of travel, I finally just created 2 separate stashes of all my goodies. Makeup, liquids, etc. If you travel every week – it’s just worth the extra expense to save the hassle.
I love my hardside Dash by Brookstone. It’s pink so I know when someone moves it in the bin, etc. At 5’2″, I appreciate those that help me place my bag overhead (some bins are just enough higher that it is tough to reach without a huge SWING up).
Alka-Seltzer cold medicine is a great preventative med in the winter when traveling often. On days you are going to be in airports and cooped up in planes all day, just pop one of the fizz tablets in your morning water! I haven’t been sick for 2 years…
I second the Dash recommendation. My husband and I both have one and we love them. So light, fits into every overhead bin (even the smallest regional planes), doesn’t get damaged and really protects your stuff.
For those who want to maximize your “personal item” carryon, I also recommend the Longchamp Le Pliage bag (I have the largest one, with the long handles). It fits SO MUCH and zips up at the top so your stuff won’t go sliding out while you rest your feet on it underneath the seat. It’s virtually indestructible and doesn’t get dirty.
To further guard against toiletry spills in the suitcase, I use plastic pencil boxes instead of fabric/soft vinyl cosmetics bags. I use one pencil box for makeup only, one for shower stuff, and one for facial cleansers and toothbrush and paste. This is especially convenient if you have limited space in the bathroom, as the boxes can be stacked.
No need to contaminate contact lens cases with goop. Crafts stores have all manner of small storage cases, especially in the paints and jewelry departments, able to hold a quarter ounce of moisturizer, foundation, other liquid or cream makeup, etc.
When an eye or lip pencil gets down to about 4 inches long, I convert it to travel use. Ditto for deodorant applicators – save the last 1/2 inch of product and use it on your next short trip.
The Container Store and similar places sell pill containers with multiple divided sections. I fill one container with 5 or 6 pills each of pain relievers, antihistamine, decongestant, acid reducer, etc.
Keep tickets, itinerary, receipts, contact list, and similar documents in a plastic see-through envelope – ideally one that fits in a convenient outside pocket of your bag. The plastic envelope is easy to locate among paper folders, and you can arrange your documents inside it so the information you need is visible without having to open the envelope.
wow so many good suggestions – but can you really fit as much in a hard-side as a soft-side carry-on? and do I have to use GOOD vodka for the clothes?!
couple of other things I remembered:
tiny cordless mouse for my laptop (when I take it) – I HATE the laptop mouse; just makes life easier and takes up little space.
my assistant does a little “travel folder” for me for every trip (yes, I am spoiled). the front page is a summary w/ my itinerary, flight info, hotel address, rental car info, AND the weather in the city I’m going to. Then after individual tabs behind the cover page are confirmations for flight, hotel, rental car; there’s a tab w/ directions if I’m driving (multiple if going to different places); and a tab w/ a clear plastic sleeve for receipts. If I’m going for a depo or hearing, there’s a tab for that notice too. it’s so easy to put in the front of my tote bag, and I can pull it out easily to check info!
Tell your assistant that I think she rocks :)
my assistant does this too. she totally, totally rocks.
I’ve been struggling with the three bag conundrum for years… roller, laptop bag, and purse and how to get down to two so I can carryon. I finally found the perfect clutch purse that slides into my laptop bag cleanly, yet still has room for the basics and keeps everything secure. Here it is (from Talbot’s) – http://tiny.cc/Xmrkq
Emergency mouthwash that’s easy to keep in your handbag: travel-sized toothpaste. Little dab in your mouth, sip of water, swish it around. Useful also to perk yourself up a bit, if you’re tired and energy is sagging.
Dramamine. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it here yet. On overnight flights, it keeps me from feeling ill, I can stomach airplane food, and it will knock me out enough that I get some sleep. On domestic, I take the non-drowsy. Either way, I arrive feeling fresh instead of green in the cheeks.
Another tip for eliminating/ reducing liquids. For makeup remover, I soak a few cottons pads (one for each day I’m traveling) and stick them in a Ziplock. No leak, no mess, and one less thing I have to pack.
Tips that are not about packing!
- When offered a beverage on the plane, select someting clear (water, clear soda, white wine) so if you spill or drip, it doesn’t leave a stain.
- If you’re on a flight that serves food (I’m showing my age here, I know, as regards most domestic flights these days), request the vegetarian or a special diet meal – if you feel you must eat, that is.
- If I’ve parked my car at the airport, I jot down the location & lot # on the parking stub as a reminder.
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