Travelers are resourceful people who are good at adapting to changing circumstances. Here are 5 useful everyday items that every traveler should carry. Most households already have several of these items, if not all five, lying around their homes at this very moment.
1. Plastic Shopping Bags
You know all of those plastic bags from the grocery store that just get shoved into the back of closet or drawer at home? Put those bags to good use while you’re traveling. Plastic bags are great for traveling because they’re compact, versatile and you won’t feel bad about throwing them away. A plastic bag can be used for: leftover food, dirty clothes, wet shoes, garbage, etc.
2. Plastic Eating Utensils
If you have some plastic eating utensils leftover from a takeout meal, consider tucking it into your carry-on. Plastic utensils, including plastic knives, are allowed in carry-on luggage. Although most hostels have kitchens and eating utensils you can borrow, some don’t have kitchens or eating utensils. Some hotels don’t have eating utensils in the room either. You may want spare eating utensils at some point so you can eat leftovers from a restaurant or a simple yogurt or snack from the grocery store.
Plastic utensils can snap into pieces, so be careful where you pack them in your luggage. It also can be hard to cut things or butter toast with some thin, cheap plastic knives. Some travelers prefer bringing a set of metal utensils instead. If you bring a serrated metal knife, put it in your checked luggage.
3. Newspaper
Newspapers can be repurposed by travelers in many ways. Crumpled up newspaper can help remove odors from shoes and luggage. You can put wet or muddy shoes on newspaper to help prevent dirtying the floor or staining the carpet. You can use newspaper to wrap up fruit, like an apple, or to pack glass or fragile items in your luggage (although clothing serves as great packing material as well).
4. Plastic Water Bottle
If you don’t want to buy water at the airport, bring an empty disposable water bottle with your carry-on. Water bottles are allowed through airport security as long as they are empty. After you pass through security, you can go fill up your water bottle at the nearest drinking fountain.
A nice part about disposable water bottles is if you happen to lose it, you won’t care because it was a disposable water bottle anyway. Some travelers prefer bringing a more substantial reusable water bottle from home.
5. Hotel Shampoo Bottles
Refill hotel shampoo bottles with a travel size amount of your favorite shampoo, moisturizer, sunscreen, etc. The main downside of refilling hotel shampoo bottles is they are quite small so you may need more than one bottle for your trip. As an alternative, some travelers prefer purchasing larger travel size bottles directly from the store.