How to travel and keep organized when flying across the country

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

How to travel and keep organized when flying across the country

I told you a that I flew across the country {from Los Angeles to Atlanta, GA} a few weeks ago to attend a bloggers' conference. Well, I was determined to fly in style and to fly organized! Quite honestly, it required me to be organized. I don't often travel alone on an airplane, but I wanted to be sure to have everything at hand and be able to keep organized while changing planes and carrying it all with me. And then be able to go directly to my conference organized.

Well, I wanted to share with you what products I used and how I liked them. {Not getting paid to tell you my opinions}. I bought a few things that I knew would help me travel better, but could also work for my hubby when he traveled on his many business trips also. Here is what I got:

1. Grid-It
2. Bag Bungee by Travelon
3. Travel Laundry Bag
4. Bobino Cord Wrap
5. Travel space bags
6. Travel outlet

I surprised myself by actually using all these products - some more than others. I packed almost all of these cool gadgets into my new big, red bag! I needed something that could hold both my laptop AND my DSLR camera, but look like a purse so I could take that as carry-on along with my suitcase.

Source

The Reisenthel expandable shopper bag turned out to be affordable {on sale at TCS for $30} and could handle ALL the stuff I needed to put in it for the airplane, including acting as my purse!

As you can see, it was generous inside and it held all kinds of snacks and goodies for me {along with my laptop and camera and magazines} - since there aren't any meals on my two flights out there {L.A. to Denver, Denver to Atlanta}, and literally not a moment to pick up any meals between my 15 minutes I wound up having to {run} walk quickly from one flight to the next connecting flight. Inside, you can see a plate case {protector} that I used to hold my DSLR camera! I had a little game on Instagram and Facebook to see if they could figure out why in the world I was using a plate case in my carry on bag!

So, the gadgets above worked great. I think my favorite and most used gadget was the bag bungee. It was seriously a life saver. My carry-on/purse weighed 30 pounds {yes I weighed it} and being able to sit it on top of my wheeled suitcase made a huge difference. It was filled with many heavy things, but it fit under the seat in front of me on the plane - and I was able to reach in and grab my stuff by feeling for it.

All in all, the gadgets were fun and helped me. Above, you can see my travel outlet - that was just ONE instance I used it. There weren't many outlets in the airport on the way home and I had a FOUR hour layover and had lots of work to do, so it was a blessing to ask a stranger if I could use the outlet and share mine that had three more on it!

Getting my suitcase organized was also a priority. I knew that the conference had several different times I would need to change clothes. So, I figured out {ahead of time} which classes I would take and then what type of outfit for each venue. We had cocktail parties, day-wear, evening get togethers, and more. So, I planned my outfits accordingly - and only took two pairs of flip flops and a pair of wedges so it would all fit. I tried out the space bags using their suggestion of rolling it. I'm not sure if I liked that or not. My clothes were wrinkled when I get there but eventually most of the wrinkles "hung" out. My friend, Brittany, had the space bags and I saw her do them flat {for her pillow especially} and that looked like a better way to go. But, they are great for getting more into your bag.

I opened up my suitcase to find this sweet, little card from my daughter, too! The trip was a success. I didn't have any real problems, praise the Lord! I was flying alone, so I can't complain about having to wait longer than expected.

One other tip, I learned from experience years ago when my luggage got lost - I ALWAYS take my make up with me in my carry-on! Remember the Lay N Go bag I gave away a few weeks ago? Well, I took it with me and it was super easy to put in my red carry-on bag/purse. It worked really well for traveling and I was happy I had it with me!

Oh, and a GREAT travel app I used was Tripcase - it has all kinds of neat stuff. It shows you where to go, whether the plane is on time or late, seating charts of the plane you're taking, where you hotel is, etc. I relied on it quite a bit - I highly recommend it! And, it's FREE!

Happy traveling! Any tips you have that help you pack better or travel organized?