10 Things to Travel Without

You know how the story goes, we spend so much time planning our next adventures, the excitement and anticipation looms for weeks and weeks but, there’s always the impending question of ‘What should I pack?!’ If you read my post How to Pack for Vacation, you know there are several awesome ways to pack efficiently and to ensure you’re actually using everything you brought with you! However, often times, we get so hung up on what to bring or get overly excited about the cool, latest and greatest travel gismos and gadgets that we end up overstuffing our suitcases!

What’s really interesting is how often we focus our energy on what to pack rather than what NOT to pack! It’s easy to say yes to those pair of shoes or yes to packing 5 different dresses that will probably never see the light outside of your suitcase but, not so easy to stop ourselves to really think about what we travel with. It sounds funny to think about what not to do right off the bat but, think about how much more efficient your packing will be and how must LIGHTER that suitcase will be when you’re lugging it up the stairwell of a hotel with a broken elevator (believe me, I’ve been there!)
Let’s take a moment to talk about what items you can leave behind on your next vacay. Read on for this common list of items that may take you by surprise!

10 Things to Travel Without

1. Shampoo and Conditioner

Unless you’ll be traveling to the middle of the amazon, leave your fav shampoo and conditioner behind! It’s one (or two!) less thing to worry about leaking all over your suitcase and, hotels usually provide you with those pretty decent mini shampoo and conditioner samples anyways – for free!

2. A Pillow

I must admit, I used to do this back in the day when I wanted to feel the comfort of my own pillow on my tired head at the end of a long walk-about day. The downfall? It’s another thing you have to lug everywhere with you and good luck keeping it clean for the duration of your trip!

3. Your whole makeup kit

Listen, I love my makeup as much as the rest of them but, let’s be real, there’s no way you’ll be needing every single thing in your makeup kit on vacation! I usually find that I wear less makeup, if at all, when I’m on vacation. At the end of the day, just pack the essentials (foundation, powder, mascara, lipstick) and you should be good to go.

4. Hair styling tools

More awkwardly-shaped, big items you want to leave at home. Similar to the shampoo and conditioner, most hotels provide you with a hair dryer – again for free!

5. Books or Magazines

In our day and age, Kindles or iPads are life! Not only can we store all the books and magazines our hearts desire in one little device, we’re saving ourselves the extra luggage space and weight – it’s a win-win!

6. Full-sized toiletries

There really is no benefit to having full-sized anything in your luggage! It takes up way too much space and there’s more risk of product leaking all over your belongings. If you plan on traveling with just a carry-on, you’ll be that annoying person in security having to open your bag and remove those big bottles as you’ll likely be over the limit!

7. Hats

Now, most smaller hats like baseball caps are fine but, those huge sun hats that can’t be stored in your luggage for fear of crushing it is just a pain! I decided to bring a wide-brimmed sun hat with me on my trip to Hawaii and will forever regret it. I couldn’t store it in my bag as it was too fragile therefore, I was that person holding a hat everywhere I went, having to carry it with me on the plane, find a little safe spot to tuck it away on the plane – ugh how annoying! The most annoying part of it all is the fact that I only wore it once during my whole vacation! Save yourself the hassle and leave it in your closet.

8. Jewelry

This is especially true for those special, expensive pieces in your jewelry collection! Although most hotels have a security locker, I’ve heard of many of them still being able to be broken into. I know we’re all down to look like a fashionista on vacation but, leave the expensive stuff at home!

9. Appliances

I’m talking irons or garment steamers here. More items that are awkwardly shaped, too heavy, and too fragile to travel with. Believe me, they’re happier staying at home! When it comes to wrinkles on clothes, check out my packing methods here to avoid those unsightly lines. At the end of the day, wrinkles happen, and when they do, there’s always the ‘hang your clothes in the steamy hotel washroom’ method. Works every time!

10. Anything Breakable

This is especially true for your checked luggage. We all know those airport workers are far from being gentle with your luggage – I mean, their job is to get your luggage on the plane as quickly as possible! With that said, leave any fragile, glass, or anything deemed breakable in your carry-on!

Have you discovered an item that is better off staying out of your travel luggage? Let me know in the comments section below!