One of Your Travel Essentials: Toiletries

By JANE NEPOMUCENO

September 27, 2010, 7:02pm

If you’re one of those people who make traveling almost as easy as going to the grocery, you may be well-acquainted with all your travel essentials – what to bring and how to pack them. You may not find it tiring and almost mind boggling to pack and choose which clothes and shoes to bring to your travel destination or what to put into your toiletries bag.

In fact, you may even have all your toiletries together in one handy, little bag that is always ready to pick up and toss into your traveling bag.

But for the novice traveler or one who travels a lot but still hasn’t figured out how to make everything easy, especially when packing toiletries, even the simple decision of choosing the right shampoo bottle size to bring is a tricky task.

Since toiletries are travel must-haves, packing them should never be taken for granted. Wouldn’t it ruin your holiday if you’ve forgotten to include your favorite conditioner into your toiletries bag and you have frizzy hair while lounging on the beach?

Knowing where you’re going will help in determining what toiletries to add in your list. If you’re going to the beach, having moisturizers and sun block creams will be a welcome treat. But if you’re just going to be away for two to three days, you can do away with these additional baggage and stick with the basics – soap, shampoo and conditioners, better if 2-in-1, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant and/or lotion.

It is always easier to travel light so ditch the idea of bringing all the bottled elements in your dresser and opt to buy small portions instead. Consider buying your favorite shampoo, conditioners and even toothpaste in smaller sizes and even consider bringing them in sachet. It may sound traveling cheap – not traveling light – but this will be easier for you especially if you’re just in for a short vacation and you seldom travel.

Even if you are on the road most times, it is not advisable to pack big bottles of toiletries and just make do with smaller portions and just replenish the toiletries bag once in a while.

All your toiletries should fit in a small bag – preferably zip-locked to avoid leakage – and should be small enough to fit into your traveling bag. Also consider the weight of your toiletries bag not to have baggage problems when checking in at the airport.

For the frequent traveler, do not empty your toiletries bag the moment you arrive home. It should always be ready to bring whenever you have to be away to save you time in packing.