Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen
Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen are folk-remedy experts and home tipsters based in New York City. They have spent decades collecting “cures from the cupboard” and are authors of several books, including Secret Food Cures.
Most people like to travel and look forward to seeing new places. At least until it’s time to pack their bags and make sure everything is ready. Even when they’ve made it to the airport, cleared security checks, boarded their planes, and are starting to relax into the seat it’s not uncommon for travelers to bolt upright wondering if they’ve left the stove or courted disaster through some other means. Pre-travel planning will have you ready to go in well in advance, and travel packing tips will help you be sure you have everything you need and some space for souvenirs too.
In this excerpt from the book Household Magic by Joan and Lydia the authors share their travel packing tips, give advice for how to get ready, and provide tips to make sure your home stays ship shape while you’re away.
Whether you’re traveling for business, pleasure or both…if you’re going by plane, train, bus, boat, camel, camper or car… if you’re staying at a motel, hotel, hostel, lodge, chalet, castle or camping grounds…off season or in season…alone, with a tour group or with family or friends—there’s valuable information that can help make your trip the best it can be.
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities,” said feminist journalist Gloria Steinem. “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
Many people consider the planning stage of a trip to be as much fun as the trip itself. So we hope these suggestions help you plan the most exciting trip possible.
Generally, most major airlines offer bargain prices on Sunday, according to the travel experts Frommers. Fares tend to be highest on Fridays. Discounted rates are most often given on very early morning and late-night flights.
Several hotel chains offer low-low prices on rooms that would otherwise go unoccupied. It’s very last minute, and you’ll find these bargains only on the Internet.
If short notice is not your way of planning a trip, there are also lots of bargains on the Internet for advance reservations. But always read the fine print and confirm the deal with the hotel directly. When you’re ready to start looking, check out these sites…
Travel light! When in doubt, leave it out! You don’t want to lug around unused or unwashed clothing. Nor do you want to have to be dependent on porters, cab drivers or other travelers for lifting and carrying your overstuffed luggage. Give lots of thought to what you really need to take, keeping in mind that packing light can add to an enjoyable time.
Before you begin to pack, think about what you’ll need on your trip and write out a packing list. Then, as you pack, check off each item as it goes into the suitcase.
Packing Styles
There are several different packing options to consider when it comes to proper packing. Read through our suggestions—keeping in mind the kind of clothes and accessories you will be taking with you when you travel—and decide which packing style will work best for you.
No matter how you decide to pack, be sure to button buttons, zip zippers, tie ties, snap snaps and buckle buckles before putting your clothes into the suitcase.
◆ This packing order should keep the creasing down to a minimum—first, lay out jackets…then shirts/blouses and pants/ skirts… followed by jeans—all folded in half across the length of the suitcase. Shoes go in the corners.
◆ Instead of folding clothes, roll them. It doesn’t take up any more room in a suitcase, and your clothes will be less creased when you unpack. If you have clothes on hangers, put plastic dry-cleaner bags over them and, yes, roll them up.
◆ If having wrinkle-free slacks is your priority, fold them in half and stretch out the top half in the bottom of your suitcase, and let the bottom half (the legs) hang over the side of the suitcase. Then pack the rest of your clothes on top of the slacks in your suitcase. (It’s starting to sound very confusing, but if you do a dry run as you read these instructions, it will make sense.
Once your clothes are packed on top of the slacks, cover the clothes with the legs of the slacks that have been draped over the side of the suitcase.
This method of packing will eliminate the creases in pants that are packed after being folded in half at the knees.
◆ For an overnight stop at a hotel, you may want to have your nightgown handy, and for that morning swim, you may want your bathing suit easy to reach. It would be nice to not have to search for those garments, messing up the other clothes you packed so neatly.
The solution is to pack your clothes in the order in which you will need them, with the ones you will need first on top in your suitcase.
◆ An editor at Fodor’s Travel Publishing suggests folding shirts, pants and skirts in half lengthwise, and then stacking or rolling them from the bottom up.
Once you’ve finished packing, pack the list in the suitcase so that you can recheck everything when you pack to go home.
◆ If you don’t have a toothbrush holder, find an empty plastic pill bottle—you know, those little amber containers that you keep because you think they just might come in handy someday. Well, today’s the day!
You’ll want a pill bottle that has a childproof cap—a soft-plastic cap inside the hard-plastic cap. Pluck out the soft-plastic cap. Then, using a knife or box cutter, carefully cut about a 3 ⁄4-inch slit in the cap. Push the handle of the toothbrush through the slit and put the head of the toothbrush into the pill bottle. Move the cap down, closing the pill bottle with the toothbrush inside its new, clean, covered holder.
◆ Put your underwear in thin plastic bags, and stuff your shoes with them. It will use suit[1]case space wisely and help your shoes keep their shape. You can also stuff your shoes with socks. Or you can…
◆ Put socks over your leather shoes (just make sure they’re clean first). Doing this will prevent them from getting scratched inside a super-stuffed suitcase.
◆ All expert packers seem to agree that belts should not be rolled up. They should line the perimeter of the suitcase.
◆ If you’re into necklaces, you know how easily the chains tangle. Open the clasp and thread one end of the chain through a plastic straw, then bring the two ends together. Close the clasp the way you would if the chain was around your neck. Ta-da!
Pack Bring-Alongs
Pack a couple of large plastic garbage bags in your suitcase. You’ll find many uses for them, including as a waterproof layer in your suit[1]case, a laundry bag for dirty clothes or as an impromptu raincoat.
If there’s room, take a few different-sized bags. Chances are, you will use them in ways you may not be able to anticipate. They come in handy for carrying leftover food from a restaurant, for leaky bottles or for wet shoes and bathing suits.
You may also want to take a lightweight, fold-up bag that opens to become an extra piece of luggage, especially if you like to shop for clothes and souvenirs when you travel.
◆ Buy a thermal-insulated lunch bag in which to keep your medication cool, especially if you’re traveling when the weather is hot.
◆ Bring an extra supply of necessary medication—about three days’ worth—before traveling. And get a note (and duplicate prescriptions) from your doctor for all medications and health gear, such as syringes, glucometers, lancets, blood pressure monitors and inhalers.
Fly Through Airport Security
Fly Through Airport Security Be sure to have a doctor’s note for anything that might delay you in getting through airport security, such as metal plates or pins, artificial limbs, a pacemaker, etc
Photocopy two sets of all your important identification and travel documents—such as your passport, driver’s license, travel tickets, credit cards and traveler’s checks—and anything regarding your health and medicate.
Make sure that credit card cancellation instructions and phone numbers are included. Keep a set filed away at home and carry a set with you in a safe place.
When copying your identification and documents, you may want to copy a third set and leave it with a hometown contact person.
In general, it’s a good idea to give your travel itinerary (with flight numbers, hotel con[1]tact information, etc.) to someone at home, just in case of an emergency.
If you plan to send “wish you were here” post[1]cards to all your friends and family, write or type their names and addresses on self-stick labels to take with you. And if you’re traveling within the US, don’t forget to bring postcard stamps.
The following tip doesn’t prevent a power outage, but it lets you know if something happened while you were away…
Before you leave on your trip, put a few ice cubes in a resealable plastic freezer bag and leave it in the freezer. When you get back home, check to see if the ice cubes are still shaped like cubes and not a frozen puddle.
If it’s a solid puddle, it means there was a power outage and the food in your freezer thawed and refroze. And if that’s the case, you should throw away that food.
A house can smell musty if it’s been closed up for a while. Before you go away on a trip, place small bowls of distilled white vinegar in each room. The vinegar will keep the air fresh, so you’ll breathe easier when you get home.
Buy a big bag (it’s not expensive) of clay kitty litter. Pour it into a big, flat box. The top of a cardboard storage box (about 25 x 15 inches) is perfect. Place the box top in your bathtub and pour some kitty litter into it. It will absorb mois[1]ture and prevent mildew while you’re away
Before you leave home, plan for your return! You’ll have traveled all day and you’ll be tired— the last thing you’ll want to do is to change the linens on your bed. Here’s what to do—before you leave on your trip, place an unused fabric softener sheet between the flat and fitted sheets of your bed.
The porous material of the dryer sheet absorbs moisture, keeping the linens nice and crisp. The scent from the dryer sheet will also leave your bed sheets smelling fresh and clean. All of this should ensure that you settle easily into slumber upon your return.
Light Up the Place
Light timers (inexpensive and available at hard[1]ware and discount stores) installed near the front and back windows of your house will give the impression that there is life and activ[1]ity inside a home (especially if you keep the curtains drawn).
Noise can further enhance the illusion of people at home. You can use the same light timers to turn on radios and/or television sets.
There are companies that will pick up your luggage, golf clubs, skis, gifts for the grandkids (and whatever else you want to take on your vacation) and deliver it all to your destination— just about anywhere in the world.
This service will save you the hassle of dragging stuff through airport check-in and security lines. Before you get excited about this, though, keep in mind that luggage-shipping services can be expensive.
But if you’re still interested, check out these companies…
◆ LugLess—Lugless.com
◆ Luggage Forward—617-482-1100 or Luggage forward.com
Lugless uses Federal Express and UPS to send the luggage. Luggage Forward handles all pickups and special handling.
In the earlier section on packing, we advised you to pack light…so you definitely don’t want to take this book with you! Instead, read through our suggestions, take notes or commit the information to memory, and then be on your way—knowing when to take your medication…how to keep track of your finances…how much to tip…and finding your hotel.
If you will be crossing time zones, you may wonder exactly when you should take your medication. Most drugs that are meant to be taken once a day build to steady levels in the body, so discrepancies of a few hours shouldn’t matter. But if you take medication(s) several times a day, consult with the prescribing physician and get specific instructions before your trip.
Write down everything you buy as you buy it. Include a description of the item, the date/ time, the price, the credit card used, the store name—all the details.
We know you’re on vacation and you don’t want to have to do clerical work, but this running tally can give you an overall picture of your finances, help prevent you from going over your budget (and perhaps your credit limit) and keep you from being charged for items you did not purchase. Be sure to keep the list with you in a secure place.
Place a sticker with contact information—the name and number of a relative or friend, or the address and number of your travel destination, hotel or office—on a cell phone, laptop, iPod, BlackBerry, digital or video camera…or any other high-tech equipment you are traveling with
If you lose it or leave it somewhere, a person with a conscience and a kind heart can return it to you. (You may also want to add the word “Reward” to the sticker.)
Based on advice from several travel experts, we came up with a few tipping guidelines. These ranges are generally accepted, with the exception of an unusual circumstance that requires someone doing something above and beyond his/her job description—for example, a cab driver brings your luggage into the hotel…a waiter packs your leftover food in a doggie bag…a maid gives you extra towels or soap. In that situation, show your gratitude by tipping an amount that would make you happy if you were the person being tipped.
Here are tipping ranges for some common travel services…
◆ Airport porter or skycap—$1 to $2 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) per bag.
◆ Taxi, limo, shuttle or van driver—15% of the total fare.
◆ Valet parking attendant—$3 to $5.
◆ Driver of a courtesy shuttle—$1 to $2 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) per bag if he/she helps with the bags.
◆ Hotel doorman—Opening the door, nothing.
◆ If the doorman brings your luggage into the hotel, $1 to $2 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) per bag.
◆ If the doorman hails you a cab, $1 to $2 (or the equivalent in foreign currency).
◆ Bellhop—Taking your bags to your room, $1 to $2 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) per bag.
◆ Hotel maid—$2 to $5 (or the equivalent in foreign currency) per night. Tip daily because maids often rotate. Put the money in an envelope marked “Housekeeping” and leave it on your pillow.
◆ Tour guides—Check with the tour company to see if the tip is already included. If not, give 10% to 15% of the tour price.
◆ Restaurant tipping—Food server, 15% to 20% of the food bill (before tax)…coat check, $1 (or the equivalent in foreign currency)… cocktail service, 15% to 20%…maître d’, noth[1]ing unless he seats you when the restaurant is full and you didn’t have a reservation—then give him at least $10 (or the equivalent in foreign currency)…wine steward, 10% of the wine bill (before tax)…restroom attendant, $1 (or the equivalent in foreign currency).
Be aware that in many European and Asian countries, the tip is included in the lunch and/or dinner bill.
Invaluable Tipping Tip!
When tipping, be prepared. Have lots of singles (or the equivalent in foreign currency) handy. Giving the exact tip amount is easier than asking someone to make change.
As soon as you arrive at your hotel, take a matchbook…or a piece of hotel stationery…or a pen that has the hotel’s address and telephone number on it, and throw the item in your pocket or purse.
Once you leave the hotel, if you need to contact the front desk for any reason, you can just look at the matchbook, stationery or pen and get assistance.
To learn more travel packing tips, ways to save on hotels and airfare, or find out useful tricks for daily life around the home pickup your own copy of Household Magic from Bottomlineinc.com today.
