MISC

Things You Don’t Need to Pack Before Traveling

April 28, 2015 /

mebags

Travelers are often so worried about under-packing that they wind up over-packing. Truthfully, though, have you ever gone on a trip and used every single thing you stashed in your suitcase? Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I brought more clothes!” Probably not. Leave the following items at home. You won’t need them and they’ll save you both time and weight.

1. Neck Pillow
First of all, the airline will give you a neck pillow if you ask for it. Even if they won’t, they may give you a regular pillow or a blanket, which you can then use as a neck support. Second of all, neck pillows can be heavy and they can take up a lot of room in your luggage.

2. Detergent
Unless you know for sure that you’re going to a hotel that doesn’t have any type of laundry service, leave the detergent at home. If you’re only going away for a week, you can probably pack enough clothing to get you through without having to do laundry at all. Either way, there’s really no need for detergent unless you’re going to have to hand wash clothing during a month-long trip. Find the best deals for staying in Orlando and ask the hotels if they have self-service laundry areas.

3. Money Belt
Okay, if you’re traveling to a risky part of the world, you may want to use a money belt just in case you get robbed. However, pulling $3 out of your money belt to pay for a cup of coffee actually makes you more of a target. If you’re traveling in the U.S., don’t bother with a money belt at all. The same goes for theft-proof pants, which have hidden pockets.

4. Travel Wallet
This is some clever marketing, since a travel wallet is pretty much the same thing as a normal wallet. Travel wallets are a little bigger so that they can hold all of your documents. However, they’re really not that convenient and they’re pretty cumbersome. Plus, today you can store most of your important documents online and then just keep a backup tucked in your luggage.

5. Seat Enhancer
Yes, air travel can be uncomfortable. Bulky equipment, though, is going to be more of a nuisance than a help. For example, you can get a gadget that fits between the seats to create a platform to put your arm on. This seems needless, especially when you’re talking about taking up extra space in your luggage. Also, you’ll probably annoy your seat mate. There’s also something called a Knee Defender, which locks the seat in front of you so that they can’t recline. This is pretty rude, since your fellow traveler paid the same amount of money you did for their seat and they should be able to recline as they please. Plus, knee defenders are banned on a lot of major airlines.

10723731_808639142533836_1116653415_nYes, there are some travel accessories that are totally worth bringing along. The rest of them, though, can stay safely at home while you’re toting around your light-as-a-feather luggage.

This article was contributed by Fiona Moriarty of Hipmunk, a travel website that offers customers a fast and easy way to find the best travel deals.

15 Comments

  • jaja

    April 28, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    Yeay…. Finally, new post…
    Sunyi je blog ni.. hehehe…
    I agreed with most of the things that you mentioned but basically it depends on how many days and where is the place you’ll be going.. 🙂

  • imaisha

    April 29, 2015 at 3:06 pm

    Since I haven’t travel oversea yet (only to Sabah, but that doesn’t count), I never ever think to bring all the things that listed in this post. I only tend to bring more clothes than I should but most of the time, I end up using them, so I wouldn’t say I’m overpacking 😛

  • glory jane

    May 9, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    same with me here Imaisha. Always overpacking because i afraid not enough cloth :p

  • glory jane

    May 9, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    Saya pernah terfikir nak beli travel wallet tapi tak sempat beli masa travel dulu… hihi.
    Benda-benda yang lain tu tak pernah terfikir nak beli. Walaupun selalunya kalau travel lebih dari 3 hari saya akan basuh baju (saya kuat berpeluh), tapi tak bawa pun sabun. beli di sana saja.

  • glory jane

    May 9, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    Salam Kak Em,
    Since you travel a lots, can you give tips on whats a-must-bring-item when travel. Except camera and painting stuff (i’m pretty sure you carry this around anywhere you go :))

  • Glory jane

    December 6, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    3 set cloth. Oh wow. Travel smart ni…
    Me always overpack. 3 set for me only for one and half day.
    Pants 3 also enough for me. But shirt i must bring a lot…. huhu

  • imaisha

    December 7, 2015 at 3:47 pm

    sama la.. kalau seluar, tak byk bawa.. tapi baju mesti lebih.. tudung pun sama.. sebab fikir nak bergambar nanti takkan asyik tunjuk baju sama je.. mcm artis pulak.. hihi..