Packing List for business and holiday trips

 

Here is a generic packing list you can adapt

Shopping list

Checks in advance

Passport checks 

Check for the expiry date, and the expiry date allowed by destinations. Some countries require 6 months, in case you overstay.

Check your passport has no rips or tears or the airline might deny you boarding

Check enough blank pages are left for visas.

Visas - check requirements for all family and colleagues including spouse, children, nanny, granny, driver, guide, family members who are different nationality.

Allow time for visa issue, or you have to pay extra for fast delivery or courier if you don't have time to go to the embassy, even if sending it remotely is allowed

If you need a new passport you may need to reapply for visas in the new passport. You might have to send back your old passport. In that case copy it so you have a permanent record of your travels for your diary and family history. Records of travels can prove you meet residency requirements, and remind you to not exceed them. In addition, evidence of travel might prove you could not have committed a parking offence or serious crime because you were overseas.

Car

Car tax

MOT (car road worthiness)

Tyre pressure

Petrol (gas) - fill up, note or dated photograph amount in car, in case of petrol theft

Car numberplate noted

car insurance, check expiry date

Car insurance number 

car insurance helpline

Compare car hire costs and book car hire

Note location of car hire office

Note location of meet and greet at airport, or parking or valet parking, which side of building, which side of road

Suitcase

Check suitcase is regulation size and weight, 

fits in boot (trunk) of car, 

is not too heavy to carry

leave space for souvenirs, gifts from family, hotels, restaurants, conference bags and literature, guidebooks bought at destination, maps and brochures

Check suitcase wheels work and are clean

pack luggage trolley, strap, string, labels, scissors with blades less than the regulation, which could be a maximum of six inches from a certain point on the scissors or knife blade

Photograph luggage and note colour and brand in case you need to report loss, or speak to those whose language is not English

add identifying colour or sticker to black suitcases and all suitcases and bags, umbrellas, walking sticks

Note hiking sticks with points might not be allowed, as carry on, also sports equipment such as cricket bats, surf boards, tennis rackets, so these must be packed in checked in luggage or sent separately as oversize luggage

Clingfilm or luggage protector might be useful to protect luggage from scratches and dirt

LANGUAGE

Print vital words of foreign language of destination (from Wikitravel phrasebook of the country or countries of your travel tip)

Learn the word for help

(I was able to shout AYUDA, Spanish for aid or help, when I fell downstairs in a Spanish parador hotel in La Palma, in the Canary Islands)

Print the word for allergy and the type of allergy for a restaurant or doctor or pharmacy

Travel insurance

 patient number, eg UK  NHS number 

helpline number

Destination

Destination and contact details and names for family, neighbours or colleagues

Hotel

Book room upgrades

Airline

Book airline upgrades such as leg room, exit seat, 

check in online at correct time, being sure not to pay extra on budget airline for printing boarding pass, ate or early check in

Holiday booking location and date confirmation

copy of passport left at home with passport number

First night hotel reservation

Location of destination hospital or doctor

Before leaving home

Inform work or club of duties others must do whilst you are away

Inform work or club of dates you are not available. For security do not tell media nor allow others to broadcast the fact that you are out of the office, your home, or your country. Simply say you are unavailable, or away from desk, or unable to take calls.

Cancel gardeners or window cleaners, or leave their payment with others, or book them for your return.

Leave a set of door keys and credit cards at home in case they are lost or stolen from you whilst away

Turn off gas, electricity, water, heating, air con, or leave it on low, according to length of stay and weather forecast and safety requirements

Check for items left in dishwasher or microwave or fridge which might go rancid

PETS

Arrange pet sitter.

Get pet acquainted with pet sitter or pet holiday location. 

Put chip and tags on pet. Leave pet toys and food and instructions. Check pet insurance and where pet sitter should take pet, and instruct pet sitter on insurance, pet hospital or vet location and whether pet should be saved at all costs if injured or ill. 

Check if pet is allowed in cabin of aircraft and what leash or bedding or pet food must be provided.

AIRLINE

Book special seat, window for photos, aisle for claustrophobic, near toilet, away from noisy galley and babies, quietest part of plane, upgrade, seats of family together, near exit if in transit,

Available airmiles

HOTEL OR CONFERENCE CENTRE

Find out if there is a group or delegate or longstay discount

Join hotel loyalty scheme to get upgrades, freebies, better toiletries.

Book junior  suite or sea view.

Note which side of hotel is on busy road.

Book ground floor if afraid of heights. Book higher floor if afraid of intruders through doors and windows.

Book room near fire escape, or away from left noise, or near lift or conference room or restaurant or swimming pool if likely to be in a rush.

Book rooms near other members of family or group.

Book rooms near lift if you have mobility problems.

Check hotel has a lift or porter for luggage if you cannot carry luggage or have many bags.

Ensure suitcases are locked, and keep valuables and laptops with you because the luggage trolley may go in another lift.

Keep swimsuit handy in travel bag, wheel on gab or top of suitcase, in case pool closes at 5 pm or just after your arrival. You could even travel in a swimsuit to be sure of using the pool if you are only staying one night.

Check pool closing times (5 pm at some SPANISH parador hotels in the Canary islands of La Palma and Tenerife).

Tell restaurant in advance it is your birthday, allergies. 

Arrive early and check room before accepting it.

Compare with rooms of others in your group. 

Swapping Bedrooms For A Bidet Story June 2026

My bedroom in the Parador Teide on Tenerife had a bidet but the next Parador on La Palma gave me a room with no bidet. I thought it was just a lower grade or older hotel. I asked to see a friend's ground floor room and discovered they had a bidet. 

I went back to reception and asked if they had a room with a bidet at the same price. They did. I requested a swap. 

My husband was already asleep on the bed. However, I wheeled out the suitcases and left him a note of the new room number. 

After installing everything in the other room, I went back and found he was awake and astonished that all the suitcases and bags had been moved in the dark without disturbing him.

   

Travel ITEMS

Clothes

Travel Documents

Travel Bag

Before Returning Home

Before Leaving Hotel

Before Leaving Hotel Bedroom

During and after accident

Photo of location for insurance

FORWARD A COPY TO another family member

Photo of injury for doctor/insurance claim

Details of vehicle or condition of place of injusry (eg broken step, wet floor)

Hospital x-ray and report and translation for continuing care at home on return

Make report to insurance within the required time frame

MEDICATION

Daily pills 

Painkillers eg aspirin or if allergic to aspirin, panadol/paracetamol - know the local generic name to buy cheaper than branded products eg in the Philippines

Travel pills

 sea sickness 

sleeping pills

Insect repellent

Insect spray )if travelling by car, not a pressurised can if on aircraft_

Stingose or other bite cream.

Medication for mouth ulcers, athletes foot, dandruff.

Special Trips 

Equipment

Clothes

Sports

Swimming = swimming costume, hat, beach shoes, beach bag or towel, sunhat, sun cream, wqterproof keyholder, waterproof watch, cover for phone. Buckets and spades for children. Information on tsunamis, beach flag warnings/

City and hotel Precautions

Earthquake shelters, fire escape. 

Check in

Check out

Day before departure

Pack all except travel clothes and food. have address inside suitcase.

ALARMS

set alarms on hotel clock, mobile phone or watch

Order early picnic breakfast if needed, vegetarian if needed, request compact packing if travelling on airline with luggage restrictions. remember to ask for vegetarian or fish alternative such as salmon if you don't like beef, pork, processed meat, cheese, egg, tuna (our three star parador de las Canadas del Teide on Tenerife gave us salmon and egg instead of ham and cheese, but the grander five star Taoro hotel said they only did regular and vegetarian, gave us thick white bread, and when we changed one item to vegetarian and said one vegetarian, for me, we got one breakfast instead of two, so the other made in a hurry had to be rushed up the car park to us after we had checked out.

Skiing

Ski boots, poles if practical and preferred rather than hiring, trousers (pants) thermal underclothes, gloves, hat, goggles, padded jacket with interior and exterior pockets, lift pass lanyard and identity photos.

Hiking

Wine events

Pack bottle stoppers, Champagne stoppers, Platypus flat screw top drink containers, water bottles filled with water, wafers or savoury biscuits, tee shirts with wine logos, ear-rings with wine symbols, names of delegates, good year charts, colour identity charts, books on wines, business address cards, passport or identity card to prove you are over 18, hard shell suitcase to support wine, protective plastic bottle covers, gift tags and bottle bags for gifts to VIP speakers, or helpers 

Conference

Learn the names of the VIP speakers, your colleagues overseas, the organizers. Look up their photos on Facebook or LinkedIn in order to recognize them.

Check if any of your group of old or new friends or colleagues are travelling back the same way. You might car share, sit together, swap advice, share alternative car hire if the airline cancels the flight.

Before boarding plane home

Pack computer or laptop if on airline with luggage restriction, pack

Leave room for computer, umbrella, folding walking sticks if travelling on airline with luggage restrictions.

Thank organizers.

Note hotel names in your diary and write reviews whilst you have time at the airport and it is fresh in your memory.

For some repeat events you might wish to book the hotel again for next year, especially for annual events such as the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in August.

SIMPLE PACKING LIST

Dress / Suit for travel, underwear (bra, vest, underpants) socks, sandals, bag for documents, spare clothes, night dress / pyjamas Optional swimsuit. Scarf, belt, jewellery for evening. Sunhat. Jacket, Raincoat.

Toothbrush and paste, comb, lipstick.

Notebook and pen.

Diary.

Travel documents - passport, visa, airline ticket on phone, car park ticket, driving license, hotel reservation letter, mobile phone and charger, and sockets, laptop and powerpoint, mouse and cover. Additional camera for conference calls.

Packing Clothes

Day dresses and suits (numbers of days of stay, maximum 7, wash and wear repeat for second week.

Sandals, spare pair, waterproof or beach shoes, evening shoes, hiking boots or walking shoes.

Socks.

Evening blouses and skirt, 

best dress or suit, 

jewellery to match,

 necklace, bracelet, rings, brooch, scarf slip, safety pins and sewing kit with needles threaded with black and white cotton or self threading needle, or needle threader. Optional spare spools of black and white thread for shortening hems and dresses or repairing tears.

Packing Medication / cosmetics

Toothebrush or elecgric toothebrush and charger

Toothepaste

Tweezers and nail file or  manicure set

Hair conditioner and shampoo

insect spray for car and bedroom

insect repellent for body in day, evening and night

warm evening jacket for air conditioning

Shorts and sleeveless top for sunny spells

Warm jumper, sweatshirt and jacket for cold mountains, sea breezes, mountain hikes, evenings, bike and boat rides.

Paxkable umbrella, kept handy for travelling. 

(Some gym bags have a waterproof zip compartment underneath for wet swimsuits, sweaty gym outfits, laundry, or wet umbrellas).

For travelling I have bought a bag with a horizontal strap to fix the bag on top of a wheelie bag. You can also buy computer cases with a strap.

Soap and or shaving cream and razor

Packing List  - take it with you to check you have brought back everything you set out with, nothing left behind.

Hotel Bedroom Check

Two or more people should do the bedroom check.

Check every room and every cupboard, behind every door (hook on the back of the bathroom door for your own bathrobe or night dress or swimsuit or underwear_

Check in cupboards (even if not used by you - our toddler put a toy in a hotel cupboard)

Check under beds for pens and slippers.

Check under pillows for night clothes and contraceptives. 

Check wastebins for items which have fallen off tables.

Check the minibar for your pills as well as food and drink, alcohol, birthday cake, chocolates and cheese and milk.

Photograph the minibar when you arrive and leave to prove to yourself and the hotel whether you took any goods.

Check bathroom for toothbrush left for you to clean teeth after breakfast.

Check balcony for shoes and swimsuits and underwear and night clothes left to dry.

Check pockets of all discarded items. To get onto a Ryanair flight without paying fifty pounds for excess baggage, after we had already paid for three bags, my husband put my laptop in a suitcase and threw away the case. I check the padded pockets and found my power brick and mouse.

Car check

Check car boot, glove box, door pockets, pockets on the back of the front seats, under the front seats.

On the end of your packing list write reminders for next trip.

My reminders are

1 Keep a coin handy for a luggage trolley at Stansted airport in the Uk.

2 The collection point for cars is by the valet direction upstairs, not back down at meet and greet where you left your car.

3 Pack Nespresso or Lidl coffee capsules if going to the Canary islands. We did not like the coffee capsules given free with the coffee making machines in four different hotels.

Happy holidays!

Useful Websites

Visas

See embassy websites.

Suitcases

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

Have a standard place for everything. For example, business cards on the left, toothbrush and cosmetics on the right. Swimsuit top left. Swimsuit and underwear top right. Day clothes on top. Evening clothes at the bottom. Or day clothes on one side. Evening clothes on the other side. Always lay the suitcase down the same way. For example, pull up handle on the right. 

If two of you have a suitcase each and both need an x shape folding suitcase support. One hotel reception told me they have a room full of them to supply to guests on request.

Check ebay and amazon and other specialist luggage shops and brands. You might look for hard shell cases to protect fragile items and bottles. I like expanding suitcases, which have double zips.

Suitcases with double dividers allow you to open one half without the contents of the other half spilling everywhere. Another solution is packing cubes. Or pack flat and secure with inner straps.

As for scissors, no blades longer than 6 cm measured from the fulcrum.

Useful Websites

What you cannot take on Ryanair

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb

Packing List For Medicines & Checklist For Health & Safety

 Packing List

1 Past Prescriptions.

2 Pills - whatever you take regularly. eg Thyroxine, contaceptive pills.

3 Pill Dispenser.

4 List of hospitals, clinics, sports injury centres, doctors, dentists, pharmacies at destination, and insurance membership number and phone helpline.

5 Salt in labelled container saying it is salt.

6 Toothbrush and paste. Dental Floss. Toothpicks. From pharmacies and some UK dentists' reception areas.

7 Panadol / painkiller. Antibiotics.

8 For long trips, dental repair kit which you can buy in UK pharmacies.

9 Water and water beaker for taking pills.

10 Translation for vital phrases at a doctor, dentist or pharmacy. (See Wikivoyage phrasebooks.)

11 Plasters, flexible and breathable, also waterproof to allow for showers and swimming.

12 Sting relief.

13 Mosquito repellent or lavender products or lemon products.

14 Bandages.

15 Plain white large cotton scarf as sling for arm. (Fold a square into a supportive triangle and tie it behind neck.)

16 Cap with neck cover against sunburn - prevention is better than cure.

17 Car first aid kit.

18 Wet wipes for hand washing and cleaning aircraft tray tables.

19 Manicure kit for jagged fingernails and hangnails.

20 Towelling square (face flannel) for washing and drying hands and body in places without hand towels.

21 Milk of Magnesia / breath mints.

Walk around your nearest drug store or UK chemist to find small sizes and prices. Check that medicines are not out of date, nor banned in countries you are visiting. For example, quantities of sleeping pills or medical marijuana.

 Carry a doctor's note saying you can travel, if pregnant.

Nothing suitable to wear? How to pack light, with variety and smart clothes for the evening

 If you plan to go out, or to travel, you need tp pick clothes suitable for your destination. If you fly from the north of the globe to the south, the seasons are reverses.

Drawers full of clothes. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
 

I do not have a thing to wear

I've loads of clothes like uncombed hair

I've silk which does not go with leather

And jeans which do not go with feathers

I've boots although it's hot outside

A missing button, or a stain

I've lots of stuff, too much to hide

Broken umbrellas for the rain

My new top is a size too small

I can't do its zip up at all

And most of the elastic's gone

One dress too short and one too long

I ought to sell what I don't need

But selling's such a dirty deed

An empty shelf? Destroyed! Not freed!

An empty shelf need socks like seeds

Although the bedroom looks like hell

Looking at it makes me unwell

I hunt and sort, but truth to tell

I cannot find one thing to sell.

I cannot throw a thing away

I know selling should start today

What I'd ask is too much to pay

And so the whole lot has to stay.

What do you wear, I hear you say

I cannot make a decision

So I've found a good solution

I wear the same dress every day.

-ends-

Tips on packing

I start packing months in advance. Anything vital is either packed or added to a packing list. Clothes which dry fast. Items which match. Gifts for others.

When packing for holidays, one black skirt or pair of jeans with three or four tops in various matching or contrasting colours gives several outfits with less space. However, I find dressing is quicker if you have one pull on dress. Add a couple of scarves to doll it up for dinner in a smart restaurant or hotel.

Please share link s to your favourite posts.

How To Pack On the Floor Or Bed For A One Week Trip

 

Ah.The overflowing Suitcase

I was only going away for a week. But I had been packing for weeks. The suitcase was full with extra items in piles either side. I kept taking things out, putting new things in, and starting all over again. 

The Multiple Lists

I kept trying to make a list. The red dress on day one, the green on day two, the red shoes, the yellow shoes. I needed five outfits if I wore the same dress on the journey down and the journey back. I wanted a day outfit and an evening outfit. I could take two reversible dresses. But did I have the right colour bras and slips?  Each time, I started a new list. I ended up with four lists and could not tell which was the latest.

Chaos

The whole room was a mess. I had so many tops and skirts and could not decide. 

Urgent Solution Needed

But I needed to tidy the house for family and visitors. I had to get everything into the suitcase and then put the spare clothes back in the wardrobe. (Americans say closet.)  It was a nightmare. 

Count The Days
I took everything out. How many days? Then I saw the solution. Seven days.Seven piles, was three either side of the suitcase and one in the suitcase. Make that two in the suitcase. I folded two outfits side by side in the case. 

The travel outfit on the left of the suitcase. On top went a black jacket and baseball cap. That was the first and last day. (Apart from the evening of arrival - which could go on top of the far left pile.)

 I just needed space for three outfits on the right. thats right. Only three. 

Accessories visible

The shoes at the foot of the outfits could be moved along to check I had no outfit without a suitable pair of shoes. 

An evening outfit went on top of the day outfit for each day.

Count the number of pairs of pants. The coloured bras could go on top. The long slips. One long black evening skirt. With two evening blouses.

Extras

Dear me. One casual anti-mosquito Nosigard long sleeved shirt - with a plain long skirt. 

No scarves or pendants which did not match anything. no more outfits than the number I need.

Photo RecordThe overflowing Suitcase

I had been packing for weeks The suitcase was full with extra items in piles either side. I kept taking things out, putting new things in, and starting all over again. 

The Multiple Lists

I kept trying to make a list. The red dress on day one, the green on day two, the red shoes, the yellow shoes. I needed five outfits if I wore the same dress on the journey down and the journey back. I wanted a day outfit and an evening outfit. I could take two reversible dresses. But did I have the right colour bras and slips?  Each time, I started a new list. I ended up with four lists and could not tell which was the latest.

Chaos

The whole room was a mess. I had so many tops and skirts and could not decide. 

Urgent Solution Needed

But I needed to tidy the house for family and visitors. I had to get everything into the suitcase and then put the spare clothes back in the wardrobe. (Americans say closet.)  It was a nightmare. 

Count The Days
I took everything out. How many days? Then I saw the solution. Seven days.Seven piles, was three either side of the suitcase and one in the suitcase. Make that two in the suitcase. I folded two outfits side by side in the case. 

The travel outfit on the left of the suitcase. On top went a black jacket and baseball cap. That was the first and last day. (Apart from the evening of arrival - which could go on top of the far left pile.)

 I just needed space for three outfits on the right. thats right. Only three. 

Accessories visible

The shoes at the foot of the outfits could be moved along to check I had no outfit without a suitable pair of shoes. 

An evening outfit went on top of the day outfit for each day.

Count the number of pairs of pants. The coloured bras could go on top. The long slips. One long black evening skirt. With two evening blouses.

Extras

Dear me. One casual anti-mosquito Nosigard long sleeved shirt - with a plain long skirt. 

No scarves or pendants which did not match anything. no more outfits than the number I need.

Photo Record

I could photograph the entire lineup to check when re-packing to come home. 

Forgotten Extras - Night Dress

Just add a night dress. And bedroom or bathroom slippers. I hate walking around on dirty looking carpet after a shower.

(A swimsuit?) 

A raincoat and umbrella. - With the travel outfit.

That was the clothes sorted.

Stationery, Books & Food

The other pull along travel bag would take my food for the journey, books, notebooks, and stationery.

The same system works if you pack on a large bed or table.

Please share links to your favourite posts.  

I could photograph the entire lineup to check when re-packing to come home. 

Forgotten Extras - Night Dress

Just add a night dress. And bedroom or bathroom slippers. I hate walking around on dirty looking carpet after a shower.

(A swimsuit?) 

A raincoat and umbrella. - With the travel outfit.

That was the clothes sorted.

Stationery, Books & Food

The other pull along travel bag would take my food for the journey, books, notebooks, and stationery.

The same system works if you pack on a large bed or table.

Please share links to your favourite posts.  

How To Pack A Suitcase or Rucksack Efficiently - by Angela Lansbury and Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin monument, USA.

Emergency Exit Suitcase

In earthquake-prone Japan, the Japanese, with experience and foresight, keep an emergency bag by the front door to grab in the event of a quick evacuation. 

If the taxi to the airport arrives early (which it should, in case you have a last minute hunt for your passport and tickets) you are ready to go. (The Americans like to say, alliteratively, good to go.)

'A place for everything and everything in its place,' said a well organized and much travelled American, Benjamin Franklin. Another daying I like is: Don't put it down. Put it away.

Smaller seal-tight boxes can be used in suitcases or backpacks when packing for trips. On the outward journey to keep all your underwear or your swimsuit and swimming hat and goggles in one place. Or your night clothes quick to find when you land in the middle of the night. To protect clothes from rain when your suitcase is sitting in a pile on the runway waiting to be loaded.

For bringing home dirty laundry. Wet swimsuits. Washed items not quite dry. And things you need in a hurry which would be hard to locate in a suitcase, such as a sewing kit or toothbrush, face flannel, or small towel. Ideally packed in the inside pocket of the suitcase, far right. If there's no inner pocket in the suitcase, 

When I was a busy traveller and travel writer, before Covid-19, I often kept one small suitcase ready packed with a swimsuit and night dress and spare underwear and shoes and a reversible dress, ready to go in a hurry. Or ready to tell an impatient panicky spouse, "I have already packed!"

The secret to quick packing is to know where everything is. Your packing list can be pasted inside your door to the wardrobe or clothes closet. A second copy to pack so you pack quickly for the return journey and don't leave behind the slippers under the bed, the bathrobe behind the door, the hat in the top of the hotel bedroom wardrobe, the contraceptives under the pillow, the child's toy in the cot or in the empty drawer, your jewellery on the bedroom basin when you washed your hands, your jacket on the chair of the breakfast room in the hotel, your umbrella in the boot (Americans say trunk) of the taxi (whose lost and found number is on your packing list). Your valuables in the hotel bedroom safe, or at reception. Photos of all your suitcases to show the hotel porter (bellhop in the USA) or airport staff when you are hunting for the missing item, looking around the carousel for the fourth suitcase, or making an insurance claim, or showing that the item was not damaged before check-in.

The passport and tickets should be in a set place, always.

Your night dress and slippers, maybe a short light robe. Swimsuit and swimming hat (plus goggles and a tiny towel). Spare shoes or evening shoes or walking shoes or beach shoes. cosmetic kit. Medicine or prescription. Spare reading glasses.   

  Today I sorted a drawer. Underwear. First thing in the morning, when I have energy. And need to select underwear. 

If I sort one drawer a day, by the end of the week I shall have done 7. By the end of the month, one room will be completely sorted.

 If I did one drawer in each room each day, the whole house would be done by the end of the month. Make that, the end of three months or a year. 

Since I need to stand up from the computer, it's a welcome break. Instead of eating, I shall do sorting.

Sorting Underwear

I used to lay everything flat. I thought that saved space. When packing a suitcase. So the same applies to drawers.

But each time I pulled out an item, the whole lot got jumbled and would not fit back in the drawer. Urgh!

Then I saw Marie Kondo, folding things into a drawer on video, on Youtube. She rolls everything or folds it, folds it again, and again, and stands it vertically. Then you can see the colours. Her method looks neat.

Bought dividers - advantages and disadvantages

Dividers are the best thing. Many of them come flat packed and slot together. In theory, after buying a set, if it fits, or doesn't, you can copy the design on card. 

Where do you find card? Inside and behind a new shirt packaging. The reinforcement at the base of a paper tote bag which is falling apart and will be thrown away or used as a carrier for recycling.

But sometimes bought dividers are too small. Not everything fits into a tiny space. Oblongs or honeycomb, all the same size. 

Any divider is better than none. You can start with an empty Kleenex tissue box. Cut diagonally with scissors towards the four top corners. Fold down the four flaps. They reinforce the edge of the box. You now have easy access. You can see the contents better.

How To Cut Down A Box

If necessary, if your drawer is shallow, you can cut down the vertical seems an inch or two, and fold the flaps lower. You might want to measure the height of the drawer, mark the height, less a centimeter, on the box. Use a metal ruler to score a line with the tip of the scissors and make a neat horizontal crease in the cardboard, holding the metal ruler to keep your edge straight and prevent jagged tearing.

Advantages of dividers are that you see each item. You do not move anything else when you empty an item. 

You can sort by colours. Your favourite on the right. Unless you are left handed. 

So either black goes on the right, or red, or white. If black is on the far right, white is on the far left. Or vice versa. Intermediate colours go in the middle. If bright red is your favourite, and dull brown your least favourite, put the red on the right, the brown on the left. On the other hand, if you favour earth colours, put brown on the right, with orange and green for autumn, the luminous yellow and turquoise and summer colours on the left.

You can also sort from front to back by size. Thin and small thongs at the front, thicker and bigger granny knickers, corsets or pantaloons at the back, or vice versa.  

Seasonally - winter stuff goes at the back in summer. It moves to the front in winter. Or maybe an opportunity to put items into storage, on the top shelf, labelled in a suitcase, with an email to yourself in a folder labelled storage, or in the attic. 

Moths and Mould

You also want to add moth balls, and/or take things out and shake them out regularly.

Don't put clothes in the garage. They are likely to get dirty or mouldy. 

See-through Dividers

You might have see-through dividers or boxes sitting taking up space in your kitchen drawers. They can be moved to divide drawers.

Whilst travelling, you might like to see the memorials to Benjamin Franklin in Washington DC, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; and Craven Street, London WC2, England, UK.

Finally, pack a list of Americanisms and British English.

UK - USA

autumn - Fall

bonnet (car) - hood (automobile)

boot - trunk

car - automobile

chemist - pharmacy

garage - gas station

high street - main street

lorry - truck

luggage - baggage

momentarily - briefly

motorway - autoroute

pants - underpants

porter (in a hotel) - bellhop

tap - faucet

trousers - pants

turn right - make a right

windscreen - windshield

Useful Websites (more will be added shortly)

www.fi.edu/exhibit/benjamin-franklin-memorial

Philadelphia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_National_Memorial

Washington DC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Benjamin_Franklin_(Washington,_D.C.)

Read more posts by Angela Lansbury, travel writer, English teacher, tutor and trainer, fashionista. Everything you wanted to know and need to know for your fun trips. Read posts on destinations, travel clothes, packing, preparing to learn languages and famous authors' statues, travellers' homes, trails, museums, historical houses - plus fun food, and bargain shopping.

Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts with your favourite friends.

Packing secrets from packing experience

Packing. What could go wrong?

I have faced the following challenges:

FIRST - SUITCASE KEY

SECOND - PASSPORT

THIRD - RESERVATION DETAILS
Always have the printed copy of your hotel reservation to show the hotel receptionist. Four of us arrived at a hotel in France for a tourist board convention. We were due to go to a welcome dinner. The hotel had no rooms in our names. The tourist board who had done the booking. We asked for a room to change. I asked, "Has anybody not arrived yet? Will they arrive after us?"
One of our group said, "Nobody else will arrive from the UK. We were on the last ferry."
The receptionist looked at the list.
It was a French booking - made by the local tourist board - for four rooms.
Light dawned. The tourist board had booked the four rooms for us, but in their name, not ours!
LOST AND LEFT BEHIND
As A Teenage Traveller:
No Matches
Travelled with favourite tops which did not match skirts
No Tops
Other tops had no skirts to go with them.
Wrong Nail Varnish and Lipstick
I set off wearing red nail varnish but half way though the trip got out my red and then orange clothes but had no varnish nor lipsticks to match.

Later Life - No swimsuit
This happened three times. Once our hotel had no pool so I did not pack a swimsuit. However we visited another hotel which had a pool.
On another holiday, friends wanted a trip to a local pool.
A third time, we moved to another hotel which had a pool
Then I started packing a swimsuit just in case. At first just a bikini.

No Slippers Or No Shoes
Arrived at ski destination with no slippers to wear in bedroom after I removed my ski boots and long boots. Only long brown boots which matched coat to wear with evening dress to wear to hotel restaurant in the evening.

Needed: evening shoes.

Returned from holiday with one shoe. (Presumably the other was left under the bed.)
Needed; Thorough search under bed and everywhere check.

As A Parent with Young Children
Left behind a child's toy in a wardrobe, where the toddler had put it. Luckily, although we had not unpacked, and not used the wardrobe, I still checked.
Left behind a child's teddy in a  hotel cot. We phoned and took a detour back.

Luckily they had it. They would have kept it several weeks. But no intention of telling us or posting it on.

Arrived at second hotel with no contraception.
Contraception left under pillow at first night's hotel. To phone and ask, or drive back, or buy more?

Nowadays here are some of our family's remedies:

PACKING LISTS
1 Keep a packing list on the back of the wardrobe door.
PACKED CASE
2 If you travel frequently on business keep one small bag ready to rush to the airport.
This saves time packing when you also need to spend time on slides, speeches or presentations, plus,  confirmation of flights, flight meals and seats, and hotels and destination trips.
3 If you are a carer, have two bags ready, one for granny or whoever might need to go into hospital, including night clothes, day clothes for leaving the hospital, books or entertainment, address book (copy), identity, contacts for home doctor and pharmacy and family. Numbers of hospitals, religious organization and undertaker, friends you would like to visit you in hospital, diary or list of appointments to cancel  including outpatients visits at the same hospital!

List of medications taken. The day's medications because it can take 24 hours for new ones to be ordered. Generally don't take medications to hospital because they may be confiscated.

You might take a flask of tea or coffee or piece of fruit (unless undergoing anaesthetic).

A photocopy of family or home to place by the bed for comfort and to inform staff who you expect or need to contact

LEAVING INSTRUCTIONS
Arrange for pets, plants, bills. Tell house sitter if free magazines should be kept or thrown.

Leave list of passwords for all regular subscriptions so that if you are in an accident or die your family can cancel the monthly books or other subscriptions. They might have to send your authority or a death certificate. Easier to leave a postdated cancellation notice.

Happy travelling!
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Packing list tips - checking your possessions in and out

Packing Lists
Where to keep the packing list?
On your phone,
laptop,

suitcase lid,
back of wardrobe door.

Have a column on the left to tick for packed (leaving home).
The column on the right is for re-packed (leaving destination).

Make sure you have both pairs of shoes and matched socks, bikinis, mobile phones with matching connectors in the same transparent bag.

Doorkeys.

A credit card.
Leave at home local cards for shops and services - in the usual place or make a note of where.
(Consider another credit card at home in case you lose one when travelling.)

Start to pack a week in advance.
Check the right size suitcase, with no broken wheels or handles. Attach lock and key to handle.
Add any frequent flyer tag. if your case is black, add a coloured ribbon for quick identification - which helps you and stops others mistakenly taking your luggage.

Include a link to the email reminding yu where you have hidden your home door keys and car keys or which family member has your door keys and car keys or the spares - and their phone numbers.

Photograph all keys in case you lose any.

Keys photo by Trougrouf in Wikipedia.

Order money and check rates. List exchange rate on your packing list.

Useful Websites
https://www.quora.com/Can-a-locksmith-make-a-copy-of-a-photographed-key

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Packing - phone and accessories

Taking a flight? First thing - print you ticket? No need to waste your ink and paper. Nowadays you have e-tickets, or have it to hand on your phone. But which phone, not the one you were going to leave behind!

You want to be sure you have the connector, the charger, and as backup a power block. Make sure that is charged. How do you know that it is charged? Press in the button and you should see blue lights.

Packing Lists
Next, where to keep the packing list?

On your phone, laptop, inside the suitcase lid, on the back of the wardrobe door.
Make sure your phone accessories are in the same bag and on the list:

Charger connection lead (one which uploads and charges - some don't do both), and tripod and case.

On arrival check you have:

In-flight cancel wifi cancelled so you are back on wifi.

Alarms set to wake you at local time.

Inform family friends and colleagues you are home.

Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please save links to your favourite posts. 

Packing, unpacking and re-packing tips

Problem
As a teenager I carried too much and ended up with clothes which could not be worn because they did not match anything. I once had orange nail vanish, red lipstick and a pink top. I had to go without wearing the pink top, or go without lipstick. I went without wearing the top.

Answers
Later, as a busy travel writer, I kept a case permanently packed for short trips.

COLOUR CO-ORDINATION
My colour scheme was black white and red. lack trousers and black skirt for day, satin black skirt for evening. two tee-shirts and a smart white blouse for the evening. Two different scarves so I looked different on two evenings.

More recently I have had another method. I wear two reversible dresses with a loose white blouse worn open like a jacket and a black wrap around skirt on top. If my luggage goes missing, I have five outfits.

SECURITY
On a plane I also keep my phone, passport and credit card on my body in concealed pockets or a photographer's jacket rather than in a bag. I can go to the loo and leave my bag behind, sure that I won't come back and find my passport gone. If I had to abandon a plane or train or car suddenly, leaving my bag behind, I would still have my identification and a source of communication and funds.

EMERGENCY FOOD
Many people like to travel with a chocolate bar, just in case of delays. I once sat in a plane for several hours on a runway.

If two of you are travelling, with two suitcases, you might have half of each person's clothes in each suitcase. That way, if one of the suitcases goes missing, you both have some clothes.

Always carry a book or notebook to keep yourself occupied in the event of a delay. Sometimes I notice a book i have not time to read, or a magazine, and I put it inside the suitcase of carry on bag for my next trip.

PACKING LIST STORAGE
Where can you keep you magic packing list? One copy pasted inside the wardrobe door. A second copy inside the suitcase, (so you don't go home leaving  your slippers under the bed. A third copy emailed to yourself. If your luggage goes missing, you know what to claim for.

COUNT YOUR CASES
One checked in bag
One wheel on bag
One umbrella
One shoulder bag
4 items.

Removed your jacket on the plane? 4 items.

Luggage Photos
I photograph my luggage at the airport. If it goes missing, I can spot it on the luggage carousel, and describe it accurately in the forms you have to fill in.

CHECKLIST
Number of days at destination. Number of evenings. Number of days travelling.

Suitcase and key, luggage tag, identifying ribbon tied around the handle or coloured strap around whole case, especially for a black suitcase..
Umbrella.
Coats or jackets, shoes, hats, travel outfit.
Underwear.
Socks
Medicines
Diary, address book.
Phone, camera and ipad or laptop.
Swimtuit and hat or sportwear, gym kitc, tennis, golf, ski clothes.
Hiking outfit.
Maps and travel insurance.
Reading matte, diary, dictionary.
Business cards.
Medicines and first aid kit, dental repair and glasses repair.
Sunglasses and spare sighted glasses of prescription.
Sewing kit.
Gifts for hosts.
Money for taxi or shuttle bus at destination and for taxi home from the airport.
Note of car park at airport.
Hotel name and printed booking record.
Frequent flyer number - check additional potential perks such as extra baggage allowance, fast check-in.
Check in online, choosing seat.

Seat Choices
Window seats are good for photography and sleeping propped against the wall. For more tips on seats,  see later post.

Fro
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on packing. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

How To Pack Fragile And Liquid Items: Where's the packaging?

Problems
1 You want to pack a fragile item (such as the mirror for a self-portrait mentioned in previous post).
2 You want to pack liquids such as a bottle of vodka for yourself or a present.
Where do you store packaging? How do you find it when you need it?
Why bother? Why not buy new?

Answers
First - why bother saving packaging?
1 If it's raining or snowing you'd rather fold, stack and store an item and its packaging than take a trip to the bin.
2 It takes time to visit the tip. Some councils charge for removing large items.
3 Have you seen the price of packaging!
4 Do your bit for recycling.

1 SAVE PACKAGING
Save the original packing for your fragile item.

2 CUT CLUTTER.
STORAGE
Keep packing boxes and bubble wrap from packages sent by Amazon stored out of the way.
Pick somewhere where nobody else more tidy-minded will find it and throw it away!

LOCATIONS FOR STORAGE
(In an old suitcase. High hat cupboard in hall. Your wardrobe. In America in a closet. Above a cupboard in kitchen, scullery, coat storage area. But if you are concerned about fire do not keep papers and plastics in the kitchen near the hob.

The attic. The basement. Consider all options.
If it's a high cupboard or attic up a ladder, will you or the person who needs it be able to retrieve it easily and safely?)

Always keep packaging in one place, the same place, such as a closet in the USA. (We had a walk in closet when we lived in Rockville Maryland.)

Later in a condo in Singapore we kept a small windowless box room for suitcases and packaging.  If everybody knows where the suitcases and packaging are kept, you all know where to look when packing for a trip. If you employ a maid of cleaner and run out of things to do, get the suitcases and boxes out and the cupboard cleaned from insects, everything stacked like a pyramid, or nested like Russian dolls with a large label with big felt tip writing on the front, or all sides.

SUITABLE STORAGE SITES AND PREVENTING WATER DAMAGE
In another condo we had what in the UK in the old days would be called a scullery and back balcony. Unfortunately the scullery area (containing a second sink and overhead pulley for hanging washing) was open to the elements on one side. The cardboard boxes for large speakers were left on the window side on and below a shelf. During the spring thunderstorms, rain came in.  Eventually the cardboard was waterlogged, mouldy, and warped.

The boxes had to be brought into the kitchen or front balcony in the sun, lifted off the floor, dried in the sun. Once dry, the sides were taped with duct tape for reinforcement. The boxes looked awful, but served the purpose for transporting damaged goods (old speakers overseas warped in humidity) for an estimate for repair or re-sale.

The morals are:
1 STORE Carefully.
Keep cardboard away from windows, leaking pipes, wash basins.

2 COVER Everything Including Covers!
Protect cardboard with protective plastic.

3 INSPECT regularly.
Check whether storage area is safe from damage by termites and mould. Remove insects. Change or start using plastic covering. Throw out packaging beyond repair. Dry out and repair items packaging needed for moving home or taking on trips.

3 MAKE A LABEL / SIGN.
It should be where you can find easily.
Make sure you know where packaging is kept. Write instructions in your diary for the date of your next pre-booked event or trip. For example, if you have gifts for Xmas, ski trips, summer camping, store in an obvious place. Put Xmas wrapping paper, or but Xmas advertisements from Xmas time magazines to use as labels or edging for labels or to wrap the box. Cut out seaside pictures for labels and tags, showing seaside scenes for a box or suitcase containing swimsuits, beach bags, electric fans for gifts.

For example, I buy a revolving magnifying mirror for only £1 from Tanna's chemist (called pharmacy and drug store for in America) in Hatch End, London, England. I save the box inside a suitcase. I have more than one suitcase.

STORAGE REMINDER LABEL
So I send myself an email called Where is it - magnifying mirror box - in small red suitcase labelled one of more of the following: 'For Xmas/Easter/Summer/ Ski trip/UK/USA/Canada/Russia/France/Spain/South Africa/Romania/Singapore/Hong Kong/Cambodia/camping/swimming/hiking/art holiday/'.

STORAGE REMINDER EMAIL MESSAGES
EMAIL
Email yourself a message.
CALENDAR
Mark your calendar with a packing and place where items are kept.
ALARM
Set a timer or alarm with the place to look. For example, for a week before your Xmas holiday trip.

DIARY
Note in a hand-written diary where items are kept and when to check them and retrieve them.

WARDROBE PACKING LIST
You can also keep a packing list on the back of the door of your wardrobe or closet.
A duplicate can be pasted inside your suitcase for packing to go on your holiday, and to check you have retrieved all items.
(Not left behind the skis on the balcony or behind the back door, nor swimsuits drying on a balcony, not clothes in the washing machine, baby items in the dishwasher, nor slippers under the bed, nor night clothes under the pillow, nor baby toys inside the borrowed cot, nor maps in the hire car.)

FRAGILE ITEMS
1 Cover with bubble wrap.
2 Double wrap all liquids with plastic or solid packaging.
3 Pack inside boots and shoes.
4 Pack against the reinforced edges of suitcases and boxes.
5 Keep liquids upright.
6 To avoid staining, store coloured goods in same colour wrapping. For example, water can be wrapped in a white towel or shirt or blanket. But brown rum needs to be wrapped in brown shoes, brown socks, and brown towels or blankets. Similarly, red juice or red nail varnish is better wrapped in red wrapping paper, red towels.

FOOD
Do not wrap items such as leftover vegetables inside a dark blue or black table napkin! Place immediately in a proper Tupperware brand or similar click shut box. For inexpensive and throw away at destination packaging, save Philadelphia cream cheese boxes.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Lost Keys - what to do - and where to look

Problems
These have all happened to me, a member of my family, or a colleague.
1 You go to the airport and forget your luggage key.
2 You have a suitcase key and lock but they don't meet the US regulations.
3 You have a combination key but forget the number to unlock it.
4 You lose your door key.
5 You lose the office key.
6 You lose the club door keys. You put them somewhere safe out of sight, now you cannot remember where.
7 You return from a friend's house and lose your door keys.
8 You lose your car keys.
9 You drop your flat keys down a drain.
10 You have a dozen keys and a whole group of people are held up whilst you try to work out which is the suitcase key.
11 You lose the postbox key.

Answers
1 List luggage key and lock on your packing list. Most suitcases come with a key. It is simpler to leave every key and lock with the luggage. If they are not already colour coded to match the suitcase, you can colour code with ribbons, nail varnish or paint or a shoe repair and key cutting shop will stock and sell your sets of colour caps to put on the keys and you can buy colour coded key tags to match to attach to either key or padlock.
2 Airports sell a variety of keys. Allow time to stop to buy. Keys with matching locks are often cheaper in supermarkets. 
f you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing on the sofa?
3 Tell the code to a member of your family. Or pick a house number or phone number from somebody known to all the family or a famous address or year of an event. For security, something which will not be known outside the family but will be known to you.
4 Have a spare. Leave the original or spare at home with somebody living or working nearby. make sure your flight arrives when they are around to give you the key if needed.
5 An office key or key common to all residents of a block of flats can mean you have to replace a lock and provide keys to everybody plus the spares. Keep the key in a box with a hook for it.
6 Same as 5. Get the staff of the office and the cleaners to check everywhere including behind drawers, move all furniture, check waste bins before emptying them (in case keys fell off desk into an open top bin). Check under cushions, behind cushions and under chairs and sofas. Move newspapers. If you were going to hide the keys for  safety, where would you put them?
7 Phone your friends. Ask them to look under chairs, desks, tables, sofas.
8 Check under car seats and behind the seat cushions.

9 Move the car and look under it. Ready into drain with magnetic device or hook. Look with torch. Find somebody strong with protective gloves against scratches and dirt to lift the drain cover. In a big building such as a condo, the caretaker will have keys for lifting drain covers and either a device for reaching down or protective gloves. 

Stories
In my condo in Singapore the chap had often done this, just lifted the cover and reached down. Problem solved in one minute. I heaved my flat keys wrapped in a towel when I went swimming. I lifted my towel and the keys rolled out and downhill into the nearest drain cover.

Stories

We had the same problem in London. Our teenage son lost his keys under the sofa at friend's house. (I think the boys were doing yoga or marital arts on the floor. As one does.) 

We went to change the locks. Removing the old lock was too difficult. So we added a new lock. 

Later the key was found. Then it was lost again. Again we did not remove the old lock but added another. That is why we carry 25 keys - and our front door has 25 locks. Only joking.)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Got your passport? Lost your passport? Door keys? Sunglasses?

I bought a black silk skirt on eBay. The crestfallen seller says she can't find it. She will refund my money but keep looking and if she finds it shall contact me again.

I know the feeling. My own notable losses:
1 PASSPORT COVER HIDING PASSPORT
I bought a pretty silver cover for notebook and put it on my passport. I missed a press trip to a theme park in France because at the last minute I could not find my passport.

Moral: If you place a cover on a passport, make sure the word passport is visible - either written on the outside of the bag or wallet or cover, or listed elsewhere in a list called something like VITAL INFORMATION, or your packing list.

2 FORGOTTEN PASSPORT
Many taxi drivers before setting off for the airport all ask: Have you got your passport(s). Have you got your tickets? (Get them out and check in case you changed your coat at the last moment into something warmer or lighter, or changed to a bigger or smaller handbag.) The taxi driver's reason for asking is usually, "Yesterday we were half way to the airport when ..."

3 PASSPORT STORED IN SUITCASE
I once left my passport in my suitcase. Next year or next trip I forgot. I always look for my passport first. No point packing if you don't have a passport. You need the time to get to the passport office to get a new one or hunt for it. Eventually the family said, pack now, get something done, and look for it later. I got out the suitcase and found it. After a stressful time worrying and searching. I needed the holiday.

My mistake was a classic case of 'it seemed like a good idea at the time'. I had thought, I'll leave my passport in the suitcase so I can't go without it.

Well, is it in the outside pocket or in the inside pocket (and the suitcase key lost). How many suitcases do you have? Will you have forgotten where it is by the time you take your next trip?

No point hiding it in the suitcase so burglars won't find it. A policeman told me: One of the things burglars do is look for a suitcase or large bag in which to conceal or carry items from the house.

4 MISSING KEYS IN SUMMER BAG? BEACH BAG
My late mother returned from holiday and lost her flat's front doorways. Luckily my father had his. My mother worried. (About that and another problem. You could blame either worry. Or the fact that she had too many worries, or was a worrier. She had a stroke and died a week later.

My father then worried about the missing keys. Should he change the locks and pay for new locks and new keys?

I dealt with the easy problem first. Collect mother's clothes and bags. I went through each of her bags checking the pockets inside, before taking them home or giving them to charity or throwing them away. My father watched as I went through each bag. At least half a dozen. He got impatient. "Don't bother - they are all empty."

I got to the last one. Guess what I found? Yes, my mother's door keys inside a straw beach bag.

Moral; Search through the pockets of clothes and bags and suitcases before storing them.
Search through the pockets of clothes and bag and suitcases before giving them to charity. Search through the pockets of clothes and bags and suitcases before going them to another member of your family or a friend.

On holiday: Search through the pockets of clothes and bags and suitcases if you have lost your passport or door keys, sighted glasses, sunglasses, hotel bedroom keys, or anything else.

5 SEARCHING SYSTEM
You've lost it?
I presume you have run through the checklist of:
1 Is it parcelled/packed up and ready to go on the hall table? In a plastic bag ready to be folded and labelled?
2 Did I put it in the car boot to go to the post office? Is my missing item pushed or fallen under car seat? In the car side pockets?
3 Is it hiding under something else - larger / same colour. Another skirt. A pile of newspapers.
4 Is it in the room where I photographed it?
5 Is it hanging in my wardrobe? (Check under other garments from both hanger level and skirt level, hidden under another coat, jacket or skirt?)
6 Is it hanging behind the door on a hook such as in the bathroom?
7 Did my tidy-minded spouse take it to a charity shop or throw it away without telling me.
8 Have I worked clockwise around the house, tidying as I go.
9 Have I checked below and behind all flat surfaces and between all furniture (eg bedside tables and chairs, bookcases).
10 Did I leave it in a suitcase from last year's holiday for security or storage or out of season clothes?
11 Is it somewhere else outside the home: - shed, garage, conservatory, lobby, hall hat rack, car or van, home of parents, children, friends, home office, work office, study, attic, basement, inside washing machine or tumble drier or behind them? In airing cupboard? On ironing board?)
14 Have I left food in the fridge, or in a large cool box or picnic box?

Also have a system. Always keep your passport and keys in the same place. Tell another member of your family. Keep a note - even if it is coded or encrypted. One day you'll be the one who has everything right and you'll be able to quickly sort out everybody else's problems and forestall disasters.

People will wonder how you do everything so well. Experience. Like the taxi drivers, learn by your own mistakes - and the mistakes of others.

Angela
Author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In. (Lulu.com)

Packing, Unpacking and Photo-packing Efficiently

I unpacked a weekend bag containing a night dress, a swimsuit and wrap, two caftans, one set of matching underwear and socks, a matching baseball cap, and a folding fan.

I now have four choices.
1 STORE CLOTHES IN WEEKEND TRAVEL BAG
Leave the contents in the bag which I store in an overhead cupboard, under a bed or chair or in the attic.

2 PHOTOGRAPH CONTENTS
Photograph the contents and keep the bag already packed for another weekend trip. I used to keep a bag packed when I was at my busiest as a travel writer in the 1980s and 1990s, until my mother died and I became a carer for my late father.

My first photo was just of all the items jumbled up. That looked untidy and was discouraging. So I folded everything into oblongs - easier to re-pack or store in a drawer, and matched the hats and underwear by colour.

I could have added, or noted, any missing, matching items such as a swimming cap and shoes. My other missing items would be swimming goggles, slippers, a small flannel or towel, spare socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, or wash kit (usually in either handbag or pocket or acquired en route on airline. Plus mosquito repellent or sign relief or both.

WASHING
You wash the contents at the destination. Then wash your travel clothes and put them back in the bag on top of the other clothes.

Make sure you don't leave a wet swimsuit in the bag. If it has gone mouldy, you may have to soak it in a mild bleaching solution to get rid of visible mould, then run it through a washing machine three times to get rid of the smell.

I did this once, after getting mould on a brand new swimsuit. I was not prepared to throw it away.

I reckoned that even if I ruined the elastic, that was no worse than throwing it away. If the elastic had gone, I would have recycled any fastenings and cut the good parts out in strips, spiralled and sewn in place, to make rosettes on black swimsuits and/or black sarongs.

3 RE-PACKING FROM THE LIST
If you need to use the clothes back home, or want to use the wheeled bag, you unpack the contents. However, you keep a photo of the contents as a visual packing list.

You might change the contents seasonally in the USA and Europe. But take a photograph to speed packing next time.

SEASONAL CLOTHES
Or keep two or four small bags colour coded for seasons. Red for summer. Orange for autumn. Pink for spring. Black or white for winter.

If you possess only one suitcase on wheels, such as a black wheel on bag, just photograph the contents with a piece of coloured paper or seasonal pictures such as Santa, daffodil for spring, autumn leaf. Or simply print the word of the season to place alongside the contents:
SPRING
SUMMER
AUTUMN
WINTER.

Keep the picture on your computer under the title packing. Or print the list and put it in the top of the suitcase or the outside pocket, if it has one, or the inside of your wardrobe / closet door.

You are now ready to re-pack for the next trip using the visual aid to find the contents. You can also use this as a checklist in a hotel to be sure your swimsuit has not been left behind hanging to dry in the bathroom or balcony.

VALET PACKING
If you are in an accident, or hospital, or are on business half way to the airport and running late, you can ask a family member or colleague or hotel valet to pack using the photo list.

I've never had valet packing. Only valet parking. But now with the aid of the photos I can be my own valet. It's so much simpler and quicker to use a photo as a packing list. I feel more efficient.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,a author and speaker.
Author of How To Get Out of The Mess You're In.

Recycling Suitcases & Bags, Pre-packed

In the good old days when everybody had only one handbag, and it was a good one, a bag came with a zip up pocket containing a zipped purse attached by a chain to the bag, and a tiny mirror.

If you buy Travelog bags, they often come with multiple pockets and some models even come with a tiny torch attached. My experience of tiny torches is that the battery is always dead and you cannot find how to turn them on. In fact you often can't find them at all. The more pockets you have, the longer it takes to find anything.

Second-hand and Vintage
I do recycle - buying second hand bags on eBay. Some people have many co-rodinated travel outfits. Others travel with just black and white. A black and white jacket does for summer and winter and lightens an all black outfit which otherwise looks like you are chief mourner at a funeral and/or suffering from incurable depression. In my heyday as a travel writer, when I was often doing two trips in a week, I used to keep my travel clothes permanently in the travel bag.

Quick Pack And Unpack
One tip I picked up from a friend at the Writers' Holiday, pack one outfit per day and at the end of each day, put your clothes back in the suitcase, (perhaps in a bag marked laundry or a hotel's laundry bag), so on the last day there's only one outfit to pack. When you get home, put everything in the washing machine - don't waste time sorting out whether there's one item you never wore.

Colour Coding
If your clothes are colour coded you wore everything. For example, black and white on Saturday night, red on Sunday, orange on Monday, pink on Tuesday, green on Wednesday, yellow on Thursday, blue on Friday, black on Saturday.

No time or space for complete outfits? One, two or three basic outfits, shirt or trouser suit, dress or caftan in a neutral colour. Beige, or black skirt and white blouse, with a tie or scarf or cravat in a different colour.

Jewellery
Jewellery silver or gold or silver or gold tone, or black and white, or three two colour necklaces, one red and pink, one green and blue, one yellow and orange. You could make your own from beads if you are handy, or buy a set of multicolour bangles. or buy two of those magnetic bracelets which wind around, one for a necklace and the other as a bracelet. You could even use a third to make decoration for your belt or bag or shoes.

The packing list stays taped in the lid of the larger suitcase or front pocket of the small carry-on one.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker.

New Year Resolutions For Travellers

Ten Commandments For Travellers
1 LABEL PHOTOS
You will label every travel photo with the place and names of people in the photo - with correct spellings
2 NOTE ADDRESSES AND OPENING TIMES
You will check address, phone, email, opening times of every place you intend to visit
3 SEND PHOTOS AS THANKS
You will send photos of people taken to their phone the day you took the photo - better still within ten minutes of taking the photo (because you won't have time later and will not have their details)
4 PLAN GIFTS
You will ask people you are visiting their favourite foods or desired gifts from your point of departure
5 RECORD GOODS TO REPORT LOSS AND CLAIM INSURANCE
You will record all make, model and serial numbers of cameras phones and laptops you might lose travelling, and send a duplicate to another office or person not travelling with you, and at a different home/office address. Keep copies of insurance on fridge at home in case you end up in hospital.
6 STORE TRAVEL CLOTHES SEASONALLY IN ORDER
You will store summer clothes on the left (in wardrobe/closet/basement/attic), also grouped by colour for quick retrieval and quick packing
7 DUPLICATE DOCUMENTS AT SECOND LOCATION
Your passport and travel documents will be in a place for everything and everything in its place.
8 STORE PACKING LIST VISIBLY
Your packing list will be typed and printed and fixed to your suitcase lid, with a duplicate on the back of your wardrobe door at home, and a duplicate photographed and stored on iCloud
9 PACK LANGUAGE LISTS OR BOOKS
You will travel with a phrase book for every country you are visiting
10 LEARN A LANGUAGE
You will learn 1000 words of a new language each year (3 words a day every day of the year) so each year of your life you can speak enough to get by in a new language. (For me this year it is Spanish.)

Let's do something. Next post on Spanish words.

What are your new year resolutions? Mine include finishing my two books of the year, a Quotations Calendar and my unpublished best selling novel.