I am a carry on only girl, which means I need to make the most of the space I have in my Personal Item flight bag. First off lets talk about what a personal item bag is. This is a bag that can fit under the seat in front of you on the plane. Sizes vary by airline, so double check your individual airlines personal item measurements. Typically it is 18x14x8 inches or less in size. This can be a purse, a duffel or tote bag or a diaper bag. Since I don’t have little kiddos anymore, I usually bring a tote bag as my personal item bag.
In this bag you want to pack all the things you are going to want or need during your flight.
- Trtl Neck Pillow– I can’t sleep on a plane to save my life. Traditional neck pillows never work and I wind up with a kink in my neck. This pillow totally eliminates this problem, and even if I can’t sleep I get good rest.
- Foot Sling– A foot sling goes over the tray table in front of you and gives you a place to rest your feet. This helps alleviate some of the pressure on my back and behind.
- Compression Socks– A must for air travel. Sitting for long periods of time leads to leg swelling and worse is a risk factor for blood clots in your legs. Compression socks help to prevent this from happening. They also help to keep you warm on colder flights.
- Cabin Bag– This is a small bag that I put bathroom necessities and my subtl makeup stack in. I keep small individually packaged makeup remover wipes in it to take off my makeup. Then I have my face cream that I will apply before trying to sleep. This helps mimic my bedtime routine and helps me to get in the resting and sleeping state of mind. I also keep eye drops and a spare pair of contacts in this bag, as well as some ginger chews for nausea, some gum to repressurize my ears and lip balm.
- Power bank- This is a must for long flights and travel in general. This gets packed in my personal item bag because you can’t put lithium ion batteries in a checked bag. The anker brand holds enough power for several phone charges before it has to be charged itself.
- Ear Buds– Bluetooth ear buds are essential for listening to music, watching videos or listening to books on audible.
- Bluetooth adaptor– I like the airfly brand. This device is small and plugs into the seatback on the plane to connect your bluetooth airbuds to your phone. That way you can use your bluetooth devices on the airplane.
- Books– Absolutely essential to me, is a good book. I do like to listen to podcasts or books on audible while on the airplane but there is something about reading a good old paper book. I read all kinds of books, and do a bookclub with girlfriends, so often I will take the book we are reading for the month. A must read travel book is The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo.
- Collapsible Water Bottle– I never leave home without my trusty waterbottle or stanley mug. This is the same idea, but the water bottle is collpsable for easy packing, taking up hardly any room in my bag. You just pack it flat and fill it up in the water fountain by your gate after going through security. This saves money and wasteful plastic bottles bought from the gift shop.
- Ear Plugs– I not only found ear plugs to make the flight quieter this brand also helps re-pressurize your ears during take-off and landing. Helping to eliminate uncomfortable ear pressure.
- Sleep Mask– a good 100% mulberry silk face mask, is soft and gentle on your skin while you sleep on the plane.
- Portable Fan– This is one item that’s a bit “extra”. Plane temperature can vary wildly. I’m either freezing or boiling hot. I always make sure to bring a cardigan or large scarf on board for warmth, but this has been a game changer for when you get hot. It packs small, and folds up, and is rechargeable. I also like to take this in my hiking bag on vacation and it’s handy to use at the beach as well.
- Electrolytes– I like the brand Ultima, for the ingredients. Planes and air travel are very dehydrating. Having a couple of packets of electrolytes in my bag help me to stay hydrated on long flights.
- Sanitizing Wipes– These come in handy to wipe down the armrests, tray tables and the bathroom door handles. Basically any high touch surface where you could pick up germs or viruses. You don’t want to spend all this time and money just to get sick on your flight.
- Medications: I like to bring a travel first aid kit with me on vacation. I list out all the items I bring in this article here.
Bonus item: For all you breast feeding jet setters this item will come in handy on your vacation. It is a portable breast milk cooler. For keeping your hard made breast milk fresh on the go. link here
If I’m checking a bag, which isn’t often, but still happens on occasion. I will always pack my medications and a change of clothes in my personal item bag just in case my suitcase gets lost.
Happy packing
-Beck
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