Packing Smart: Your Ultimate Guide to In-Flight Essentials

Ever wondered how to transform your long-haul flight into a serene, hassle-free experience? Discover my personal flight essentials that will make your journey comfortable and stress-free. From a versatile men's overnight satchel bag from Target to an eye mask and earplugs for uninterrupted sleep, I reveal my must-have in-flight items. Learn how compression socks can boost your circulation, and why packing reading glasses with a Kindle or book can keep you entertained for hours. Plus, you'll find out why a power bank, European adapter, and personal hygiene items are non-negotiable.

Get practical tips on organizing your in-flight essentials kit for maximum convenience and comfort. Find out how chewing gum can relieve ear discomfort, and why it's vital to keep gum, water, cough drops, and a neck pillow within arm’s reach. I share my go-to strategy for keeping these items in a front pocket or under your seat to avoid unnecessary rummaging. Learn my habit of always keeping this kit ready to go, making last-minute airport prep a breeze. Tune in and make your next long-haul flight the most pleasant one yet!

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pcUJv4UmfUg

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Chapters

• 0:00 Essentials for Long Haul Flights
• 8:26 In-Flight Essentials Organization Tips

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:41

Well, hello, sister travelers. This episode today is both a visual and audio version, so if you are listening, only I encourage you to go over to the YouTube link that will also be in the show notes, because today I'm going to share the essentials that I carry with me on a long haul, on a long haul flight. Little things that you want to keep in your bag. I keep it separate so that I am not interrupting a person that I'm sitting near to have to get up and down or to reach in the overhead bin to drag my backpack down and, you know, pull things out individually. So I've compiled it into a little bag which I will show. But I'm also going to try to describe all of these items as best as possible so that, if you're just listening, that you will have an idea of what I carry. And maybe these are some good suggestions for you, as you are maybe planning a long flight somewhere and you just want to have things handy, like maybe just under your seat or, depending on how much you carry, maybe in that little front pocket, right. So what I did was I found a little satchel bag. Now, this actually is a men's overnight bag. I got it at Target. For me it worked well. It's got a little handle. I can easily put everything in it that I need and I put it in my carry-on, so then, once I get on the plane, I just pull this out and then I don't have to bother getting in and out of my carry-on bag. So what is inside this bag? Well, I'm glad you asked. Now, aside from having a water bottle with me and a travel pillow, those are kind of two separate items and they would not fit in here, but some items that I definitely keep in my little case is, of course, little eye mask, right, so that when I sleep, um, it's blocking out all the ambient light, right?

Speaker 1: 3:02

Speaking of sleeping, then there's, you know, some people like earplugs. So I have some earplugs. I have two different kinds, depending on how my ears are feeling. These are can adjust sizes and it's a nice tiny little carry case. Or you can just buy some of these cheap foam ones that you can get, and those are nice because then you can maybe toss them out when you're done. Okay, so that's for maybe sleeping.

Speaker 1: 3:33

I also take my compression socks, of course. Anytime I do a flight that's honestly over three hours, I need to have compression socks. I, yeah, have varicose veins, but it's also good for that circulation because a lot of that, you know, you get swollen in your ankles and lower leg because of the lack of movement and sitting for so long. Another thing that I do to combat that is I obviously try to have an aisle seat because I like to get up and walk around the airplane as much as possible so that I can get that circulation into my lower legs. I like to read, so I have a little pair of cheap reading glasses that I need. You know, we get to a certain age and I think we all need some reading glasses, and I might even have my Kindle or book available as well.

Speaker 1: 4:31

A charger, obviously, a power bank, and inside this I have, of course, the extra cords. A call it a brick here in the US because it helps you use the USB with a two prong US voltage. And then here's my charger for my iPhone, which also I would need for to do my power bank, but also it's just in general. I could use it. Say, I'm in the airport and I could charge my phone with a USB port there instead of my bank, instead of depleting my bank. And then, speaking of chargers. I usually just, you know, depending on where I'm going, I have an adapter, meaning for another country, depending on where I'm traveling to. This one's a pretty standard European one, so I keep that in there, just in case I find myself, you know, maybe at a different airport that doesn't have, maybe, a USB port, or, you know, the US two prong plugs. So that's, you know, I had that just in case.

Speaker 1: 5:38

I also, of course, carry toothbrush and toothpaste, so travel toothbrush that folds, nice and small, and then, because I carry this on, I use a solid toothpaste, so it doesn't count as a liquid. And so these are the they're called flights, okay, and so they're a great way to carry toothpaste without it being liquid. So that's my toothbrush toothpaste. Obviously, you know a packet of Kleenex, or so, always good to have. I always carry one in my purse as well. You never know where you might end up and not have toilet paper, right, so that's been how to use that too.

Speaker 1: 6:29

I like to wash my face, um, I like to wash my face, um. So I have these makeup remover wipes, um, and um, I have a, you know, a cheap washcloth that I don't mind, you know, taking with me, and if I want to wash my whole face or wash some other parts of me, that, um, you know, depending on how long I've been traveling, um, you know, it kind of feels good maybe to do that, right, um, and then, um, I have a tennis ball. I travel, always travel with a tennis ball, always, always, always, because it's a great massage tool. And if you're sitting on an airplane, I know sometimes my hips get a little tight, so I'll put this under my hip to like just sit on or in your back, like you could put it here, and then kind of push against the seat to kind of massage out any kind of tension you might have in your upper back. Obviously, I got some headphones, whatever you like to use. I have a wired pair as well. These are wireless that I sometimes bring because it also has the adapter where I could use my own headphones over the ear headphones, my beats watching the TV, so like, with that, just that little plug thing will work. So, or you can let the airlines give you a disposable pair, right, if you want to watch a movie with them.

Speaker 1: 7:56

And then, finally, I think I got it all. I, you know, I'll throw in like a protein bar or some sort of snacky thing. Just I don't know what might be served on the plane. I have a lot of allergies so I always make sure I have something. And, of course, long hauls, you get hungry. So, you know, having some food handy is a good idea and I don't have it. But I usually have a pack of gum which tells me I got to replenish that Because for me, flying, I need it for the takeoff but more for the landing.

Speaker 1: 8:27

It just helps to keep, you know, my ears open by chewing gum. And that's just me personally, just for takeoff and landing is all I need it for. It just helps keep my ears from plugging up off a landing is all I need it for. It just helps keep my ears from plugging up. So that is what I keep in, this tiny little sort of called an overnight bag.

Speaker 1: 8:47

Right, it is a men's, but you can find whatever works for you and just keep it handy, put it in maybe your backpack or your bag that you're carrying on the plane, if you're doing carry-on, you know, have it handy, maybe that front pocket, so you can just pull it out quickly, put it under your seat or put it in the front pocket if it fits and that way everything that you need during your flight is handy and you're not feeling like you have to dig through your backpack or your carry-on bag to find these things. So if you're keeping them all in handy together, whenever you need those items you can just grab it. So I hope this gives you some ideas and maybe for your next long haul flight you'll put together your own little bag that you will use on your next long trip. And if you have other ideas of things that you know maybe you like to keep in there, some people like maybe some cough drops too would be a nice thing, and that also helps keep those ears open but just different things that you personally need to have within reach, all right. So hope this gives you some ideas and create your own so that you're ready for your next trip.

Speaker 1: 10:01

I keep this all the time. I keep it packed all the time. The only thing I'm missing right now is some gum, which I usually get right before or at the airport. Sometimes I forget and then I put it in there. But and then, of course, my water and my neck pillow, which I always keep a little separately. So hope that helps you and you're ready to go for your next long haul flight?