10 Must-Have Items for Your Hand Luggage

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. Traveling nowadays plays more and more important part of our everyday life. Be it for business or leisure, we travel more than a decade ago. Some travel more often (weekly or even several days a week), while others- monthly. The more you travel, the more it becomes a habit. You pack your luggage faster, you tend to spend less time finding your way at airports or train/ bus stations, etc.

Traveling can also cause a lot of stress. You need to consider many things when booking you trip (an article on this is in the making). One of those things is to think about the items to take into your hand luggage.

With the present article we would like to give you our recommendations for items you should not forget to take in your hand luggage. The following is valid regardless of the means of transportation, but our focus is on the air transport as there are strict rules and limitations regarding allowed items on the plane.

We travel a lot and have extensive experience in efficient baggage packing. As we have routine this doesn’t bring any stress for us. However, we know that this isn’t the case for everyone. Therefore, we present to your attention our list of the 10 must-have items for your hand luggage.

1. Earplugs

One of the main contributors for travel fatigue is the noise at the airports and in the plane. One might not realize it, but excessive noise brings a lot of stress to our ears and brain. A good way to limit this stress is having earplugs in your luggage. They are also useful when your accommodation is in a noisy area or you share room with someone who snores 🙂 Try using earplugs and see the positive difference yourself.

The headset is also an alternative, but not all headphones limit the noise properly and are comfortable to sleep with.

2. Sleep mask

It is a less known fact, but our eyes detect if the surrounding is bright or dark even when we sleep. Have you heard of Melatonin? It is referred to as the “sleep hormone”. Melatonin influences sleep by sending a signal to the brain that it is time for rest. It is only produced by our bodies if it is dark. So the eye mask aids the production of Melatonin, which improves the quality of your sleep and rest.

You can get the two things mentioned above in a set- a sleeping mask and earplugs at once.

3. Power socket adapter

It is a useful thing to check the power sockets of your destination. Even though we know this very well, it happened several times that we forgot to take the respective adapter with us. Not that you cannot buy one, but why spending money when you can always bring one with you. There are adapters which are suitable for different types of power sockets.

I can recommend as it has a couple of USB ports, so you can directly charge your phone:

4. Small snacks

Unlike in the past when all airlines used to serve food on board, nowadays you have to pay additionally for your meal in more and more air carriers. Even if the meals are included in the ticket price, it is not a rare case that flights are delayed or you have to wait long before the serving of the meal. Having a small powerbar will provide the energy and the patience you need when having an unexpected delay.  

5. Minis with cosmetic products

Cosmetic bottles in mini sizes (50-100 ml) are an essential part of the hand luggage of frequent travelers. It is always good to have your preferred products with you. Of course, you can as well buy small size containers and fill them with the cosmetic products you are using at home.

6. Zip tie 

You might laugh at this one, but believe me- it has such multipurpose that you should make sure you always have one with you. Be it either for fixing a broken suitcase, a ruined zipper, dress or anything else, the zip tie offers a versatile use for any occasion. 

7. Wipes

Wet and/or dry wipes are very useful on the go. Wet wipes can also help you save your clothes from the spots of food which you spilled during turbulence. 

8. Antibacterial gel

Planes are full of different bacteria (trust me, I’ve been a flight attendant for some years and this is an insider tip). You will be surprised to find out that a comprehensive cleaning of an airplane happens only every 30-45 days. During this time planes are used by tens of thousands of people. Therefore, always have an antibacterial gel with you when traveling. I always have these at hand (even in my everyday life). You can buy a antibacterial gel set and have quantities for longer.

9. Toothbrush

You know this feeling when brushing your teeth after a long-haul flight? Yes, the toothbrush is one of the first things to put in your hand luggage when preparing it. For traveling, I prefer taking the foldable ones as they take less space. 

10. Spare underwear

As frequent travelers, we had multiple occasions in which our flight was delayed, cancelled or moved for the next day. We travel with hand luggage suitcases or even with smaller bags (when we go somewhere for a weekend). As the space is limited, we take clothes for the number of days we will travel for. However, one additional pair of underwear is a smart move- you never know what might happen. A dress you can wear twice, but the underwear should be fresh 🙂

And for heavy mobile phone users, I will add one additional item- a power bank. I do not leave home without it 🙂

These were our 10 must-have things we think everyone should pack in the hand luggage. You have other ideas? Share them with us in the comments below. 

If you are looking for other tips which will make your traveling easier, visit our Lili’s Tips section.

And we have some recommendations for Weekend Escapes with from Europe.