When people ask me where I live, I jokingly reply, “out of my suitcase.”
These days I am perpetually packed for 11 months of the year, never knowing if I will land in the South Pacific or Siberia.
True story: I was in Istanbul, packed for a 3-month assignment in Papua New Guinea, when my office called to tell me my project was canceled and I’d be heading to Mongolia instead.
Slight change of plans, right?
Although my situation is a bit extreme, like all travel warriors, I know what I need, I know what I don’t need, and I know how to charm the airline staff at check-in so they don’t charge me for those extra kilos.
Remarkably, I can pack and unpack my 11-month suitcase in 20 minutes flat.
Whether bumming around South America for 4 months or being the full-time working nomad I am now, I never leave home without these 15 little items.
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E-Bags packing cubes
These have changed my life, and account for 90% of the reason I can pack and unpack everything I travel with so quickly.
I buy them in all sizes, shapes, and colors and they function like drawers in a dresser that I can throw into my suitcase or backpack.
They protect and organize my wardrobe so I know where my blouses for work are, which one has my socks and underwear, and that my cosmetics are in the leopard print one.
A few hangers
I always have one hanger for each piece of good clothing I bring with me. They weigh nothing and provide a tremendous amount of convenience.
Especially when I arrive in Addis Ababa after 28 hours of travel and have a business meeting in 3 hours, I can hang my suit in the shower, turn on the hot water, and steam those wrinkles out in 5 minutes.
Extra debit cards
Travel banking rule #1: Never tie yourself to one bank and NEVER to one debit card. I was once in Bangkok when my bank decided my card had been involved in an international money laundering scam and shut it off without consulting me.
I was left penniless in Southeast Asia for 10 days while I waited for the new card to be shipped to me. If I had had an alternate banking option, I would have been fine. My advice is to open an account at a new bank before you leave for anywhere, throw a couple grand in it, and pack that debit card as your spare.
(Travel banking rule #2: Always have at least a few hundred dollars of cash on you in case of emergency. That’s how I survived those 10 days.)
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