What's In My Carry On?

If you'd asked me this months ago, the answer would be vastly different. However, after being on a plane every other week for the last 8 months, you get pretty good at packing. Here's what's in my carry on: 

Planner

For a psychotic/OCD/Type A person like me, I can't go anywhere without my planner. Including the few hours of airport time where I know I'll be doing nothing productive (unless you count detouring to an entirely different terminal for coffee a productive use of time, which I do) I have to have my planner. By the way, this planner is the best thing that's happened to me so I'll be blogging about it eventually. 

iPad

Because when you're stuck behind the one person who decides to recline their chair on the plane (even though I absolutely do, it's just only okay when I do it) there's no room for your whole laptop. It's much easier to use my iPad for reading, catching up on emails, etc. word to the wise: if your flight is over 2 hours, invest in in-flight wifi. 

Makeup Bag

You really never know who you'll run into in the airport. In my travels I've run into coworkers, friends, potential new connections, etc. I always keep my makeup bag with me in case I need to make any touch ups. Ain't nobody got time to be lookin janky. 

Wallet

For obvious reasons, I need my wallet containing my ID, credit cards, and boarding passes. That whole TSA thing requires all of the above to actually get on the plane.

Eyeglasses

On some of my longest travel days I want nothing more than to take my contacts out. As someone who has worn contact lenses since middle school my eyes are, to say the very least, drier than the Sahara Desert. Airports and airplanes don't help this at all. I always keep my eyeglasses handy in case I need a quick rescue from my lenses.

Snacks

A hungry Rachel is not a happy Rachel. A sweet perk to this job is that people like to give you free snacks at the places you visit. I always toss a few of these in my bag before leaving so that in case I get stuck on a flight with no free snacks (by the way, what's up with this lately?) I at least have something to eat.

Ban Refreshing Wipes

I don't care who you are, if you say that you still smell glorious after hours in the airport then you're lying. Thanks to Polar Vortex 5.0 and the fact that it's still snowing in March, I've spent countless hours in airports waiting on delayed and rebooked flights. Occasionally you've just got to freshen up. These refreshing wipes by Ban are great while you're waiting on that flight and perusing the gossip magazine section for the fifteenth time just in case you may have missed one more article on what a loser Juan Pablo is. 

Cosmetic Bag of Toiletries

Kleenex, Chapstick, hand sanitizer, perfume, a lint roller, and a mini hairbrush are essential. Rather than having all these smaller items getting lost in the bottom of my bag, I keep them in a little makeup bag that's easy to access but also doesn't take up a ton of room. Side note: I got the cosmetic bag (pictured on the right) for free with purchase at Ulta a few days ago. Absolutely worth it.