It’s important to take extra care when packing for your travels, now more than ever. Although you may think baggage checks are conducted only on carry-on luggage, this isn’t the case. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reserves the right to open any luggage checked with airlines, as part of its security screening process. TSA carries out this procedure on a regular basis to ensure the safety of travelers.
The contents of your suitcase should be kept as organized as possible, to make sure items are easily visible to security personnel. This also prevents your belongings from being displaced more than necessary during potential baggage searches. CableOrganizer® has a few packing principles below that you may like to keep in mind when preparing for your next trip:
- • When you’re getting ready to pack, be sure to check current TSA guidelines for the most up-to-date baggage regulations.
- • Roll your clothes…doing so not only prevents wrinkling, but also saves space in your suitcase. When planning which clothes to bring, prevent yourself from packing unnecessary extra garments by keeping in mind that some items can be re-worn.
- • Keep a basic packing list on hand, making necessary updates to it before each trip you go on. This ensures you’ll remember all your necessities, as well as any special items you might need at a particular destination.
- • Pack light. Bringing only what you need will help you avoid being bogged down with extra luggage. Remember you can usually purchase anything else a need may arise for once you’ve reached your destination. Who doesn’t want an excuse to go shopping?
- • Since most luggage ends up being checked, be sure to keep in your carry-on a few small necessary items, should your checked bags get lost or delayed.
You’ve probably discovered that even when you map out all the major details, it never fails that a few less obvious ones end up falling through the cracks. Since this is the way things always seem to go, we’d like to round out the above guidelines with a few finer points that might be helpful for you to consider:
- • Remember to bring a few plastic bags along… they’re inexpensive (or free), take up virtually no space in your luggage, and provide you with a simple and effective way to keep dirty laundry separate from clean clothes.
- • Car seat rentals. If you’ll be traveling by plane with small children and have someone who can return your car seat home after you and your child have been dropped to the airport, consider leaving bulky and cumbersome car seats at home. Before departing, contact the car rental agency at your destination to find out if they have children’s car seats available for rent. This service is commonly offered and can save you the headache of lugging unnecessary items through the airport. It is, however, recommended to strap a baby or toddler into an airline seat within their FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approved car seat. Airlines customarily allow children to sit on the lap of and be strapped into the same seat with their parent or guardian, if under the age of two. They do not typically rent car seats for the flight but often permit free car seat check-in.
- • If you’re going to be taking a laptop with you… never check it! Be sure the laptop is always included in your carry-on luggage. You can prevent shoulder strain by investing in a rolling laptop bag. For easy connection to high-speed internet while you’re on the road, take along a self-contained, retractable Ethernet cord.
- • When traveling internationally, don’t forget to pack… your passport, prescription medications, international electrical adaptors, chargers, and spare digital camera memory cards.
- • If you’ll be traveling with important prescription medications… don’t put yourself at risk! Be sure to keep them on your person instead of packing them with your checked luggage. By keeping critical medications separate from suitcases that will be checked, you’ll ensure your medicines are quickly and easily accessible if your luggage isn’t at hand and should a medical emergency arise.
Travel tips may be great, but sometimes you just need a little extra help in putting all that good advice into action. At CableOrganizer®, we can’t get enough of the products that help us get — and stay — organized. Allow us to suggest a few of our favorite travel-helpers:
PELICAN MICRO CASE SERIES™
These cases, available from CableOrganizer®, are shock-absorbent, watertight and crushproof, making them ideal for the protection of valuable passports, jewelry, and small personal electronic items such as cell phones.
LABEL MAKERS
CableOrganizer® offers a variety of convenient handheld labelers from Dymo®, Brother®, and Brady®, which make it simple to produce labels that will help keep any closed containers in your baggage clearly-marked.
VELCRO® ONE-WRAP® CABLE WRAPS
They’re also great for organizing luggage! Use them to fasten like items together, secure fragile belongings, or color code the contents of your bag. Is your luggage non-descript in appearance? If so, consider attaching a brightly colored VELCRO® ONE-WRAP® Cable Wrap to your suitcase handle to set it apart from the others on the baggage carousel.
Whether you’re looking for protective cases, organizational supplies, travel-friendly chargers or laptop accessories, visit CableOrganizer®...we’ve got everything you need to make the task of packing for your trip both simple and efficient!
