A rainy Tuesday in Berlin taught me my best packing trick

I got caught in a downpour with only a thin jacket and my bag got soaked. Everything inside was safe because I had put my clothes in a plastic grocery bag from home first. That free bag saved my trip and cost me nothing. What's your favorite free or cheap thing you always pack now?

4 comments

4 Comments

blair_nguyen2mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I pack a few of those free hotel shower caps. They're perfect for wrapping around the soles of dirty shoes before tossing them in your suitcase. Also great for covering a damp swimsuit or sealing a half-used bar of soap. Takes up zero space and saves your clean clothes from getting wrecked.

viola_lopez301mo ago

Oh man, Blair Nguyen is absolutely right about the travel shower cap thing, and it makes me realize I've been living life wrong (and I'm totally okay admitting that). My dumb self has been using those ugly plastic bags from the grocery store for dirty shoes and wet swimsuits, basically looking like a trash bag hoarder at the airport. But here's my tragic confession - the last time I packed a "clean" pair of sneakers, I forgot about the leftover sand from the beach and ended up with gritty socks for my whole trip. So now I'm the kind of person who will shamelessly swipe five extra shower caps from the hotel housekeeping cart (sorry not sorry, they're paying for my sins of being a messy packer).

the_olivia2mo ago

Saw a travel blog once that called hotel shower caps the "secret weapon" for packing. @blair_nguyen is totally right about the shoes, but I also use them to cover the ends of rolled-up belts so the buckles don't scratch anything. That little plastic is weirdly useful.

caseythompson2mo ago

Funny how the weirdest stuff ends up being handy. My mom used to save those plastic produce bags from the grocery store for the same kind of thing. She'd wrap wet umbrellas in them or use one as a makeshift glove to pick up after the dog in a pinch. Not exactly the same, but it's that same idea of reusing what's already around.