Weekend Word to the Wise (Packing)

This is a new addition to my blog. Every weekend, I'm going to put out some of the favorite tips I've either personally tried, or read about, in reference to travelling, packing, planning, and maybe even cooking (if it's related to my favorite type of food: Italian!)

Today's tips are related to packing:

• Instead of packing a wash cloth or pouf, I take a package of facial cleansing cloths (like Dove's or Olay's). These are great because I can take them into my shower with me, wash my face with them, then soap them up to use as a wash cloth. When I'm finished, the used cloth goes into the trash! No waiting for it to dry, no re-packing, and it lightens my suitcase as the trip progresses!

• Pack all of your electronic or tech gear into one easily identifiable cube or bag for easy retrieval (like this one from Eagle Creek). I am an admitted tech geek. I like, no wait, I NEED, to travel with all my electronic gear. I pack my iTouch, my cell phone, my Nintendo DS, my Mac, my speaker (which I will demo in the near future), and all kinds of other gear, not to mention the transformer and adapters. On my first trip to Italy, my carry-on got pulled out for further inspection because the transformer looked suspicious. I had stuff everywhere and hadn't really employed any specific packing technique. Even though I was nowhere close to flight time, it made me nervous because in Italy, they pulled everything out and checked all of it. If I had all my e-gear in one easy to find bag, they probably would have taken that bag out, scanned it, and I would have been on my way.

I hope these two tips help you as you start to think about that big trip and how you plan on packing for it.