TOILETRY SUPPLIES

Do you accidentally leave your toiletries behind in your hotel room

every time you travel? Unfortunately, I make a habit of this, so I've

spent a lot of time and money buying new toothbrushes, shaving cream,

and such items. Although I've never solved my problem with

forgetfulness, I have come up with a neat compensation for it.

Whenever I near the end of a tube of toothpaste, can of shaving cream,

bottle of cologne, and so on at home, I throw the item in a bag under

the sink. Then, when I travel, I take these almost-empty supplies with

me, so it doesn't matter if I leave them behind or not. It saves me

money and lightens my load.

TAKING SAFETY MEASURES DURING YOUR FLIGHT

Most airlines now encourage passengers to keep their seatbelts

fastened whenever they are sitting down, not just in take-off and

landing modes. This is not an overreactive measure--unfortunately,

unexpected turbulence has actually thrown people around airline

cabins, resulting in injuries. To stay safe, buckle up whenever

possible and keep potentially dangerous objects under the seat or

enclosed in an overhead compartment.

COPING WITH LAUNDRY

How can you cope with all the dirty laundry that starts accumulating

the moment you leave the house? Some people put a plastic bag for

dirty clothes in each suitcase. We like our way better. We take one

empty piece of soft luggage (ours folds and zips up into a compact

four-inch square) to serve as the laundry bag. We carry it on every

trip so even the kids recognize it as the laundry bag and put their

clothes in it at the end of each day. If you need to do laundry en

route, you have everything in one bag--no need to search for dirty

clothes in each person's suitcase. When you come home, send the bag

(which now contains everyone's laundry from the trip) directly to the

laundry room, avoiding the extra task of sorting out dirty clothes as

you unpack.