Luggage Lessons for Women: Don’t Leave Home Without These 10

I fancied myself a master packer until I met Ruth, who was assigned to be my roommate on a budget trek through the Anti Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco last year. Just off a delayed flight from London, she turned up at about midnight outside the wretched double (with a toilet that wouldn’t flush) we were to share at a hotel in Marrakesh. I was half asleep when she knocked, but I remember clearly what she did once I let her in. She put down her backpack, shook my hand, got out her long johns, washed her face and went to bed. Just like that, with no movements wasted, no sprawl or idle chat. That’s Ruth--in every way a Scot.

In the days that followed, as I shared rooms with her in one hotel after another and rolled out my sleeping bag next to hers at campsites, I came to admire the elegant economy of her approach to travel and life. She always knew exactly where all her gear was, and had everything she needed in one stout backpack. She had everything I needed, too, lending me a plastic cup, dental floss, a clothesline, safety pins, a shawl and other odds and ends whenever I found myself at a loss.

From Ruth I learned that ordinary things you stash in drawers and closets at home can make long, rough trips bearable--and even comfy. She’d purchased most of the treasures in her kit not from a fancy travel outfitter, but from the English drugstore chain, Boots. Now I do most of my pre-trip shopping at drugstores and travel with an assortment of homey, useful things, like Ruth carried. Here’s my list:

1. A rubber drain stopper, flat so that it fits on all manner of drains, available at drug and hardware stores for no more than $2. In order to travel light--far and away the best way to go, as all seasoned travelers know--you need to be able to wash underwear, socks and tops in hotel room sinks. But this can pose a challenge when there’s no stopper for the drain, which is often the case even in good hotels.

Ruth keeps her stopper in a lightweight laundry bag that also holds a short clothesline with miniature plastic clothespins and a small plastic bottle of dish detergent. So when the dirty clothes mount up, she’s ready to wash. This is a great improvement over my old approach of using shampoo as laundry detergent, because I usually pack a conditioning shampoo to save space. And as it turns out, my dirty clothes don’t need to be conditioned.

2. Ziploc bags, available at grocery stores. Before I discovered the unique virtues of these, I used to pack any old sort of plastic bag for potentially leaky bottles, muddy boots and wet bathing suits and towels. But last summer I went on a three-day kayaking and camping trip to Berner’s Bay, north of Juneau, Alaska, and was advised by the company that organized the expedition to put my gear in seal able Ziploc bags, just in case my kayak capsized. I managed to keep the vessel upright and, better yet, found that gallon-size Ziplocs helped me keep my belongings organized. All my underwear went in one bag, my socks in another and T-shirts in a third. So now I use Ziplocs wherever I go, resulting in a strikingly shipshape suitcase and a lot less rooting around when I’m trying to find something in it.

3. Slippers. If you’re trying to pack light, slippers, like a bulky bathrobe, could well seem dispensable. In fact, I used to just wear socks in hotel rooms and on trips down the hall to shared baths. But that gets a good pair of socks dirty, and possibly wet. So now I pack an old pair of rubber flip-flops, which don’t take up much space and make me feel at home when I’m away. In China, last year, I forgot them, but it didn’t matter because almost every hotel I stayed at provided a pair of paper slippers, which I collected. So now I often take them instead of the flip-flops.

4. Silk long johns. When my sister goes to Europe in the winter, she always takes a pair of these, primarily for layering. But I’m not too proud to wear the tops with jeans or a skirt. They wash out well in hotel-room sinks, dry quickly and can double as PJs. Tops and bottoms are available from the L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer catalogs (for about $30 each).

5. A portable tote bag, of foldable synthetic fabric. I find these useful because I don’t travel with a purse, keeping my valuables in a money belt under my clothes or in a fanny pack on top. Still, when I go out sightseeing I need a way to carry my guidebook, camera, pens, tissue and other small items. On the flight home, the tote becomes a carry-on bag for souvenirs.

6. A small towel, kerchief or bandanna. In budget hotels around the world, you don’t always get a washcloth, which is why a little towel can come in handy. Then, too, there are moments--in hot, crowded airports and bus stations--when a cool, damp cloth on the brow can feel wonderfully refreshing. I favor a dish towel because they’re inexpensive and compact.

7. A one-piece racer’s bathing suit, like those made by Jantzen, TYR and Speedo. I wear mine like a leotard or bodysuit because they’re comfortable and cool. They’re also easy to wash out, though sometimes expensive. But I pay the price for high quality because I use mine so much.

8. Bubble bath. I collect the little bottles of bath and shower gel provided by many hotels, and keep refilling them on subsequent trips. A little luxury, perhaps. But few things make me feel as reconciled to budget lodgings as bubbles in the bath. Besides, bubble bath comes in handy should you find yourself in a place where you don’t even get soap.

9. Eyeshades and earplugs. To me, these are a must on long plane trips, and they’ve saved the day for me in more than a few noisy hotel rooms. I got my eyeshades for free on a transatlantic flight, and earplugs only cost a few dollars at drugstores.

10. Tea bags. I like coffee first thing in the morning, but when I can’t get it, I reach for a tea bag and go begging for hot water at the front desk of my hotel. I keep an assortment of tea bags in a Ziploc bag (with a plastic spoon), including herbal teas to help me sleep, and echinacea root for when I’m under the weather.

Of course, there are lots of other things on my packing list, but these make me feel specially content somehow. And Ruth would be proud to travel with me now.

“A Journey of One’s Own” by Thalia Zepatos (The Eighth Mountain Press, $16.95) and “Traveler’s Tool Kit” by Rob Sangster (Menasha Ridge Press, $15.95) include good packing lists. L.L. Bean is at (800) 221-4221, and Eddie Bauer is at (800) 426-8020.

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This new column about women’s travel appears weekly. Spano, who joined the Travel staff recently, is a seasoned traveler who has freelanced widely. She also writes destination stories for Travel.