You’ve been waiting for months for this Vacation. You’ve thought of little else. You have boasted and bragged to your co-workers until they are sick of you. All your work is finished, Henry is taking over the Anderson account and you are out of there!

The house is secure and you’ve got the house and pet sitter arranged. The newspaper delivery is on hold, so all that is left is Packing for vacation. But what could you possibly need? Throw in some underpants and some shorts and tees and you’re done.

Until you open your suitcase looking for all those things you forgot. In all your excitement of going on vacation and taking the time to ready the house, you forgot the most basic needs. A band-aid.

Here is a checklist to help you next time you are going on vacation.

Packing For Vacation

Here are a few items people often Forget to pack.

1. Toothbrush

Simplest of items to forget. Brush your teeth just before you head out the door, replace it back in the holder and off you go. You don’t even realize until you need it again. Buy a toothbrush and leave it in your suitcase still in its package. Then, you always know it’s there.

2. Sunscreen

Pink not your color? You work indoors all day, all year. You finally hit the beach like a hurricane, until all that winter skin takes a proper beating. Bet you forgot the aftercare lotion, as well.

3. First Aid Kit

You can see it now, safely tucked up in the cabinet at home. A fat lot of good it’s doing you now, with that stinging paper cut you got trying to refold the map. You only need a small one, and even if you never need it, it’s better to have it than not.

If you make up your own kit, add a pair of nail clippers, a small do-everything pocket knife, and some disinfectant lotion. A few band-aids, gauze and a few safety pins always come in handy.

4. Carry All

They take up no room at all, and they come in so handy. A reusable carry bag for all your souvenirs, your snacks to take back to the room and to carry all your stuff to the pool or beach. The best part about that is, you can buy one with a logo or label from where you are.

5. Lip Balm

Those sunburnt lips are sore and unsightly. It’s a small item that takes up no space at all but performs a big job. It’s the type of item most of us have several of, and now you have a few more.

6. Deodorant

Another one of those items you use, put back and forget about. Right up until you need it again. Hopefully, you can find something close to the brand you like so you don’t have to spend your vacation smelling like pine trees or lilacs.

7. Contact Lenses

You had them ready. You rinsed them, put them in their case, all ready to go and there they sit, on the counter by the sink. Probably right beside your toothbrush and deodorant. Luckily, you can find replacements at Acuvue Oasys.

8. Sunglasses

Sunglasses are one of those things we tend to leave all over the place. At work, on the subway, in the pub. Have you ever spent time looking for them when they are on your head?

Replacing them shouldn’t be a problem, there is always a vendor selling them. Particularly if you are on a beach or at a resort. Buy a few pairs, then you have more to lose.

9. Adaptable Cords

If you are going outside of North America, brace yourself for the fact you can’t plug anything in. Many countries have a different electrical outlet and will need an adaptor.

While you are in the Southern Hemisphere, spend some time flushing the toilet to see if the water does go down the opposite way.

10. Bottle Opener/Cork Screw

If you’ve ever tried to ram the cork down inside a bottle of wine with a pencil, you will never forget to take a corkscrew again. Equally frustrating is trying to open that frost cold beer by hitting the rim on the counter. Get a two-in-one, keep it close.

You can’t take these in your carryon, but you definitely will want to have one. They will come in handy for more than opening a bottle. It’s a good solid tool to have on hand.

11. Passport/I.D.

Seriously. How many times. Forgetting your ID is the worst and most frustrating thing you can do. It can ruin the whole vacation, depending on what you need it for. Maybe you need to sew a secret pocket inside your underpants to keep some of your more valuable assets.

12. Phone Charger

There’s nothing like that feeling of hitting the red line on your battery just to realize you don’t have a way to charge your phone. Some chargers, depending on the phone can be really expensive and not all that easy to find.

13. Medicine

Prescriptions, pain relief, vitamins, anything you need you will have forgotten. Some of these items are easy enough to replace, but a prescription may not be so easy. Maybe highlight that one on your checklist.

14. Bathing Suit

Sure, the manager at the hotel has a whole box of bathing suits you can borrow. Used, discarded bathing suits. Fished out of the pool, left for dead in hotel rooms and found about the grounds. Guess you’re shopping for a new one before you can get in the pool.

15. Book or Magazine

Long flight, long car ride, bored to tears at the beach. Make sure you take something to read, maybe a few crossword puzzle or pencil game magazines with you. You may even learn something.

16. Money/Credit Card

That’s a stinger! No cash, no credit card. Great way to start the vacation. Invest in a money belt or get a chain or elastic rope to attach your wallet to your belt loop. All of these things should be together, but if you take your credit card out to pay for something online, it’s easy to forget to replace it.

17. Camera

You might be able to get away with it if your phone has a decent camera, but if your phone can’t be charged because you forgot the charger, well. It can be very expensive to have to buy one while on vacation.

How can you rub all your friend’s noses in it all over Facebook if you don’t have a way to capture all those special moments. Like your half-eaten plate of spaghetti. You want memories of your vacation, so a camera is an important item.

18. Long Sleeves

Going somewhere warm, or hot, you may think you don’t need sleeves. But when the sun goes down, it can get cool. Depending on where you are staying, you may not have access to inexpensive clothing. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a shirt or jacket you may never use again.

The mosquitoes come out you may need something to cover that vicious sunburn. Take a long-sleeves shirt or light jacket. They take up very little room in your suitcase. You can also wear the item or drape it around your shoulders or waist while traveling.

19. Grooming Tools

Razors, tweezers, makeup, combs, and brushes. These are small items that get forgotten all the time. You may have even filled a small makeup bag with all those things you need and then left it sitting on your bed.

Most of these items are available everywhere, but you don’t want to waste your vacation time shopping for razors or toothpaste. Keep them all together so you know what is missing when you check.

20. Antacids

The local cuisine may not agree with you, and the change in eating habits alone can cause heartburn and indigestion. Take a few packages of tablets with you. The first thing most sane people do on vacation is to eat and drink themselves sick. You need to be prepared.

Tips for Packing

The best way to make sure you have everything is to make a list. Think about what you do on your average day, the items you use and add them to the list. Pack them up and don’t cross them off the list until you see them snug and safe in your suitcase.

It’s a good idea to pack a small bag and have a secret pocket you can stuff an emergency credit card or a few dollars in cash. Keep this bag with you at all times during the traveling time. It can be a real life-saver.

Find ways to utilize the space well. Taing too many pairs of shoes will take up way too much space and those shoes may not prove to be practical. Wear the heaviest shoes you plan to take, pack the next ones and think about buying a pair of beach shoes or flip flops once you are there.

Happy Holiday

We all forget to pack certain items, and for the smaller things, they become a nice, usable momento from our vacation. It’s best to make a list of the must-haves and then worry about the other things.

Packing for vacation shouldn’t be stressful. Make a short list of the really important items and then you should be okay. You are bound to find something you need that you never even considered, so it will now be a fun souvenir.

Your vacation should leave you with fond memories, not nightmares. A bit of planning will make sure that happens. For more tips on planning your vacation, please continue reading here.

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