Yay! I know I have wrote a lot on this subject but I wanted to share with you some of the tips and tricks that I've shared throughout my travel series put into action to help me pack for my holiday. Mainly because this time I remembered to take photos. Apologies it's a few weeks late too but my head and body are probably still back in Greece. I've struggled a fair bit since being back for various reasons but on with the show.
My hand luggage: All the things a sick chick needs to survive 4 hours on a plane. As you can see I packed a foldable walking stick too, which you are entitled to carry and is not counted as an extra piece of hand luggage. Although I use a wheelchair I took the stick mostly for use on better days on holiday for short walks (I mean like 15m short). Also for use on the plane if I was ok enough to walk to my seat (although in the end I opted for the evac chair instead, due to my symptoms) and if I needed to use the bathroom on board. See my hand luggage post here for more details. Including a list of all the spoonie essentials that I pack.
Also in my hand luggage was this little clutch bag, in which I put the items I needed for take off and to get myself comfortable. As it saves searching around in your main bag for everything you need. In this bag I had an inflatable back cushion, inflatable neck cushion, travel bands, some chewy sweets to help any pressure in my ears and some face wipes. I have face wipes because often if my head begins to struggle with the pressure on take off or I get panicky then I get really hot; so I have these to help cool me down. They got a lot of us on our landing back home too as it was really bumpy and scary. So I kept dabbing myself like Mrs Bennett.
This was all my tablets for the two weeks. There was A LOT! Most went in my hand luggage but because of the sheer amount and because it was a 2 week holiday I put some in my main luggage too. I made sure I had some of everything in my hand luggage though. I also had all my tramadol in my hand luggage because it has been reclassified so I wanted to keep it with my prescription in case there was any security issues. Which there weren't. Do remember to carry a prescription or doctors note with your medication and name on though. Read more about transporting your medication here.
Lastly in my hand luggage was all important straws. Why? Because they don't have them on planes and sometimes I struggle to hold a cup so straws come in handy. I feel really self conscious if someone needs to help me drink.
When it comes to actually packing little and often is key and always work from a list; especially if you're liable to brain fog. Also if you can get help doing the actual packing then all the better. Especially getting down your case.
As you can see from the photo above I packed my shoes along the sides of my case. This is a good way to utilise the space in your suitcase. You can even put smaller items like socks into them to save more space and also to keep the shape of your shoes. Remember to pack the shoes with their soles against the lining of the case as they might be a little dirty or dusty and packing them like this will stop your clothes getting dirty. Another tip is to put a shower cap over your shoes to further prevent any dust getting on your clothes. This could be really useful on your return journey when your shoes are likely to be covered in dust and sand.
In my packing post I featured a photo of a medication organizer that had jewellery in it so that it wouldn't get tangled. However I don't wear much dainty jewellery, I'm more a statement jewellery person, so I needed to find a way to pack that and avoid any tangles. What I did was to put each necklace into an organza bag, which I have loads of from jewellery making, but small plastic bags work too. Then I put them into a small wash bag to keep them all together. As you can see I packed a lot. I just couldn't decide! Plus I really don't get much chance to wear it at home. However because it was so hot I didn't wear necklaces often. Necklaces and sweat don't mix.
Also in my packing post I mentioned that I also pre-pack my beach/pool bag to save myself time and spoons when I get there. It's an idea to also pre-pack your evening bag too. However as I doubled up my take off essentials bag as an evening bag I didn't do this.
Do take a look at my other posts on packing for lots more tips
Sian x
I liked reading this mostly because I'm nosy and like to see what people take with them! I like the little bags you're using to keep your jewls in too, great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea about organza bags for jewellery, I always end up with a big tangled mess! I didn't know about inflatable back pillows either, shall get one :) Great post as usual xx
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