The one minor item you miss if you forget to bring

[Melburnian1]

Most unless we are very special can't go overseas without a passport, and I daresay the vast majority of adult (and some underage) travellers regard a smartphone as essential. So too for some of us a good set of headphones.

However there are some at face value far less significant item(s) that if we leave them behind when packing may cause anxiety or annoyance once we unpack at the first hotel, AirBnB or relatives' home.

My "essential" small item is a styptic pencil, small in size but exceedingly irksome if I forget to bring it, or somehow lose it from my toiletries bag. The only brand I can ever find in chemists is manufactured by an English company. It's instant relief if one cuts oneself when shaving, and highly reliable despite probably being invented in the 1950s if not before. The packaging hasn't changed in the last 20 years.

What's yours?

 

[Matt_01]

My essential item is a spare pare of glasses (in case I break my main pair) next on the list would be the cable to charge said smartphone and NC headsets.

 

[LadyC]

Spare contact lenses and my glasses. That would be troublesome if I didn't have them.

 

[opusman]

The missus.

 

[Melburnian1]

The missus.

For some, that may be a major/large item.

 

[mrsterryn]

The missus.

Not sure about the minor part lol but nice to know she would be missed

Mine would be an e-reader and phone and credit card

 

[flyingfan]

Dental floss and toothpaste - annoying if I have to buy them again, the hotel might have the latter but I've never seen the former stocked.
Sunglasses.
Reading/watching material.
Foreign currency or interstate travel cards.

 

[Denali]

I'm just going to go with my 1st aid kit of various prescriptions and over the counter meds. It covers almost all ills without requiring a doctor. Brings me a lot of comfort having it with me and we've made good use out of it, both preventative and necessary.

My idiot husband might say vitamins but that hasn't stopped him from buying more in pretty much every country we've been to. Why idiot? That's where my 1st aid kit was required because he's an idiot when it comes to his vitamin intake.

Oh, and a blender - that man likes his home comforts and believes he can take them with him. We took a large fan to Cambodia (gave it to our maid when we left). He's also addicted to his lavender sleep balm and contour travel pillow.

 

[Happy Dude]

@opusman's missus.

 

[Matt_01]

....My idiot husband.....

I must be a lost relative of your husband, I am sure MrsM has the same name for me I am assured it is a term of endearment but I am suspicious.

 

[tgh]

excellent question...

Small everyday comfort items like a nail kit seem unimportant until they are absent.

Recently , (in au fortunately) I left my phone on a tfr bus and felt absolutely naked in the terminal.
The reality of o information about all sorts of important stuff leads me to consider carrying a back up in future.

I have occasionally left important info behind in the prep stage of a trip.
It is terribly hard to manage en route difficulties without the facts.
Losing access to ones electronic info ( however it comes to be ) can be catastrophic.

To summarise : the most important thing that I should not leave behind (or lose) is the loaded usb dongle..
Even with everything in the cloud, replacement or borrowed hardware needs a start point ...and that is a well loaded dongle

 

[mrsterryn]

I must a lost relative of your husband, I am sure MrsM has the same name for me I am assured it is a term of endearment but I am suspicious.

Have to say the endearing endearment was used lots this afternoon when it was realised my. ......husband had booked a hotel for the wrong night in London......many many uses of such a term
Of course it was one of those paid in advance cause a great deal. Shame we won't use it

 

[Melburnian1]

...Oh, and a blender - that man likes his home comforts and believes he can take them with him. We took a large fan to Cambodia (gave it to our maid when we left). He's also addicted to his lavender sleep balm and contour travel pillow.

Pardon me for briefly going off topic (especially because I initiated this thread) but while you may have been travelling J or even F, and perhaps were 'moving home' and hence each had a minimum 40kg luggage in the hold allowance, both those items strike me as large, and somewhat heavy. How on earth does one pack a 'large fan' in a suitcase?

 

[p--and--t]

Of course it was one of those paid in advance cause a great deal. Shame we won't use it

Maybe you could raffle it on AFF

 

[p--and--t]

On a longer trip, can't do without :

• A small manicure set. Scissors handy for various things and nails do grow over a few weeks.
• Spare set of glasses for emotional security. Never lost a pair yet, but if I did, I be stuffed.

 

[p--and--t]

My "essential" small item is a styptic pencil, small in size but exceedingly irksome if I forget to bring it,
What's yours?

If you forget your stick and need to stop a minor bleed - use pepper, while it might bite on the tongue, there is no sensation on the broken skin and stops a minor bleed in seconds.

Edit: Oh and allegedly it has antiseptic properties

 

[Pushka]

Scissors and nurofen. We have a competition as to whose suitcase is the lightest. It’s very unfair as I pack all the heavy stuff for ‘just in case’ and things like sunburn cream.

 

[LadyC]

Have to say the endearing endearment was used lots this afternoon when it was realised my. ......husband had booked a hotel for the wrong night in London......many many uses of such a term
Of course it was one of those paid in advance cause a great deal. Shame we won't use it

Depending upon how long it took you to realize it was the wrong date, you may be able to change it depending upon pricing?
I had success changing a booking made with Hotels.com for a non-refundable night at ZRH airport hotel. Pricing was the same and I did it within 24 hrs.

 

[Mrsfefe]

If travelling to North America, we take our own 110 V electric kettle and a box of tea bags. We’ve just given up on these being provided in any accomodation establishments there.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

A corkscrew and a champagne stopper.