Travel Secrets: Unlock Flight Comfort with Genius Carry-On Hacks

Travel days are stressful no matter how you slice it. Pack up everything you plan to take with you, hoping that you didn't forget something crucial in the process. Then you schlep it to the airport, go through security, and onwards to flights that might be delayed or cancelled or just a really long haul. Then, all jet-lagged and disoriented, you've got a clear immigration and then figure out how to get you and all your stuff to your accommodation without getting scammed. I mean, it's 100% worth it in the end, but man, if I could teleport, I would. But until teleportation exists, you can rest assured that I've got your back with top tips to travel smart and style. Today, we're talking about how to reduce the icky stressful bits by packing your personal item bag for ultimate usability and comfort before, during, and after your flight. And if you do it right, what you pack into it at the start of your trip won't be what you unpack at the end. Curious? Watch on. Let's do this. So, let's begin with the distinction between carry-on luggage and personal item bags. You take both of them on the plane with you, but you use each of them very differently. Your carry-on luggage is the larger of the two, designed to fit in the overhead bins above your seat. This is where you'll store most of your clothing, toiletries, shoes, and other larger items. There are lots of different types of carry-on luggage, from four-wheel spinners to two-wheel rollies and hardshell and softshell and even backpacks. I have a ton of content about different carry-on luggage choices, and I will leave links to the most relevant episodes in the description. Your carry-on luggage is the main piece of luggage that you'll rely on for short trips, or if you're on a longer trip, you might use your carry-on luggage as a supplement to checked baggage. Although many people who fly with larger checked luggage don't actually bring any carry-on luggage at all, they just bring a personal item bag. Your personal item bag is a smaller bag, like a backpack, purse, or briefcase, that fits under the seat in front of you. It's perfect for items that you need easy access to during the flight. Things like laptops, documents, snacks, a good book, and a few other things that we will get to in a second. Personally, most of my trips are carry-on only, meaning that I have one piece of carry-on luggage and one personal item bag. Because I travel for months at a time, I maximize this space as much as I can. I check the regulations for the airline that I'm traveling with, and I bring the maximum allowable size and weight. I'm about to get into a bunch of hacks and specific packing strategies for your personal item bag, but rule number one is to pack all of your valuables, the things you absolutely cannot lose, into your personal item bag. This bag should be on your body or within arm's reach 100% of the time. Your carry-on luggage is out of sight once it goes into the overhead bin, and it might even get checked depending on the circumstances, so you don't want anything super valuable or delicate in there. Because I travel long-term while also working remotely, I have a lot of tech stuff. Laptops, laptop accessories, video camera lights, microphones, earphones, speaker, like, a lot of stuff. So this means I travel with a personal item bag that is full to the brim, which makes organizing it even more of a trick. You might actually be amused by my video where I unpack my personal item bag. It's almost unbelievable how much stuff I cram in there. This may or may not be your situation. If you don't need to carry a bunch of tech stuff with you, all the better. Either way, the following tips will significantly enhance your travel days. First up, let's think about airport security. There are certain ways to pack both your carry-on luggage and your personal item bag to maximize this process. If you have TSA PreCheck and you're flying out of a U.S. airport, hallelujah, your travel day just got a lot easier. Check out my episode about TSA PreCheck to learn more about that. But if you're flying out of a non-U.S. airport or you don't have TSA PreCheck, then these strategic preflight packing tips are essential. First, think about the airport security process and what you might need to take out of your bag for the x-ray. In order to clear airport security as efficiently as possible and to minimize the chance of something getting lost in the shuffle, pack everything you may need to remove for the x-ray into your personal item bag. That way, if you're traveling with carry-on luggage, you shouldn't have to touch it. Just whack it on the conveyor belt. The two main things you will want easy access to for security are electronics and liquids. These need to be packed at the top of your personal item bag or in pockets that are super accessible. Many personal item bags have a separate laptop sleeve, like this one, which is perfect for pulling your laptop out without disturbing anything else in your bag. The specific electronics that you'll have to remove vary, but for the most part, it's usually just your laptop and or tablet. Everything else can stay in your bag. I've occasionally been pulled aside for secondary inspection because of my e-reader or my Bluetooth keyboard, so I make sure that these items aren't buried too far down my bag just in case. But I don't remove them initially. If you're traveling with carry-on luggage only, you'll also need to be super strategic with your toiletries. I have an episode about TSA liquid restrictions and toiletry tips that just might change your entire toiletry strategy, so if you haven't already watched that, I highly recommend it. I travel with a fantastic hanging toiletry kit, which I'll link to below, that has this separate TSA 311 approved liquids bag, which is where all of my travel liquids live throughout my trip. So all you have to do is whack this in the top of my personal item bag and I'm ready to go. The rest of my non-liquid toiletries are stashed away in the rest of my hanging toiletry kit, which goes into my carry-on luggage. After clearing security, it's time to reorganize your stuff for flight comfort. This means anything that you kept handy for security but that you don't need on the flight gets moved, either to your carry-on luggage or to a less accessible spot in your personal item bag. This means for myself, I move my liquids to my carry-on luggage. That's the main thing, but I may also put some electronics like my keyboard lower down in my personal item bag since I won't need it, and I dig up some other things that I know I will want on the flight so I can easily access them. I do this because pulling your personal item bag out from under the seat in front of you and rooting through it is no easy task while you're crammed into your airplane seat and there's people next to you. Also keep in mind that it might be dark during the flight since they turn the lights way down during overnight flights and those little overhead lights aren't going to help you see what's at your feet. So make sure that anything you want in flight is within super easy reach. Depending on how tightly you packed, you may need to do an exchange, moving your toiletries from your personal item bag to your carry-on luggage and then pulling something out of your carry-on luggage that you'll want for the flight and putting that into your personal item bag. You definitely do not want to have to get into the overhead bin and open up a hardshell case to find something mid-flight. Just avoid this at all costs. It will save you and all of your seatmates a big hassle. So what do you need for your flight and how do you pack it? Well, it's ultimately up to you and how you like to occupy your time in flight. Here are nine hacks and ideas. I recently started traveling with this laptop bag as my personal item and there's a lot of things I love about it. It's really durable, it's waterproof, it's understated, it's comfortable and it's small enough to fit most personal item bag size limitations which also makes it a great size for carrying my laptop to the co-working space and on day trips to my destination. One thing it doesn't have is a lot of internal pockets so I use travel pouches and packing cubes like these to help keep everything organized and accessible. This also makes packing and unpacking much easier since whatever's in here can stay in here and just go into a drawer at my destination whenever I need it, I know where it is. And get creative about how you use pouches like these. You can use them for electronics or toiletries or even clothing and snacks. And you don't have to be all fancy like me with the special travel pouches. Ziploc bags will do and then you have the added advantage of being able to see what's inside. Now you might want some additional protection for certain items though. For example, I use this waterproof sturdy pouch for my GoPro camera and accessories as an extra layer of protection and also as a security measure since I know what's inside. But nobody else does. Speaking of pouches and packing cubes, in this packing cube I keep something that is a must-have for flights which is an extra layer for warmth since planes can get super cold. You'll want this regardless of what kind of flight you're on. Even short hauls can be chilly and if you're traveling to or from a warm climate you might get on the plane in a t-shirt but you'll likely want something more in flight. For this trip I took my Merino cashmere cardigan by Unbound Merino and I'm proud to have partnered up with them for this video. This cardigan is mostly merino wool but has a touch of nylon for durability and cashmere to make it super luxurious and soft. It's a classic style that can be layered on top of just about anything and because of the nylon component it can actually be machine washed. Just wash it on a delicate cycle in the wash bag that they include and don't tumble dry it. I specifically like to pack this into a packing cube within my personal item bag first to keep it compressed for space but also to protect it from getting caught on anything else in the bag. It's important to take care of your merino wool since it is an investment but it is one that pays off in the long run. Unbound Merino specializes in high quality super soft merino clothing for women and men. Their pieces are designed to be timeless classics that are not only versatile and stylish but also incredibly functional for travelers. Merino wool itself is crazy travel friendly because it's thin and it still provides amazing insulation to regulate your body temperature in both hot and cold conditions. It's wrinkle resistant, it's naturally antimicrobial and odor resistant so it doesn't stink and it doesn't need to be washed anywhere near as much as other fabrics. I have another episode about why I love merino wool and how I pulled off this crazy carry-on travel stunt with a 100% merino travel capsule wardrobe so I'll leave a link to that in the description and the first comment along with a link to Unbound Merino and a special discount just for you. So I have travel pouches to organize things, a packing cube with an extra layer and this. This pouch is a lifesaver and it has all my wee little in-flight essentials. In my episode about my carry-on essentials I unpacked this very bag for you so you if you want to see everything that's in here I do suggest you check that out. I won't totally leave you hanging though. Most of the things I have in here are things like lip balm, hand lotion, sanitizer, a wet wipe, cough drops, a small power bank, some tissues, some painkillers and new to this kit since I made that other video are these puppies which are called earplanes. I have debilitating pain in my ears when the plane descends and these magic earplugs totally fix that. They're amazing I never fly without them now. There's one more thing that I don't have yet but that I will soon be adding to this little kit so stay tuned and I will tell you about it in a minute. But first here's something that can help you organize yourself for the duration of your flight. It's no secret that airplane seats, seat back pockets, and tray tables do not get cleaned in between flights. In fact dozens of people might have sat in your seat before your area gets properly cleaned. I have more than once sat in my seat and discovered all kinds of little gifts in the seat back pocket left behind by the passenger before me. Bits of food, wet dirty tissues, I can't I just I just can't. This usually means I keep everything I need for my flight in my personal item bag or actually on my seat beside me but it's a pain. I'm either constantly bending over to get in and out of my personal item bag or I've got my water bottle on the floor which is arguably worse or it's wedged between my leg and the armrest. This is why I think that these seat back organizers and tray table covers are ingenious and I'm actively shopping for one now. It totally covers your tray table and it has these hanging pockets for everything that you want access to during your flight. I don't personally have one yet but I'm assuming it doesn't take up much space or weight and can significantly enhance your comfort and cleanliness while you're flying. So I'll keep you posted on that. By the way I learned about this thanks to you. One of you commented about this on another one of my episodes and I want to thank you for the great suggestion. I love the feedback that you give me and I personally read all the comments on my videos so if you ever have something to add please know that my channel is a community not just a one-way conversation. Here's one of the things that I'll be storing in my seat back organizer when I get it. You've probably seen me talk about this in other episodes and I'm not going to stop raving about it anytime soon. It's this collapsible water bottle. Hydration is crucial especially on longer flights so bring this empty water bottle through security rolled up it takes up no space or weight and fill it up on the other side. It'll save you the cost and the plastic waste of buying overpriced airport bottle water. Just make sure that you have a personal item bag with a side pocket for water bottles and you're golden. Now here's another recommendation from you and something that I'll be adding to my inflight essentials kit. These days most people have bluetooth headphones and in my episode about long-haul flight comfort a huge number of you responded that noise cancelling headphones are an inflight essential so you'll want to keep these easily accessible in your personal item bag but that's not what I'm talking about here. See bluetooth headphones are great if you listen to music or you watch shows on your own devices but what if you want to hook into the inflight entertainment system? This is where a bluetooth adapter comes in. You simply plug it into the airplane's headphone jack and then you connect your bluetooth headphones to the dongle and you enjoy your own high quality earphones instead of the cheapy ones supplied by the airline which are ultimately really wasteful since I'm pretty sure they don't get reused. Like I said I don't have one of these yet but I'm shopping for one. Turns out you can use them in a variety of scenarios on your trip like at a hotel gym if you want to connect to the treadmill entertainment system. If you get the right kind you can also use them if you're traveling with somebody and you both want to listen to the same thing with your headphones either in flight or perhaps at your destination on your tablet or laptop. My only advice would be to get one that has both the single 3.5 millimeter thingy dongle as well as an adapter for planes that has the double 3.5 millimeter outlets. I don't usually have space to pack this next item but if you aren't laden down with tech stuff like I am this can enhance your in-flight comfort as well as your trip overall to be honest. Slippers. Hear me out. First of all it's a common travel hack that you wear your heaviest items on the plane to save luggage space but let's be real nobody wants to wear bulky boots on a long haul flight. So pack a light pair of slippers in your personal item bag and switch into them on the plane. Slippers are also nice to have at your accommodation so if you have the space you may appreciate them. If I'm flying long haul in business class as I often do with miles and yes I have an episode about that they often supply light slippers and I use them in flight and then take them with me to use at my destination. It's lovely. While we're on the topic of space if you have the space for this next item you'll find yourself a whole lot comfier both in flight and at your destination. These days there's no guarantee what kinds of comfort items you will get on your flight especially in economy. Most domestic flights don't offer anything and even international flights may or may not offer blankets or if they do they may not be comfy or clean. A travel blanket can pack down small and help you stay comfy on your flight and can be a nice luxury at your accommodation. Pro tip choose one that packs into its own pouch that also has a pass-through strap or a carabiner so you can slip it over your carry-on luggage handle or attach it to your bags without it taking up space inside. Believe it or not it does not count towards your luggage space or weight when you carry it this way. The same goes for a travel pillow if you'd prefer to have a pillow than a blanket. So far we've talked about pre-security packing and post-security shuffling as well as a number of items I suggest packing to enhance your in-flight comfort. Now let's bring it home with some ideas for how to pack this stuff. This one is about keeping your valuables safe and secure. I've already said it's important to keep your valuables inside your personal item bag since that's the one bag that you'll have your eyes on all the time. But while you're busy taking things out for security and shuffling things around and accessing stuff in the flight what you don't want is for these valuables to accidentally fall out or get misplaced. This is why I pack the valuables that I don't need access to in separate zippered pockets or at the very bottom of my bag so they're safe and out of the way on travel days. This is another reason why I like to organize everything into pouches or bags or packing cubes. It keeps everything grouped together in a way that makes sense for me or my trip. And it reduces the chances of something miscellaneous getting lost in the shuffle. If you've made it this far I assume that you like my content so I want to thank you for being here. I read all your comments and I love interacting with you. It means a lot to me if you like this video, share it with friends, and read the description for relevant links to products that I've mentioned as well as other videos or content that's related. Things like subscribing and hitting the thumbs up and watching more of my content tells YouTube that my stuff is valuable which expands my reach and in turn helps to support me financially so I can keep bringing you content to help you travel smart in style. I'm Nora Dunn aka The Professional Hobo and I'll catch you next time.