1- The sweet spot for purchasing an airline ticket- 54 days before the day you are planning to depart. This is when the fare is at it’s lowest. Keep in mind that if you are traveling to a popular destination during a busy time of year, the sooner you purchase the better.

2- Ziploc Bags- I pack all of my beauty items in Ziploc bags, even extras for coming home. If the cabin pressure doesn’t pop the lids open, the rough treatment of your baggage will. Oh and if you put the Fragile label on your bag, you can guarantee it will be handled with even more roughing up. I always place them towards the center of the suitcase.

3- Make-up- Pack your eye shadows and pressed powders in your carry-on. I have had many of them ruined, they crumble pretty easily when the suitcases get tossed around.

4- Socks- I often travel in sandals and flippy floppys, it makes going through security smoother, But at 30,000 ft gets chilly. I carry a pair of warm socks in my purse for the flight. Happy Socks are the BEST!

5- EmerginC’s- I pop these little bad boys at take off and landing, the little water bottles you can get on the plane are perfect for them. The exhaustion and recycled air shared by everyone on the plane is a sure fire combo for getting sick. The hydration and vitamins are a perfect weapon.

6- Peppermint Beads- I always take my doTERRA peppermint beads in my purse. I have a 100% success rate for sitting next to someone with bad breath. These beads are pure peppermint so they are strong, if bad breath guy or gal decline my offer to have one at least they are strong and by popping one myself it will overpower any smells lurking over into my personal smelling area. Ha! Ha!

7- Duct Tape- Yes!! I said duct tape. You would be surprised at how it can save you. One time coming home from Cabo my suitcase zipper broke while going through customs to come back to the U.S. as my panties started popping out of my broken bag, I was able to stuff everything back inside and tape it all up good enough to check it and get home. Otherwise I would have missed my flight. I’ve also fixed up a broken sandal in an emergency. Trust me, you’ll never be sorry you packed it.

8- Important Documents- Always put your important documents in your carry-on in case your luggage doesn’t arrive where you do. Sometimes it can take a couple of days to locate and get to you. Keep this in mind when choosing what to wear on the flight also. Layers are always best.

9- Important phone numbers- You should have any important numbers written on a note or somewhere on you. Just in case you lose your phone, charger, purse, etc… In today’s day and age, most of us don’t know our emergency contact numbers by heart.

10- Lost or Stolen Phone app- If your phone disappears you can track it by gps, also from experience, when you enter a taxi or shuttle, write down their taxi ID number, the name of the driver and the name of the company. We have left phones, purses, wallets etc in a taxi before. If you know the info of the vehicle it can be traced and dispatch can usually call the driver and bring you your belongings. Or if your spouse leaves their phone in the cab, you can dial up this snazzy app, hop in another cab and chase em down! Haha.. Done that before too..

In addition, when flying in coach who gets what armrest when stuck in the middle seat?
According to an article in the New York Times- The middle seat gets BOTH!
Next time you choose to challenge your travel buddy on your left or your right, keep this link handy!
–> Who gets the armrests when you are sitting in the middle seat?http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704396504576204442583904246?mobile=y