People ask flight attendants what we pack.
I think the better question is:
What do you pack when you leave home without always knowing exactly when you are coming back?
As a flight attendant, I typically walk into the airport with three bags: my rollerboard, my lunch bag and my shoulder bag.
That is my little traveling household.
A trip might have me gone for one day. It could be three. Sometimes five.
And aviation being aviation, the trip I planned is not necessarily the trip I end up flying.
Weather happens. Delays happen. Schedules change.
So I pack accordingly.
I need uniforms and clothes. Food. Chargers. Toiletries. Skincare. Things that make a hotel room more comfortable. Things for the inevitable spill on my uniform. Things for a dead phone, dry lips, funky hotel outlets and whatever else decides to join the trip.
After years of flying, my bags have basically become a system.
My Three-Bag System
1. My Rollerboard
This is home base.
My rollerboard carries my clothes, shoes, packing cubes, toiletries and most of what I will need once I reach the hotel.
I pack it knowing I could be living out of it for several days.
2. My Lunch Bag
Yes, flight attendants bring food.
Mine carries the meals and snacks I packed for the trip, plus the little things I like having with my food.
Including hot sauce.
Because some things are worth being prepared for.
3. My Shoulder Bag
This is the bag I need access to.
Chargers. Power bank. Tea. Personal items. My little “you never know” bag. Things I may need during the trip without digging through my rollerboard.
What goes into each bag changes depending on where I am going, what I am working and how long I expect to be gone.
The philosophy stays the same:
I need to be ready for whatever.
That is how my Amazon list grew to 39 items. These are products that earned their way into my bags through actual trips and actual use.
Shop My Flight Attendant Travel List on Amazon
First, I Need Power. Lots of It.
My phone works almost as hard as I do when I travel.
Schedules. Transportation. Hotel information. Maps. Communication. Photos. Entertainment.
So I travel with backup power.
I carry a 20,000mAh portable charger with built-in cables, a 40W multi-port wall charger and a universal international travel adapter.
Then there is my power strip.
Hotel outlets have a special talent for being anywhere except where I need them.
My travel power strip gives me eight AC outlets plus USB and USB-C ports. One usable hotel outlet can become my charging station.
I also travel with my Meta Ray-Ban glasses for POV videos as a content creator and a 62-inch extendable phone tripod/selfie stick with remote.
Sometimes I want the picture.
Sometimes I need to take it myself.
Problem solved.
The Hotel Room Has to Feel a Little Like Home
When you travel for work, the hotel room becomes your temporary bedroom, bathroom, dressing room, dining room and recovery space.
Little things matter.
Shower shoes are always coming with me.
Mine are lightweight, foldable and quick-drying.
I also carry an African net sponge. It packs easily, dries quickly and is long enough to reach my back.
One of the newer additions is shower steamers.
After a long day, I like being able to make an ordinary hotel shower feel a little better.
That is a recurring theme in the way I pack.
Comfort matters to me.
If something small makes life on the road easier or more comfortable, I can usually find room for it.
My Skin Knows When I’ve Been Flying
Airplane cabins, long days, makeup, changing climates and hotel rooms can change what my skin needs.
So my skincare comes with me.
One of the products currently in my flight bag is my turmeric foaming facial cleanser with a built-in brush.
And I have video evidence.
Watch: My Actual Layover Skincare
@iammarenda what’s the 1st thing people see on the screen? Your FACE! so put your best face forward with this in the TikTok Shop. Thank me later😘 #showcase #RadiantSkin #tiktokabcs
The Gold Eye Masks Made the Trip Too
I also travel with Grace & Stella gold under-eye masks, which are now on my Amazon flight-attendant list.
And those made it onto TikTok too.
@iammarenda just a reminder, take care of you! #selfcare #fyp #Vdaily #vitalhealth
This video includes another product I travel with: V-Daily from Vital Health.
V-Daily is part of my personal routine and convenient for the way I travel. Supplements are personal, so check the ingredients against your own health needs, medications and supplements.
Sometimes the hotel room becomes my little spa for the night.
I also carry the Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask and Kiehl’s overnight lip mask.
I am going to work.
I am also still me.
Those two things can coexist.
The Stuff That Saves My Uniform
There are products that become much more important when your clothes are part of your job.
Coffee. Makeup. Food. Turbulence. Life happens.
Mine stays in the bag.
A mini lint roller travels with me too.
I also carry wrinkle releaser and tights.
Then there are my packing cubes.
My current set has eight organizers. They help me separate what I need, find things quickly and repack without rebuilding my suitcase every morning.
That becomes especially useful on multi-day trips.
My Little “You Never Know” Bag
Every woman has some version of this bag.
Mine happens to cross time zones.
I carry familiar everyday products I personally want available when I am away from home.
My bag has included things such as magnesium, Emergen-C, Benadryl, BC Powder, a sinus rinse kit, activated charcoal and pain-relief patches.
I call it my “you never know” bag because that is exactly what it is.
When I am thousands of miles from home, I like having familiar products available.
These are personal choices from my own routine. Your health needs, medications and appropriate products may differ.
The larger lesson is preparation.
Tea Is Coming With Me Too
My bag usually has Yogi Tea packets, honey sticks and ginger chews.
Those are simple comforts.
I can make tea in the hotel room. Honey sticks travel easily. Ginger chews are easy to throw into a bag.
Eventually you stop packing for the destination alone.
You start packing for yourself.
You know what makes you comfortable.
You know what you repeatedly end up buying when you leave yours at home.
You know what you are going to want at 11:30 at night when you are sitting in a hotel room with zero interest in going back outside.
So you bring it.
I Pack Something That Has Nothing to Do With Work
I carry colored pencils and a coloring book.
Of course I do.
@iammarenda How I start is also how I finish. ❤️Marenda #ColorWithMarenda
Coloring gives me something quiet to do during downtime that does not require working, answering anybody or staring at another screen.
Sometimes my brain needs somewhere else to go for a minute.
And Then There’s My Lunch Bag
Hot sauce.
Period.
There are some things I am willing to leave to chance.
Seasoning is not one of them.
What Years of Flying Have Taught Me About Packing
I used to think good packing meant remembering everything.
Now I think good packing means knowing yourself.
Ask yourself:
- What makes me comfortable?
- What do I repeatedly buy after leaving mine at home?
- What solves a problem I encounter again and again?
- What helps me settle into a hotel room after a long day?
- What gives me one less thing to think about?
That is how my three bags became what they are.
One trip.
One layover.
One forgotten charger.
One dry-lip situation.
One hotel room.
One “I wish I had brought…” at a time.
My Amazon list currently has 39 items, and I expect it to keep changing because I am still flying, still traveling and still finding products that earn their way into my bags.
So I am keeping the complete, updated collection in one place.
Shop What a Flight Attendant Actually Travels With
The best travel essential is the thing you are ridiculously happy you packed when you finally need it.
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