Traveling brings out the stress in me. I hate packing a carry-on bag, along with a personal bag. I’m not a fan of being away from my kids. Germs in the airplane cabin doesn’t excite me.. I wish the world would figure out how to teleport human beings…..it would be much less stressful. Plus, if I could teleport, I’d be home after each day of my conference to tuck the kids into bed. It also means I’d be there in the morning to bring them to school, then zip back onto my little teleporter back to California. But I can’t do that, no one can……so I’m stuck flying with my carry-on, and thank you to Southwest, my personal bag. Now, what to put in a personal bag for the plane ride?

Personal items for the personal bag

For starters, every person has different things for her personal bag. It’s the very essence of a personal bag, isn’t it? You put the stuff that’s personal to you, as well as what gets you through the flight without wanting to jump out the emergency doors. In my case, the first thing might be a little “calming pill.” Anyone else, it might be a favorite book on their Kindle Reader. Poh-tay-toh, po-tah-toh.

However, there’s other personal items one might not think about when loading up a personal bag. If you’re not checking any bags, and only doing a carry-on with a personal item, it’s easy to forget some items!

Here’s what goes in my personal bag I bought (isn’t he beautiful – yes, it’s a boy:)

Camera.

I know a lot of people can slip their camera into their jacket pocket, or in the front of their carry-on bag. However, my camera is a little larger. It’s a DSLR and it needs a special bag. My Silhouette Bag is actually a camera bag. It’s gorgeous, it looks like a fantastic designer hand bag, but it’s a camera bag. If you love it, but don’t have a camera, you can use it as a hand bag – the inserts for the camera parts can be taken out. It’s just velcro. SUPER AWESOME!

iPad.

Now, this could also easily slip into your carry-on’s front pocket. However, I don’t feel like getting up all through the flight to get my iPad, and I certainly don’t want to have to touch my carry-on once it’s up in the overhead bin. NO THANKS. There’s a nifty little pocket that my iPad fits into in my new camera bag. LOVE IT.

Charger.

My charger is the myCharge HUB6000 and it is awesome. I can charge my phone, along with my iPad all at once. No cords to deal with. Just plug it in, charge it, and then plug your items into it to charge once the unit is all charged up. When I go anywhere, I plug it in, charge it up to the fullest. It allows me to charge my electronics the whole day, and then I plug it back in at night to get the unit ready for the next day of mobility!

Headphones.

I figure it’s courteous to wear headphones while using my iPad. I don’t know if everyone on the plane really wants to listen to the soundtrack to Pitch Perfect over and over and over during a long flight.

Medications.

I’m going to get all shnickered up on calming pills for my flight, and I need them close to me just in case the feeling of calm starts to wear-off. Now, I won’t go as far as Anne Heche in Six Days Seven Nights and grab the pilot’s microphone and start screaming Kmart specials into the mic…..at least, let’s hope not. I also take a few pills with meals that I eat, so I need to have those close by, as well.

Light sweater, or a wrap.

Planes can get chilly. Even though I’ll have my awesome new Scottevest Jacket to wear, it’s just too warm of a coat to throw on for a flight across the country. I just need something light. The coat I’ll probably roll up and use as a pillow! KIDDING. I’ll have tons of stuff in the 17 pockets of that coat!

Tissues, Wipes, hand sanitizer wipes, and lady-type items. 

Even if I’m not traveling with kids, I’m still going to need tissues, wipes, and individually wrapped hand sanitizer wipes. I can’t always get to a sink, and I like to keep my hands as germ free as I can. Plus, you  just never know when lady-type items might come in handy……sometimes a girl’s calculating is wrong. Stress brings on things. You just never know, so BE PREPARED.

Camera charger & extra memory card.

The camera charger is a bit different than the other charger for my phone, and iPad. It’s got to be brought, as I plan on snapping a ton of photos. Heck, man. I’m going to DisneyLand! Plus I’m seeing my cousin. The extra memory card is super important, too. I don’t want to get caught without enough memory on my camera!

Why didn’t I include these items in my personal bag?

You might be looking at the list and asking yourself, “what about her phone, wallet, and her boarding pass, and something to do on the plane?” I’ve got that covered, trust me. All of my super important items, such as my wallet, keys, chapstick, and boarding pass will go in the pockets of my SeV Lola Puffer Jacket. It’s got 17 pockets, and I’ll be using all of them.

The keys, wallet, and phone will be in smaller pockets. I’ve got a larger one for the boarding pass. I even have room for my ear buds in the collar of  my jacket…..LOVE IT. There’s a spot for a small tablet, too. My iPad is a little too big for that pocket, which is why it’ll end up in my personal bag.

Things to do on the plane will be loaded up onto the iPad, as well as my smartphone. Fun games, things to read, and all my social media. It’s all good. However, in my pockets I will stash a pen, and a notebook. I always seem to need to write down thoughts, along with ideas when I’m on the go. It’s also going to be one of the few times I don’t have a child asking me a million questions, and I will be able to form a thought and have time to write it down. Foreign concept, as my kids are with me 24/7 when not in school. Since I work from home, I don’t really get time to just put thoughts on paper – I have posts to write, and clients to meet. Pen to paper will be kind of a luxury……

So, did I miss anything? What else should I put in my personal bag? Ideas are welcome, because as we all know, I haven’t flown in about 7 years……I need all the help I can get!