Level up your trips with these tips.

We all have a friend who never gatekeeps her best tricks and who gives the best advice, so it’s worth looking up to them.

Allow me to introduce you to my friend and favorite flight attendant of all time, Lara.

With countless hours spent in the air, she perfected the art of packing her carry-ons.

She always has some items that she advises me to use on my trips. It happens that they are from the dollar store, so they are affordable for everybody and useful in ways you didn’t even think about.

Lara agreed to share her tips with the world, so sit back and relax to find out the must-haves for comfort and other clever hacks that may level up your traveling experience.

We got you covered.

1. Alcohol wipes

Obviously, alcohol wipes are the #1 help in sanitizing the place you’re sitting on. Not only the chair, but the armrests, the tray table, or the screens can be wiped down in a second, elevating your whole trip.

Another reason she uses alcohol wipes is that the scent of alcohol can be a real remedy for nausea. You can always have them as a backup in case of a turbulent flight, not only for yourself but also to help the passengers around you in case of need.

Turbulence can make everybody nervous, even a flight attendant living half of her life on a plane, so whenever you feel nauseous, grab a wipe and sniff it until it goes away.

2. Moisturizer

She can’t stress this enough! Keep yourself hydrated.

Traveling and plane trips are taking us out of our comfort zone, so our bodies are not going to be in the best conditions for a few hours. You can feel generally dehydrated, and yes, a flight can make your skin dry or cause you to feel all types of discomfort.

This is not only because the altitude is not our normal habitat, but also because you basically need to just sit down and not move for hours.

What Lara does all the time is that she buys little moisturizers from the $1 store, and she never leaves without them.

Hand cream from the dollar store helps her combat dry skin, comes in a small package, and can make her feel a sort of self-care gratitude that’s going to keep her in good energy for a little more time.

Another thing she does is prioritize hydration from the inside, which means drinking water with small sips so the body has time to assimilate it and use it properly.

3. A reusable water bottle from the dollar store

As I said before, staying hydrated is essential on a flight. It helps you with dry skin, headaches, and fatigue.

She always chooses to take a reusable water bottle with her, as she is also attentive to the environmental impact. You can always refill your water bottle during layovers, and make sure you have water all the time throughout your journey.

This is more convenient because you always have access to it, and you don’t need to wait for the in-flight services.
Of course, this is also cost-effective, and it’s coming from a flight attendant who considers the water bottles overpriced.

4. Hair tie

She always keeps a little set with her, which, of course, she got from the dollar store.

You can feel uncomfortable on the plane, but keeping your hair tied up can make your experience more pleasant as it keeps you cool, especially when boarding and deplaning. Hair is easily susceptible to smells and germs, so it’s also more hygienic not to have it tangled all over your face.

If you want to sleep, a hair tie will make it easier for you to rest.

It’s going to keep your hair in one place. Also, after a long flight, your appearance will quickly freshen up just by tying your hair up in a neat style.

Unexpectedly, a hair tie can be a versatile tool, and she used it for multiple purposes that you can try too: you can use it as a bookmark, a bag sealer, a hanging hook, a cable organizer, or a key ring.

This can also help you in a fashion way. You can rapidly improvise to fix and resize your loose clothes. It works excellent with a broken zipper, and you can even use it as a sunglasses holder.

5. Cord organizer

So many cords!!

Lara said she needs to take the charging cables with her —the Kindle charging cord, one for her laptop, one for her phone, and her cable earplugs, as she always seems to lose the Bluetooth ones.

This is how she realized, in time, that the best thing to keep her carry-on bag organized and not let them hang around and cross over would be to use a cord organizer.

She confessed that now she uses a professional one. If you’re interested in one, this is where you’ll find them.
But the real hack is this: in the beginning, she used a set of clips from the dollar store to keep her cords organized.

She still keeps the set of clips with her because she finds use in them all the time. For example, she uses them to hold together the hotel curtains, as she prefers to sleep in complete darkness.

However, you never know when you need to hold something in place, pack a bag of snacks, or secure your cosmetic purses and plastic bags.

6. Snacks

Talking about snacks? This is another thing she uses to buy from the dollar store.

She always keeps a bag of cutely packed candies, and she has a habit of gifting them to the other flight attendants when she is a traveler herself.

This is a small gesture she likes to do for her colleagues, but she knows she also likes to receive these types of little gifts when she’s at work.

So, because they are so affordable, you can always take some little things that would work as a pleasant unexpected gift from the dollar store to enlighten someone’s day, to give them to the people you travel with or to the staff in the hotels or where you spend your time.

This is something that can elevate your whole traveling atmosphere.

Other hacks from our flight attendant friend, Lara, would be:

• Keep a checklist on your phone—to not forget valuable things you packed in hotel rooms.
• Bring a scarf with you. It takes little to no space, and you can use it in multiple ways: as a blanket on the plane, to cover your head in case it’s too sunny or raining, to cover your shoulders, and generally to avoid any weather change inconvenience.
• She advises you to dress comfortably and move around to reduce the numbness.
• For long flights, it’s good to adjust your sleep schedule and align it with the destination.
• Don’t hesitate to bring with you as many entertaining elements as you can to bring you comfort and a little spice—maybe an eye mask and a neck pillow for sleep, your favorite music, and movies.
• Bring self-care items that keep you fresh in a little cosmetic case and boost your immune system with vitamins and supplements.

By the way, if you are concerned about what types of bags you should use as carry-ons on the plane, we have some suggestions for you.

If you liked our article about items to take with you from the dollar store, let’s keep it on a holiday note with our article about Steps to Revive Your Finances After Blowing Up Your Holiday Budget.