Highlights:
- “Extended” trips require different mindset
- TSA 3 oz or smaller in clear bag
- Can stock up in country, but toss half when depart
- Can buy multiple travel sizes, but take up lots of room
- Consider solids for shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, sunscreen, perfume, laundry detergent, etc.
When you finally get to the much anticipated point in time when you can start taking “extended” trips they are filled with wonderful opportunities to connect with locals, stay longer and truly immerse yourself in the local culture.
Let’s talk toiletries. A primary consideration on an extended trip, say a month or more is making them last the entire trip. With current TSA regulations, travelers are only allowed to bring liquids in 3 oz containers or smaller. I don’t know about you, but a travel size shampoo is not even going to last me 2 weeks, much less 2 months. ?
Consider items like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, laundry soap, etc. Perhaps one workaround might be to wait until you are in country to stock up on some of those essentials, get full size once you get there. However, you will likely be tossing half a bottle as you get ready to return home, plus the amount of room they take up in your suitcase as you migrate from location to location.
Another possible workaround is to buy multiples of the travel size, but again, these take up a lot of suitcase space, and all the little bottles plus other liquids must fit in ONE -quart size Ziplock bag at airport security. There is a story of one particular agent at Heathrow who became quite incensed and made us throw out quite a lot, when all our liquids wouldn’t fit in a single quart size plastic bag. But that’s a story for another time.
Solution number 3 is the sensibility of solids. Recently, we were able to buy a solid bar of shampoo, and another solid bar of conditioner at the store Lush in the US. They also have available on their website. If you are not near a Lush location, a quick search on Amazon yielded many results for “solid shampoo”. Much simpler to use a solid bar and carry it in a snack size Ziplock or plastic soap holder. Takes up less space in your suitcase too and does not have to be included in the ever full TSA quart size bag.
For Deodorant, there are several solid type deodorants available at most grocery or stores like Target or Walmart. A full size solid should still be OK going through security. It is a solid and should not count towards the quart bag TSA allotment.
The same is true for sunscreen. I was able to find a solid sunscreen that goes on clear, SPF 50, that was a solid, similar looking to deodorant. Simple and light. Two of my favorite things. ?
For laundry, we usually transfer some liquid to a small travel bottle. The liquid takes up less space than powder detergent will. Some folks have asked about the pod style detergent. To be honest, we have not used those, nor tried to get them through security. So I’m not sure how those would go. If you already use them, I would put 4 pods in a Zipper bag and give it a try. If it’s confiscated, you can re-up once you are in country. The downside with pods is there is no soap for handwashing things in the sink. (Personal preference)
Another consideration for extended stays is medications. Many of us now have medicine we must take daily. Request your GP in the US to write you a 90 day supply, or provide you with prescriptions you can have filled on your trip. Most western European countries have pharmacies that are similar to ours in the states. Therefore, if you have a prescription, they can fill it. However, if you are in a country very different from ours, or your medication is not very common, the less risky option is to fill it in the US and bring it along. We always bring about 4 or 5 days extra worth of medication because we have encountered delays on our return more than once, and didn’t want to be caught short and worried.
Blessed and safe travels!
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