What do you know? I’m actually a day ahead of schedule on my organization Wednesday post! I must be improving!

Last week we talked about making the airport experience a little less heinous (full post is here). In light of new revelations, add to that, SKIP THE FOOD! Anyway, I’ve polled my traveling expert friends far and wide (that’s Heather and Liz pictured above) for some packing tips and here’s what they came up with:

1) Call the Hotel Ahead of Time: Often times wherever you’re going, they’ll have a hair dryer, iron, toiletries, and more and more often, iPod docks and other amenities. Don’t be shy about calling the hotel to find out what they have – every little thing you don’t have to bring lightens your load (or makes extra room for that ridiculous pair of shoes you’re dying to bring but don’t have room for).

SIDE NOTE: Speaking of places to juice your iPhone, if you forget your phone charger, check with the front desk to see if any of the zillion chargers they have in lost and found will work for you.

2) Shop wrinkle-free. A lot of retail shops are now selling clothing that survives all kinds of rumpling without showing a single crease. Brooks Brothers, Land’s End, and Banana Republic carry wrinkle-free, to name a few.

3) Look up the weather before you leave so that you can plan your wardrobe accordingly.

4) What to Put in Your Rollaboard: Here is some three day layover packing advice from my friend Heather, who has been a flight attendant for 13 years.  I was rather shocked when I read this, as this girl is usually wearing hot pink or turquoise. It sounds like she is living a double life as a Goth on her layovers, where she logs a lot of time eating fish and chips at Irish pubs:

• Start with black for your base color and build from there. I always start with black.
• I carry the same “over the shoulder” bag on all of my layovers. Over the shoulder is key! You can always throw a small clutch in your bag for nighttime.
• I always like a little color so I always have a some kind of scarf in my bag. I have a great pair of wrinkle free black pants from Target (Merona) that go everywhere with me in the spring. I never take cotton because a lot of European hotels do not have irons.
• Black leggings + two or three shirts + flat black boots + sweater are my uniform when I’m exploring cities, and this combo can take me into evening hours.
• A rain resistant black trench. Buy one with a zip-out wool lining so you can use it year-round.
• For really fun nights out, I throw in a black, wrinkle-free dress.

5) What to Put in Your Carry-On, Whether You are Checking Bags or Not: Plan for this bag as if you know that your luggage is going to be lost – keep things you can’t afford to lose and things that will keep you dressed for 24 hours in here.

• Prescription meds
• Jewelry and Other Valuables
• Glasses and Sunglasses
• Cellphone and Charger
• Sweater, Hoodie or Scarf
• Pill bottle with aspirin, allergy meds, sleep-aids, etc.
• Entertainment – magazine, Soduku, book, iPod
• A Snack (see first paragraph)
• Extra undies and an extra shirt just in case your suitcase gets lost

6) Your Travel Outfit: You want to be comfortable, be able to brave the elements, and avoid foot fungus. So…

• Slip on Shoes. These help in security. Skip a belt if possible
• Easily Accessible Socks (if you aren’t already wearing them). People, going barefoot through security is DISGUSTING. What’s more disgusting is when Mr. Bunyon sitting next to me removes his stinky Top Siders ON THE PLANE and crosses his leg so that the offending foot is an inch from my leg and in my viewshed. No. No. NO! Keep your shoes on, or at the very least have socks!
• Loose Pants. Airline food and flying cause bloat. Make sure your midsection can expand a bit should you suffer from “jet belly.”
• Layers. Planes are saunas when you board, iceboxes about ten minutes after you take off. Shorts aren’t a great idea. Airline blankets are rare and gross – bring a sweater, hoodie, or large scarf/wrap in your carry on to combat the elements.

7) Have a Permanent Dop Kit. Keep it packed at all times so you can just throw it in your bag when you are ready to go. Loose the cutesy cosmetic bag, it’s all about the zip lock. Throw all of your liquids (3 ounces or less) into a zip lock bag and put it in an easily accessible outside pocket for security. Don’t bother wasting space on the items the hotel will have – lately, chances are their shampoo is nicer than yours! Also, use small, reusable 3 ounce bottles. When you get home and unpack, refill them from the large dispenser at home and throw the bag right back into your suitcase. This is cheaper than stockpiling small sizes from the drugstore, and easier on the environment.

How to Pack. O.K., we’ve got our permanent dop kit, our Goth layover clothes (just kidding Heather!), our wrinkle-free items and our wardrobe built around black shoes. Now how do we put it all in the suitcase?

• Shoes go in first across the bottom, heaviest first. You may to keep them in shoe bags if the soles are dirty. Like Heather said, build around a base of one color, like black or navy, and build around it. Sometimes you can find some shoes that will do double duty, like Merrill Mary Janes with the hiking boot-like sole. They look much cuter than sneakers but will keep you comfortable when you are exploring a new city. By the way, sorry guys, not much advice here for you, but seriously, do you do much besides throw some Dockers, a white button down and a razor in a bag?
• Stuff said shoes with small items like socks and jewelry. Remember that your valuable jewelry should be in your purse or on your body; never put it in a checked bag!
• Roll all of your clothes to make more room and prevent wrinkles.
• Try to incorporate that bulky sweater and/or jacket into your Travel Outfit to save room.

9) Let’s do a quick security review, so you are not that person the rest of us are rolling our eyes at. As you ready yourself to grab those plastic bins, make sure to:

• Remove belt and shoes
• Remove laptop from bag (sometimes this rule changes, but it seems to be weekly, so I just always take it out)
• Make sure you don’t have any metal on you – no coins or Blackberries in pockets, barrettes, etc. You should have taken care of this in the cab, but here’s your last shot
• Remove zip lock bag from easily accessible pocket
• Lately you are supposed to put away your boarding pass and I.D. before going through the GE full body invasive x-ray puffer scanner we have no privacy anymore machine, but that was a whole week ago when things were at “orange,” so this rule has probably changed by now.

Good Job! You are ready to go. And probably ready for a cocktail to help you block out that screaming baby behind you, that jackhole playing his DVD without headphones in front of you, and that other idignent jackhole yelling “but I’m a Million Miler!” in the aisle when he’s told his body-bag sized carry-on needs to be gate checked, and Mr. Bunyon’s foot aroma wafting up from a few inches away. Your a hero, you deserve a bad Bloody Mary, so I present…

BONUS SECTION: How to make flight attendants love you and bring you free drinks and snacks:

1) Look them in the eye and say please and thank you. Sadly, you’ll stand out by doing this.

2) As them if they want the US Weekly you just finished.

3) From Liz, flight attendant of 14 years:

To get free stuff just look the flight attendant in the eye….One eye not the creepy two eye stare.  No jokes either, they are rarely funny.  Sometimes loitering in the galley will force us to throw free snack boxes at people to get them to leave.

Thanks so much to Heather, Liz, Rupa, Jenn and Dad for their travel advice! If you have anything to add, please leave it in the comments section. Oh one other tip I got from Rupa really made me laugh. She says if you are with family to milk that stroller for all it’s worth. The whole family can get in the special assistance security line and likely board the plane first.