My Non-Negotiable Essentials Packing List

You can laugh at me if you want, but these safety and stress-reducing essentials come along when traveling w. my family to a house or on my own to a hotel.

If you like to be be prepared, but travel lean-and-mean, you’re going to love this list.

We’re heading up to Highlands, North Carolina for a chunk of July, which has become our summer tradition for the past few years. As an upscale little mountain enclave, the town will be busy over Fourth of July, but I know exactly what to expect since we rent the same house each visit.

And, as a true Virgo, I can relax and be spontaneous when I know the playing field and prepare (“tell me the rule so I know when to break it,” you know?). I therefore have a packing list of items that turn a rental home or hotel room into our own. Having these problem-solving items on hand allows me to mentally turn off, and I want to share that with you.

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(1) These three-pack carbon monoxide detectors. Whether sleeping in a rental house or hotel room, I want to wake up the next morning to drink my coffee and be annoyed by the emotionally needy dog. Who knows if the room I’m sleeping in has a functioning detector, so just bring your own and plug it into an outlet. This is a non-negotiable for any room your child is sleeping in when traveling, too, so get a pack of three.

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(2) This swim dress is perfect for a summer day on the go when you want to enjoy splashing around, but also don’t want to be fully exposed in a typical swimsuit. Pool time followed by lunch, roaming around the splash pad, family back yard gatherings, shopping on the way home from the beach… Throw on a white button down shirt over it and a sun hat, and so chic. I am a big fan of mine and it’s a stress-free option to have on hand.

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(3) This emergency & first aid kit. Everything from a flashlight, camping knife, band-aids, wire saw, tweezers, gloves, thermal blanket and more fits snugly inside this compact little “Rhino” case. I keep one in my car, and have a second one on hand.

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(4) The L.L. Bean boat bag in size “large” with “regular” handles. I like to group like things together so that when we’re on a long car ride I am not digging around inside a Mary Poppins bag for something specific. I like a zip-top canvas bag to house all of our road trip snacks—bars, pouches, popcorn, crackers, juice boxes, water bottles, not to mention a roll of paper towels, a pack of hand wipes, and anything else you need to get through a day of travel with as few stops as possible. Get it embroidered in the pretty cursive font as a wink to yourself.

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(5) This power outage alarm. We have one plugged into the wall in our bedroom so that if the power goes out in the house, we are made aware. This is especially helpful when the temperatures are very hot or cold, and you would want to be aware if the air conditioning or heat cut out for a long period of time during the night. (Cough cough, if you have mom anxiety that your baby is too hot or cold this is a handy tool in addition to the thermostat sensor.)

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(6) These door stop alarms give me an extra layer of peace when staying in a rental home (assurances aside, who knows how many people have a key) and hotel rooms (just basic hotel safety at this point). Especially if we are in a hotel suite with Cosima sleeping out of my eyesight, I like any external door in that room she’s in to have an alarm.

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(7) The Bugaboo Butterfly travel stroller. I thought I could get away with a cheaper dupe, but once we put it to use, it became clear that it had to be donate to make room for the real deal. In my extensive research, the Butterfly has the longest area, from top of the seat to end of the footrest, making it best for fully reclined napping. It also has a canopy that unzips and extends in a few different ways, making it the best to pull all the way down for privacy and shade to fall asleep on the go. For a long and lean toddler, especially, this model is the best in my opinion. The utility of a travel stroller is to allow you to stay out and about enjoying your day and not go in for nap time, so get one that they’ll snooze in while you eat lunch at an outdoor cafe.

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Are you going to follow along on our July vacation? I’ll share it on Instagram and hope you’ll join. Let me know if you are heading anywhere, too!

xxBlaise