Labor Day weekend is summer’s last excuse to disappear for a few days, whether you’re headed to the beach, taking a road trip, or checking into a hotel simply because it has a pool.
So, we found the little travel essentials that make getting there considerably less annoying. Here are the Amazon finds we’d want along for the ride.
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1. Travel Bottles for Toiletries — $7.98
Full-size toiletries take up entirely too much room for a short weekend trip.
These compact travel bottles hold just enough shampoo, conditioner, and skincare without bringing your entire bathroom along for the ride.
2. The “Put Everything in Here” Pouch — $8
Passport. Wallet. Lip balm. AirPods. Hair tie. Hand sanitizer. Boarding pass. Gum. The hotel key you will lose at least once.
There should be one pouch in your personal item dedicated exclusively to the things you'll otherwise spend the entire trip digging around for.
It doesn't need 14 compartments or a complicated organizational system. It just needs to be the place where the important stuff goes.
3. The “Keep Your Shoes Away From Everything Else” Bag — $7.00
Shoes have touched airport bathrooms, sidewalks, gas stations, and whatever mysterious substance was on the hotel elevator floor.
They do not need to touch your clean white shirt.
A washable shoe pouch is not glamorous, but neither is unpacking and realizing the bottom of your sneaker spent the entire flight pressed against your pajamas.
4. A Refillable Water Bottle — $9.89
Buying a $7 bottle of water after airport security is a character-building experience we'd prefer not to repeat.
Bring an empty reusable bottle through security and fill it afterward. For road trips, toss it in the cupholder and congratulate yourself for remembering hydration before the gas-station Diet Coke entered the conversation.
5. A Hanging Toiletry Bag — $13.00
Hotel bathrooms are either enormous marble palaces or give you approximately four inches of counter space. There is seemingly no middle ground.
Enter the hanging toiletry bag.
Skincare, makeup, toothbrush, hair products, and all the tiny bottles you've transferred things into because apparently vacation requires an entirely separate miniature beauty department.
Hang it up, unzip it, and suddenly you have a portable bathroom cabinet.
6. A Pillow That Turns Into a Blanket — $16.00
We're officially retiring the travel pillow that pushes your head forward until you wake up confused, uncomfortable, and possibly in another time zone.
Look for something supportive that packs down relatively small and actually keeps your neck in a position a chiropractor wouldn't describe as concerning.
7. Packing Cubes — $16.00
We resisted packing cubes for an embarrassingly long time because, technically, isn't a suitcase already one giant packing cube?
We were wrong.
Separate tops, bottoms, underwear, swimsuits, and whatever collection of “maybe I'll wear this” outfits you've convinced yourself you need.
Bonus: opening your suitcase at the hotel without immediately creating a clothing avalanche feels suspiciously like having your life together
8. A Foldable Extra Tote — $15.95
You left home with one bag.
You are returning with three.
We don't make the rules.
A foldable tote takes almost no room in your suitcase on the way there and becomes extremely useful once you've acquired a sweatshirt, snacks, souvenirs, beach things, and one completely unnecessary purchase that felt very reasonable while on vacation.
9. A Compact Hair Dryer — $14.98
Sometimes hotels have a hair dryer. Sometimes they don’t. And sometimes the one attached to the bathroom wall feels like it has been there since 1997.
A compact hair dryer saves you from leaving your Labor Day hair up to chance. It’s small enough to tuck into your luggage but powerful enough to get you ready for dinner, brunch, or any occasion where “air-dried against my will” isn’t the aesthetic.
10. A Portable Charger — $22.98
There are certain situations in which 12% battery feels significantly more threatening.
An airport is one of them.
A road trip when your phone is responsible for directions, music, reservations, photos, texts, and determining where the nearest iced coffee lives is another.
A slim portable power bank belongs in the personal-item bag. No debate. We'd rather forget a pair of shoes than a charger.
One More Thing Before You Go Go
No, you don't need to buy an entirely new personality before taking a three-day trip.
The best travel essentials are the boring little things that eliminate annoyances: somewhere to put your cords, something to charge your phone, a way to keep your suitcase from exploding, and a tote for all the things you definitely weren't going to buy.
Pack those.
Then go enjoy the last long weekend of summer.
We'll deal with Tuesday when Tuesday gets here.