The One Item Flight Attendants Are Saying You Must Pack For A Trip Abroad

Even if you're an expert flyer and travel aficionado, very few people can equal the flying hours of flight attendants. They have intense schedules and often very little time between flights. When traveling that much, you learn all the best, simple packing hacks to ensure the small number of items you carry stay clean and can be packed and unpacked easily. 

We all pack with the best intentions of keeping everything organized, but if you travel frequently, you know what can happen. You want to spend your time vacationing (or working), and you just don't have the time to give your suitcase and clothing the care they need on the way home from the trip. That can lead to some heartbreak and ruined items when you return home. Fear not though, because there's a simple flight attendant-approved travel hack that can keep your luggage and clothing cleaner than you expect. 

Flight attendant Lauren Loois's TikTok often gives hacks from the pro, and this one is pretty great. The idea is to take the disposable shower cap from the hotel you're staying in and wrap your dirty shoes in them. 

We've all been there. You're choosing which shoes to bring on vacation and end up narrowing it down to a few pairs. You throw them in your suitcase, but when you get to your destination and finally unpack, everything is dirty and stained. This shower cap hack is especially important (and a money saver) if you're traveling with work clothing that has to be dry-cleaned or even if you're just hoping to avoid having to do laundry while traveling. You can even bring a dryer sheet and throw it in the shower cap with your shoes so they don't transfer sweaty foot smell to your favorite sweater. 

Plus, when repacking for your trip home, you never know what you stepped in or what you're carrying back with you. This is much easier than washing your shoes with a hotel washcloth and waiting for them to dry while you rush to check out. You can even use the one you had on your head that's a little wet. Just shake off the water or rub it on a towel, then flip the dry side so it's facing out. Instant shoe bag. 

You can do so many things with these little free items, including wrapping them around damp bathing suits or socks that got wet in the rain. (They're easy to secure with a hair tie or a rubber band if you want to keep it sealed.) It's also another layer of protection for your toiletries if you're worried about them leaking, and you can even use it to wrap around small electronics like an extra charger for the same reason. 

RV Travel also recommended a great one, which is using it to hold ice from the ice machine at your hotel if you get injured or come down with a headache during the trip. If you're on a beach vacation and decide to bring a few shells home with you, wrap them up in a shower cap so you don't get sand on the rest of your things. Who knew shower caps could be so handy?