Sifting through years of accumulated travel accessories, I realised how much time, energy, and money are wasted on things I don’t need.
The more I travel, the better I become at figuring out which travel accessories are needed and which are tools to help me remain eco-friendly on the move. More importantly though, I have figured out which are now essential to me.
Before I share my travel must-haves, I want to take a quick step back and define what makes an item an essential travel accessory in the first place. For me, it's versatility first every time. The more uses and benefits an accessory has, the higher value it has for my adventures. This is in addition to durability and reliability obviously. Trust me, you do not want to be 5,000 km away from home, in the middle of the night, and have your gear fail you!
Now that the criteria are out of the way, here are my ultimate essentials in travel accessories:
-
A reliable reusable shopping bag
I have one of those tiny ones that basically expands to fit an entire market into it and I must say, I derive so much pleasure from refusing plastic bags over and over again.
-
Containers are everything
Any leak in any bag will dampen even the best of days. To make sure it never happens to me (again), I come prepared instead of relying on wrapping things in shopping bags last minute. I have my trusty water-proof plastic containers that fit my essentials that are likely to be wet as well as items I want to protect from wetness.
-
Eco-friendly sunscreen
It’s really easy to take this one for granted. I make sure I never have to buy a last minute tube from a random market when I’m travelling. I can never get the image of that thin film of chemicals floating on the surface of the water. Check your ingredients and make sure your sunscreen isn’t causing any sea animals any harm.
-
A solid power bank
Invest in a good one. With phones acting as guides, maps, translators, and alarms, you never want to be in foreign land without your phone. Ever! Now I know that power banks aren’t exactly known as sustainable products, but they can be when you always have your phone ready to translate ingredients on packaging or phrases like “no plastic please”.
-
Loch products, obviously!
It comes as no surprise Loch Life has made it on my list. After all, travel and being on the go was a huge inspiration for starting these durable water bottles and their recycled-plastic carry straps. Either way, I can never undervalue the ability to have a cold sip whenever and wherever. It is mood-altering and nourishing while easy to carry around, without ever relying on anyone else for my own hydration.
