Last Updated on November 10, 2019 by Natalie
I’m forgetful. I’m also a bit unorganized (maybe more than a bit). Even making lists doesn’t always save me from forgetting something crucial on my travels. What’s the one thing that everyone remembers to pack that would be ridiculous to forget?
I’ve forgotten it.
Do you ask yourself, “What am I forgetting to pack?”
Sometimes, I ask myself, “What am I forgetting to pack?” Other times, I don’t. I have improved my packing process and I’m more thorough. It helps that my kids are older now and not playing with the items I’m trying to put into a suitcase or backpack. They also love to pack their own suitcases for traveling. I still supervise and edit. We do typically travel carry on, so every bit of space is important.
The Most Ridiculous Things I’ve Forgotten to Pack
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First: Almost an International Nightmare
On our first international trip with kids, we went house hunting in Mexico. We were almost to the airport and my husband asked, “Did you pack the kids’ tablets?”
Horror washed over me as I replied, “No. Did you?”
“No, I forgot.”
At the time, it seemed like one of the worst things to forget. We were counting on them to entertain the kids when they got bored with the house hunting. Our house was too far from the airport to turn around for the tablets. All of us got through it somehow!
A staple for traveling with our kids is a great little tablet, like this one!
Second: Not-so-minty fresh
On the same trip, I also forgot to pack my toothbrush and toothpaste. While crucial, a toothbrush is easy and inexpensive to replace. A lot of hotels will provide one, if needed.
As ridiculous as this sounds, when I’m packing for trips, I have two little people helping me. By helping, I mean that they were emptying the suitcase and playing with it. When we got home from Mexico, I realized we’d left my daughter’s sneakers in the hotel room. Oops.
I also forgot a toothbrush a few years later, when we visited Huatulco, Mexico. I bought a new one at the Mexico City Airport. There’s no reason to mess around once we arrived at our resort, when I could purchase it during our long wait at the airport.
Third: Beach Hair Don’t Care
While in Puerto Vallarta, I realized that I’d forgotten my shampoo. Luckily, beach hair don’t care!
I cared enough to go buy more shampoo.
What makes this more ridiculous is that it was a road trip, so all I had to do was put my shampoo into my suitcase. That did not happen.
Fourth: Sun protection for the beach
I forgot to pack sunscreen and sunhats for our trip to Ixtapa, Mexico. Since it was December, I skipped the sunhats and easily remedied our lack of sunscreen with a visit to our resort’s gift shop. We also stayed out of the high midday sun.
Check out the safest sunscreens for kids and avoid my mistake!
Fifth: The mother of all ridiculous things to forget to pack
When we went to Newport, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, I forgot to pack my clothes.
Yes. Really.
I couldn’t believe it, either. With two kids helping me, I knew something would be overlooked. However, though they unpacked our bags two times, I did manage to pack my underthings. Luckily, that was a short overnight trip, so it wasn’t a big deal. It would’ve been a larger problem traveling internationally, than within my home state Ohio.
I also brought everything that the kids needed, which was really far more important.
That one time I remembered everything
When I realized our beach trip to Ixtapa, Mexico was almost back-to-back with our first USA home visit, I decided I must be more organized. I used one laundry basket for each trip and I packed well in advance. It helped that I was packing for beach weather for the first trip and winter weather for the second. I managed to remember everything I wanted to bring to Ohio.
I’m getting better at remembering everything and sometimes, I still pack too much or too little. Not having “enough” clothes is much easier, though, because I do wash clothes while traveling.
What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve forgotten while traveling? Was it easy to replace or not?
The Most Ridiculous Things I’ve Forgotten to Pack
This article was originally published on February 1, 2018
11 comments
Usually, we ensure that we have packed all essentials. We have a checklist which we tick off and this comes in useful especially on long trips. We have not had major packing disasters where we have forgotten important things. Some of the things that we have forgotten occasionally have been things like shades and power banks.
Ever since I’ve had kids, I forgot something on almost every trip! The one where I forgot clothes happened because they unpacked for me three times before we left.
Great that you managed to forget something (which you had a great memory to share), and luckily you could replace them in a local grocery….
I think it hurt me the most when I realized I forgot my camera…. ‘s battery (and I couldn’t find an electric store that sells the same battery for my Leica in Key West). sim card…., and phone charger (and then it costs US$100 to get a new one)… @ knycx.journeying
Those are definitely tough things to forget, as they are expensive or impossible to replace. I’d probably cry if I forgot my camera. However, forgetting clothes means all I have to do is go shopping to get another outfit.
Most of those things weren’t too bad. A lot of that is easy to pick up when you go elsewhere. Leaving the sneakers stinks. Forgetting your clothes is funny.
I agree! Of things I’ve forgotten, everything was easy to replace.
The great thing about today modern world is that no matter what we forget to pack we can always pick it up at our destination abliet maybe prescription medicines. Open borders and free trade markets make it easy if we forget
I know! It’s great! Most forgotten things while traveling are not a travesty.
I think i will be very sad if i forget to pack my drone along with! For other things like toiletries, I usually put it in a bag and just take the whole bag when I go travel. Although I know i can get it in any convenient market, why bother spending money on them when I can pack earlier?
What a fun post!
Forgetting your clothes is hilarious, but I would probably freak out!
I’m forgotten sunglasses, and international adapters. Once, when our son was 5 years old, we went to a rural island off the coast of Ireland. We took a ferry from Galway, and forgot our son’s teddy bear on the ship.
His favourite teddy bear!
He cried and cried! And it’s not as if I could buy another one ‘cos the island we were on was so rural, that no cars were allowed, we went around in a horse-drawn buggy, and a cow poked it’s head into our bedroom window!
Luckily, on the way back a few days later, the staff remembered us and how upset we had been, had searched the ship, found it, and kept it for us! Phew!
I am so thankful your story has a happy ending! The place sounds awesome, but I think it would be difficult with a very sad 5 year old 🙁 Currently, I can’t find my 5 year old son’s brown bunny. However, I know it is in my house somewhere and not lost at sea!