Why Febreze? I packed some toilet seat covers in a tiny package from Target. They fit in my money pouch. More than once they came in handy and can take the place of TP in a desperate pinch.

Febreeze because I packed light and didn't do laundry every night. A quick spritz and I got another day of wear out of my wardrobe.

Also handy for not-so-fresh hostel linens.

After two days in a hostel most of the other guests smelled like a runny French cheese. Not me.

Great for shoes too.

We found 2oz spray bottles of Febreze at the checkout counter in our Walmart and bought one for each of us for our upcoming trip. Will pack in our quart sized ziplock carryon.

Thanks so much for posting this. My list of things to take is getting longer, but I would rather have the tings that i need there :)

As for scissors - didnt you take any in your first aid kit??

The only way to get scissors through security is to put in a checked-in bag. I always take a pair of small old ones as they always come in handy and I always takae tweezers as well.

Heh - that's another one. My first aid kit consisted of a few band-aids, some Tylenol, some Immodium, and some moleskin (which wasn't much use without scissors to cut it into usable pieces). The only thing I had any need for was the moleskin - My poor roommate had the biggest blister i have ever seen. It looked like he was smuggling a water balloon.

Cut the moleskin into bandage size pieces before you go. Will school scissors be acceptable? Useless, but acceptable?

According to the TSA website, under the heading of Sharp Objects, "metal scissors with pointed tips, and blades shorter than 4 inches are allowed in carry-on and checked baggage if sheathed or wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and inspectors." I took along a pair of manicure size scissors in my carry-on without incident on my last transatlantic flight. I don't know what the security regulations are in all European airports in regard to this, however.

A corkscrew! I was too cheap to buy one and ended up pushing in more then a few corks along the way.

Pete

I had my nail scissors taken away from me by Security at CDG as I was flying to London. I was
furious at myself as I should have put them in my checked bag.

Above all other things I learned on our first trip, take a washcloth. For some reason, the European hotels hardly ever offer them. Air out and dry after use and if you need to travel, stick it in a zip-loc bag. The zip bags were the best thing invented for travelers.

I cover a lot of your list by buying a swiss army knife when I arrive (can't carry one post 9/11). I give it away before I come home.

A couple of dryer sheets in my bag to help keep things smelling fresh.

The hotel size sewing kit (I still haven't used it, but I'm sure the time I don't bring it will be the time I need it).

Bring a partial roll of duct tape for emergency repairs (a full roll is too much to carry, fold the center so it packs flat).

A tiny LED flashlight works well for anything from late night bathroom trips at the hostel and reading your bill in a dark restaurant to exploring dark parts of castle ruins.

Those pre-soaped face cloths from Dove. They are disposable, and give you a clean washcloth every morning when you shower, and you don't have to pack something wet every day.

Baby wipes or something similar - convienent for cleaning up when wash facilities are not available or are not appealing.

One thing we find invaluable when traveling to hot climes is a spray bottle - almost like a windex bottle but much smaller. Fill it with water and it puts out a fine mist - an easy way to keep cool.

Also a set of plastic forks/spoons/knives since a lot of places in Europe do not provide these when doing 'take away'.

I have learned to pack some napkins. I tend to get an evening meal that I can take back to my hotel room, and I've found that Europeans are stingy about giving out napkins: I've only ever been given one of those thin, rectangular diner napkins. I can always find other uses for napkins too, including using them to wrap up small breakable things in my luggage.

I admit to a slight addiction to gadgets. Especially multi-function ones. Like Swiss Army Knife and Leatherman tools. My latest is a "Spork" that I first saw on-line but also found it in the camping section of Wal-Mart. It is plastic with a spoon on one end and fork/knife on the other end. The 4 tine fork has serrations on 1 of the tines. Probably wouldn't cut steak but doesn't weigh much nor take as much space as 3 separate pieces.

We were very thankful for duct tape and a sewing kit. We had a couple repairs throughout our journey. I wish I would have packed chapstick, I got sick halfway through and was in a small German town trying to find it. Very thankful I packed dayquil and nightquil. Toilet paper was also a smart pack.

I take a small prescription bottle (lable removed) filled with baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). It can ease heartburn, stop an itch, and sub as toothpaste in a pinch. It can also clean things or sub for baby powder, if needed. I also take a baggie of plastic utensils, napkins, twist ties, rubber bands and paper clips as well as a good assortment of various sized ziplocs for picnics and snacks! It is one of my "prepacked" bags that stay in my suitcase at all times.

Reference above:

"blades shorter than 4 inches are allowed in carry-on"

I've got a small Swiss Army utilipenknife with a blade that is 1.5" long, a scissor, file toothpick, tweezer. I use it so often I'd just like to keep it in my pocket when traveling. Has anyone had any experience where an item like this has been allowed to be carried onboard a plane?

Guy...they're referring to the length of blunt scissor blades allowed, not knives. The Swiss Army knife will never make it past security.

Guy: Norm knows his TSA regulations. I just wanted to add that I can tell you from personal experience that TSA regulations prohibit any knife in carry-on or in your pocket "except for plastic or round bladed butter knives." The "blades shorter than 4 inches" wording is only for scissors. Once (here in the US) I forgot that my small Swiss army knife was still in the day bag that I was carrying on. The knife was seized and I noticed the TSA person was looking at me in a different way, sizing me up. Later I realized that, to them, trying to carry any kind of knife through a security checkpoint, whether deliberate or accidental, is in a different category than forgetting that your water bottle is in your carry on. It's up to the discretion of the TSA person whether they make a big deal about it or not, they probably wouldn't but they could.

Thanks for the clarification folks. I'll do as I have in the past and put it in the checked bag. What is really ludicrous is how much more damage could be caused by the blades of a 4 inch scissors. There are so many more things that could be brought on a plane that would be much more dangerous than a penknife.

Guy, I had a small 3-1/2 inch phillips screwdriver taken away from me at RDU......I doubt the knife would make it.

More socks and more underwear. They take up virtually no room and then you don't have to wash them as often.

I have always carried a pair of blunt, child sized, school scissors. I've only been stopped for them once by security and when he saw they were blunt, he let me go through. I carry them because I crochet and need to cut the yarn on the plane a lot. If a security person ever wants to take them away, who cares?! They're less than a buck.

I carry a pair of small very sharp, pointy scissors every week when I travel and have no problems and have never been stopped by the TSA.

I'll stop and ask the TSA person when I'm at the airport next week about the small swiss army knives -I would love for these to be ok but based on previous responses would think not. However, even if ok in the US, you could run into problems in Europe if you have connecting flights there.

I was in Germany on 9/11, up to that point I always carried a Swiss Army Knife in my carry on. I flew home at the end of the month. When I unpacked I realized I still had my knife in my carry on. Since then I don't try (and wouldn't then if I had thought about it). I would be really happy if they allowed them in carry on, but I'm not expecting it.

I forgot to pack a small calculator my first trip. I remembered it for the next trip and also created a reference card with the current conversion Euros to dollars for each bill denomination.I was able to keep true to my budget a bit better.

Yes, a calculator! I also take along a large envelope and a couple sheets of lined paper. I put all my receipts in the envelope and daily tally up what I've spent. It comes in handy later when filling out the U.S. Customs declaration.

So many of my souvineers were flat-postcards, pictures from museums, etc. I'd taken a large brown envelope, but next time I'll take a piece of cardboard so stuff doesn't bend in the suitcase.

What I'll leave behind next time-slippers. Somehow I thought I'd be squeamish about being barefoot in a hotel room. Never even thought to use them.

Bubble wrap - it packs flat and is useful if you purchase breakable souvenirs. I have also started including a small to medium, lightweight, hard plastic box to keep smaller breakables in when traveling between cities. I pack it full of snacks or something else that will be used up as I travel. It also helps keep up with smaller purchased bits too. If I don't need it for the intended purpose, it still can be packed with regular stuff instead.