The Essential Items You’ll Almost Always Forget To Pack

Last updated: 29 July 2023

You’re either a list packer or you’re not.  There’s no right or wrong way to pack a bag however one thing is certain.  There are items you’ll almost always forget.  

I confess I rely heavily on my trusty packing list.  Categorised by season, it’s seen me through many many trips. It’s the same packing list that I’ve seen Russ roll his eyes at but when we’re on a trip and he needs a spare pair of gloves, you know who he’s going to ask 😉

I’m not perfect, I’m very aware of that.  We’ve been on trips in the past where we haven’t used a packing list and these were pretty much the conversations we had over and over and over…

Where’s my charger? Have you seen my cable? Do you know where my sunnies are? Did you pack the battery pack? Did we only bring one pair of gloves?

Perhaps some of this sounds familiar? 

Despite being regular travellers there is a constant array of items we forget and seem to leave at home.  You might recognise some of these as items you too forget, or perhaps you have some of your own.  They all come with their own unique story or movie-length saga.  Some we’ve condensed into just a few paragraphs, some chronicles clearly deserve more time… 

Forgotten Item: The Memory Card

Something happens in my brain when I’m packing a bag. I pack my camera and charger but for some reason I never remember to actually check the camera! I always seem to leave my SD card plugged into my laptop.  

By the time we get to our destination,  I take out my camera and my heart sinks as I read those words “Card Not Found”.  

If this is yet to happen to you, may I wish you the best of luck finding an electronics or Currys on a remote island… Although maybe Amazon delivers there? 

Annoyance Factor: 😠😠😠😠😠

Forgotten Item: The Power Adapter

Flashback to our very first trip to Athens many years ago. I recall it vividly, our “boutique” hotel room had a shoddy air conditioner that dripped water into a bucket twice every second, all night long. 

As I rummaged through our bags to the beat of the drip, there it was, the annoying realisation that we couldn’t charge any electronic item because we’d forgotten our UK to EU power adaptors.  

So there we were, walking down every street near our hotel, looking for anything resembling a 7/11 only to fork out a ridiculously large amount of Euros for that essential piece of plastic to connect our chargers to the wall.  Perhaps if we’d been in a hostel or a decent hotel then they’d have had one we could borrow.  

Alas… it’s a lesson learnt, adapters now forever remain on the packing list.  

Annoyance Factor: 😡😡😡😡

Forgotten Item: The Sunglasses 

Back in Australia I wore sunglasses every day.  It was one of the few must-have everyday items which I carried around in my handbag.  I also had a spare ‘just in case’ pair stashed in the glovebox of my car.

Life in the UK is a bit different.  The sky is grey more often, summer doesn’t last as long. Sunglasses are the sort of item which sit on the shelf for months at a time, and are easily forgotten when you pack for a sunny vacation.

Of course that’s exactly what happened when we went on our recent trip to Australia.   Fortunately, they’re the sort of item that’s easily acquired so we just ordered some online and ta-da crisis averted!

Annoyance Factor: 😲😲😲

Forgotten Item: The Day Bag

It’s taken a few years of practice on weekend and short breaks, but I can finally do it. I can abide by the ridiculous luggage restrictions imposed by budget airlines and take ONE carry-on item on board.

Typically, everything goes well, until we arrive at our hotel to drop off our bags before heading out to explore the latest destination. Grabbing the essentials, phone, wallet, keys, maps, water bottle, chargers, and go to put them into a day bag…oh wait, where’s my day bag?! Dammit.

There was one time I actually BOUGHT a day bag, another few times where we’ve tested the fabric integrity of our pockets as you cram everything you want to carry into the teenie-tiny pockets they make in girls jeans.

Why are the pockets ALWAYS SO TINY?!

Solution? Load up your husbands pockets, or plan for your own forgetfulness. Osprey make these cute fold up backpacks which are ideal, only IF you can remember to pack it!

Annoyance Factor: 😣😣

Forgotten Item: The Lip Balm

Ok, so this one is either a massive issue or a minor inconvenience depending on when you realise you’ve forgotten it.

Situation 1: Landing at an airport and in need of lip smacker after hours of recycled dry air con blasting into your face.  Uh oh, it’s still sitting on your Don’t Forget It Countertop. That’s an annoyance factor of just 😐, after all you can still run to duty free and purchase new swish lippy at the airport. Excuse to shop? Potentially!

Situation 2: Standing on top of an Icelandic glacier with bitterly cold gale force winds hitting you face first.  Zapping any ounce of moisture you’ve ever had, your lips cracking and flaking by the second, you already know it’ll take MONTHS of daily care to nurture that pout back to rival Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.  

Annoyance factor: 😡😡😡😡

Forgotten Item: The Pen

Trust us when we say to pack a pen in your carry on.

All it took was a trip to Marrakesh for us to understand that a pen is ESSENTIAL.  So much so, we travel with multiple pens at all times ever since.

The Saga…

Our plane landed and we disembarked to the Marrakesh arrivals terminal.  There, along with a few hundred other people, we picked up a landing card and walked over to a desk to fill it in. Cue the dramatic music. There were no pens. Not a single one. Not even a lone piece of broken string chained to the desk to indicate the presence of a former pen.  

We weren’t alone in this saga.  A growing community of fellow travellers all searching for the reed.  Suffice to say, airport staff were less than helpful in this tale.  So there we were, stranded in purgatory, unable to complete a landing card and formally enter the country of Morocco.

There it was, like a shiny beacon of light, was ONE lone pen.  Being discreetly handed between passengers like some sort of prison contraband.   Rummaging through our bags, desperate to find something of value.  What did we have to trade? Could we BUY the pen?

Suffice to say, all’s well that ends well. We acquired said pen by whatever means necessary. From that day on, there is always more than one pen. One for you, and one to give away.  

Annoyance Factor: 😲😲😲

Forgotten Item: The Battery Pack

The only thing worse than realising that you’ve forgotten your phone cable is when you forget your battery pack.  You know that moment, sitting on the hour-long bus to your hotel and realising that you have 5% battery left. The panic of knowing you’re not going to have enough charge to navigate when you get to your bus stop? That’s when the chest pain starts and the cold sweat begins…

Both Russ and I have our own battery packs and we make sure that we carry them with us…now. All it takes is one trip when you don’t have them to make you appreciate just how much you use your phone and rely on them. That said, we love our tech and love remaining connected so trust us when we say, carry a CHARGED battery pack during your travels.  

Annoyance Factor: 😡😡😡😡

Forgotten Item: The Extra Socks

Why do I continue an extra pair of socks to be an essential item in a winter packing list? Well, because if you don’t then you can guarantee that you’re either going to step in a puddle deeper than you expect (Groundhog Day, anyone?!), you’re going to decide to go ice skating and step on ice whilst PUTTING ON your skates, or you decide to wear a pair of jeans that has the tiniest gap between your boots and then it starts raining…you KNOW where that water is going

A clean dry set of socks can be worth their weight in gold, carry them in your day bag!

Annoyance Factor: 😠😠😠😠😠

Your Say:

What’s the most essential item you forgot to pack?