I know almost every blogger has shared a “what to put in your hospital bag” post when they are expecting but this one will be a little different because it’s not just for moms-to-be. This is more of a “life hack”. You see, my mama was a flight attendant before I was born and although growing up she shared one of the many amazing tips she learned during her tenure as a flight attendant, I am a natural born rebel and decided not to take her advice.
The tip my mom gave me was to keep your toiletries bag packed and ready to go at all times. Now, I would keep travel bottles of shampoo and conditioner and travel toothpaste in my toiletries bag but there were many items that I left out, like my toothbrush and deodorant.
This proved disastrous when I had my second child. I was two days over my due date and had been in labor all week. I went into my doctor’s office for a check-in and it was discovered that there was a potentially life-threatening emergency with my labor so I was sent over the hospital immediately to be induced.
The problem here was that even though my hospital bag was packed (at home) my toiletries bag was not packed all the way. I totally forgot about this detail when I sent my mom to my house to grab my hospital bag for me. I ended up with no deodorant, toothbrush, razor, or lotion.
Of course, my mama reminded me of her tip that she told me all about growing up so this time, I decided that I better listen to my mama, because heck she’s always right anyway. 😉 No w I keep all of our toiletries bags packed and ready to go complete with a travel toothbrush, travel deodorant, and even travel face lotion.
Most of what you see in my bag I have gotten for free online (including the razor) so very little of it cost me any money.
Being that it is summertime now, most stores have a ton of travel size products available making stocking up your toiletries bag easier.
What’s one of your favorite life hacks?
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- Cook at home. During our debt-free journey we NEVER went out to eat because we honestly couldn't afford it, and now, even though we could afford it, we still don't go out to eat that often. But I'll be honest, meal planning was such a struggle for me during that time, but it totally saved our budget when I did it effectively! I ended up using a meal planning service for about two years which helped me not only meal plan better, but also helped me to create wholesome, healthy, and delicious meals for my whole family! You can see all the details and try different meal plans based on your preferences here .
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- Switch Cell Phone Providers. One of the best things we did on the debt-free journey was to switch from our super expensive $150+ a month cell phone bill to a much more affordable plan! In fact, my cell phone bill is only $30 a month (my husband's plan is paid by his business)! Check out Mint Mobile here to see if you can save your family some money!
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I’ve always kept a travel size shampoo and conditioner in my toiletries bag, but you’re right, it would be handy to keep an entire bag packed. Yay for free samples! I will add that to my to-do list.
Oh yes Kristen! It definitely was something that I wished I had had when I was sitting in the hospital after giving birth with no toothbrush or deodorant….