Spend five minutes talking to your seatmate – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

We’re accustomed to two extremes: the gregarious seatmate who talks through the whole flight, and the one who has his eyes closed from the start. Most of us prefer the latter, but we may be cheating ourselves out of a business contact or an interesting story.

In my opinion, here’s the best greeting to use to help find that middle ground:

Hi. Nice sitting with you. Would you mind giving me five minutes about you, then we can each read/work/listen to music/sleep, having had our lives enriched by knowing another interesting person.

You never know, you may wish you had a longer flight.

Sterilize baby bottles using the hotel room coffee machine – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Traveling with baby and need to sterilize bottles? Try this —

  1. Wash bottles, nipples and rings thoroughly using the hotel soap and hot running water.Rinse and set aside.
  2. Plug the bathroom sink. Place clean bottles, nipples and rings in sink.
  3. Fill the coffee machine with water and turn on (do not add coffee, tea or filter packets! Just water!).
  4. Let water heat up and fill the carafe.
  5. Pour hot water from the carafe over the bottles, nipples and rings.
  6. Repeat until the bottle items are completely submerged in hot water.
  7. Let sit for five or more minutes.
  8. Remove from water and use as needed.

The most efficient way to unpack – Packing tip

by Gadling Staff on

If you’re staying in a hotel for a week or less, don’t bother unpacking. Just use your suitcase as a drawer!

Never unpacking makes re-packing ridiculously easy, and you can be sure you haven’t left anything behind.

Leaving everything in your suitcase isn’t lazy, it’s smart! The only trick to this is keeping your suitcase organized throughout your stay. But how hard is that? Just keep you r clothes packed and resting neatly in your bag, and you’re golden.

Breathe easy with an electronic air filter – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Many hotel rooms have windows that don’t open, or that can’t be opened out of safety concerns. Such rooms may be perfectly clean, but they still tend to smell stale or musty. There also can be a hint of smoke in the air, even in a non-smoking area.

I used to ask to be moved to another room, but they were all the same! I’ve learned to ask instead for an electronic air filter I can plug in. Overseas, I might ask for a floor fan. Both work fast and do wonders to circulate and clear the air.

Bonus: both these items provide restful background “white noise.”

Don’t forget toiletries – Packing tip

by Gadling Staff on

On the morning of a trip, I keep my toiletry bag with me as I get dressed. After I use each item that morning, I simply drop each into the bag.

This eliminates my taking things that I probably will not need — and makes sure basics like my eyebrow pencil or my toothbrush is not left behind.

Before I zip the bag, I can always add in a few extras, drop in my jewelry pill box, and that bag has almost packed itself!