The Most Often Forgotten Items When Packing (and How to Stop Leaving Them Behind)

You’d think we’d learn, but chargers are the number one culprit. There’s something about that final morning rush—you unplug your phone, shove the charger into the wall “just for a quick top-up,” and then… leave without it.

I’ve done this more times than I care to admit. Once in Lisbon, I spent ages miming “iPhone cable” in a shop where nobody spoke English, only to walk out with the wrong one anyway.

💡 How to remember it: Keep a dedicated spare charger in your travel bag that never leaves. Yes, it means buying an extra, but trust me—it’s cheaper (and far less stressful) than panic-buying one at the airport.

Almost as bad as forgetting the charger is forgetting the adaptor. There’s nothing like arriving in Paris, ready to post your first Eiffel Tower selfie, only to discover your plug doesn’t fit the socket.

I once borrowed an adaptor from a fellow backpacker in Prague, only to realise it was for Australia. No use to me whatsoever—but I thanked him politely anyway.

💡 How to remember it: Invest in a universal travel adaptor. The good ones come with sliders and ports for every plug under the sun (and usually have USB slots too). Keep it tucked in your toiletries bag permanently—it’ll always be ready to go.

It’s always the toothbrush. Always. I think it’s because you use it right before you leave, so it’s sitting by the sink, quietly waiting to be forgotten.

On a trip to Madrid, I ended up buying a bright pink children’s toothbrush from a late-night pharmacy because it was all they had left. Not my most glamorous moment.

💡 How to remember it: Keep a small travel toothbrush kit packed at all times. You can even grab foldable versions that don’t take up much space. That way, even if your home toothbrush gets left behind, you’ll have a backup ready.

This one’s less funny. Forgetting medication can range from inconvenient to serious. Because meds are part of your daily routine, they’re often left out until the last minute—and that’s exactly when they get forgotten.

💡 How to remember it: Always pack your medication first, and always keep it in your hand luggage (not your checked bag). I even set a reminder on my phone the night before a trip: “Medication—don’t forget!”

I once went to Greece in August without sunglasses. Learn from my mistake. Not only was I squinting my way around Santorini, but I ended up buying a €2 knock-off pair that broke within 48 hours.

Sunglasses aren’t just about style—they’re about sanity, especially when you’re exploring a new city all day.

💡 How to remember it: Store them in a pocket of your hand luggage so they’re impossible to miss. Bonus: you’ll have them ready as soon as you land in sunny weather.

Airline-provided earbuds are… fine. But they don’t drown out that crying baby two rows back, and they certainly don’t make a long-haul flight feel any shorter.

Once, on a flight to New York, I realised I’d forgotten my headphones and ended up watching a badly dubbed rom-com with the flimsy free pair the airline handed out. Not my finest inflight entertainment experience.

💡 How to remember it: Keep a cheap spare pair in your bag at all times. They don’t need to be noise-cancelling wonders—just reliable.

Travelling is thirsty work. Planes are dehydrating, airports are expensive, and wandering a new city under the sun makes you realise just how much water you actually need. And yet, reusable bottles are often the first thing left behind.

On a trip to Japan, I left mine at home and ended up buying single-use bottles every day. I still cringe thinking about the waste (and the cost).

💡 How to remember it: Go for a collapsible bottle. It rolls up neatly in your bag and takes up very little space, making it much harder to forget.

Band-aids, painkillers, blister plasters—the small things you don’t think about until you desperately need them. Like the time I hiked around Florence in new sandals and had to line my feet with napkins until I found a pharmacy.

💡 How to remember it: Create a tiny “just in case” kit—painkillers, plasters, allergy tablets. Keep it in your suitcase permanently. It’s small but mighty.

Passports usually make it into your bag (though I once had a friend who left hers in a kitchen drawer—that was a fun morning). But photocopies or digital backups? Rarely remembered.

Having copies can save you endless stress if your passport or ID gets lost or stolen.

💡 How to remember it: Snap photos of your passport, insurance, and bookings, then email them to yourself. That way you can access them anywhere.

No matter how hot your destination, you’ll thank yourself for packing a jumper or scarf. Airports are chilly, flights even more so, and evenings in supposedly tropical spots can cool down faster than you think.

I once flew to Bali in the height of summer, smug in my sundress—only to shiver my way through a freezing overnight flight because I hadn’t packed a single warm layer. Lesson learned.

💡 How to remember it: Wear your warm layer on the plane. Not only will you be comfortable, but you also won’t risk leaving it behind.