Packing these kitchen tools, supplies, and staples will make meals easier when you’re traveling.
My family just spent a couple days at the beach here in North Carolina, and in that time we had to go to the grocery store three separate times.
It seems like we’re all destined to forget to pack a few things any time we travel. Despite being the kind of person who constantly has food on their mind — and who planned out not only meals we’d cook but also researched restaurants in advance of this trip — I still managed to forget so many key things.
It isn’t that we don’t have experience traveling. A big part of the issue is that rentals like Airbnb used to function more as actual homes rather than hastily thrown together moneymakers with only the bare minimum of essentials included. If you’ve stayed at an Airbnb or similar rental spot for more than a couple days in a row in recent years, you probably ran out of toilet paper. Maybe also paper towels, or went to use the grill outside only to realize the propane tank was empty and nobody had bothered to buy a grill brush.
Each place you stay is different, of course, and your ability to bring things with you varies pretty significantly depending on how you’re getting to your destination. (I wouldn’t pack a single one of these things if I were flying, for example.)
But if you have space in the car for your next road trip and want to save both money and time on your vacation, here are 10 kitchen things I’ve either regularly forgotten to pack or been so grateful that I remembered.
1. Dish detergent or pods
It’s a pretty rude awakening to realize that your Airbnb or rental host has only left you with two pods for running the dishwasher. That’s exactly what happened our first night down at the beach. And like most every rental we’ve ever stayed at, the host here expected us to run the dishwasher with any remaining dirty dishes and silverware when we left, meaning we’d only have enough detergent to get through one other wash for our three-night stay.
The easiest thing to do is just grab whatever you use at home and bring it with. Pods obviously take up less space in your luggage, making them more appealing, and you’ll know exactly how many loads you can run.
Just keep in mind that some places have a tiny efficiency-size dishwasher, meaning you might be forced to run more loads than normal.
2. Tupperware
I’m using the brand name loosely here, but any sort of food storage container is clutch when you’re traveling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rental that came stocked with Tupperware, and yet I can promise you I’ll need one every time I travel, whether it’s to keep leftovers good for longer in the fridge or to easily bring something like cold pasta salad or watermelon down to the beach.
3. Trash bags
Just like the dish detergent, our host only stocked us with one trash bag (besides the one in the can). One of my late night grocery store runs was only for those two items, and while we were fortunately only 10 minutes from a store, that’s not always the case. We’ve often stayed at a more remote cabin in the mountains, and an excursion like this would’ve taken more than an hour round-trip. Not exactly a restful way to spend your precious time off.
Besides their most obvious usage, trash bags are also a great way to collect the contents of your exploded luggage. We used a few to store damp beach towels and dirty clothes to be washed once we got home, and some sandy beach toys went in another to be hosed off upon our return.
4. Cooking oil
It’s a coin toss whether your rental will have some sort of cooking oil — or a pantry of any kind at all. Increasingly, it seems like the odds are not in your favor, and they weren’t in ours this time. Fortunately I’d planned ahead and stuck our olive oil into the car.
5. Spices and sauces
For the same reason, packing spices and sauces can be the difference between all your vacation meals tasting bland or perfect, or at least save you from having duplicate open ketchup bottles once you get home.
We were grilling burgers and brought ketchup and mustard with us, and fortunately we threw salt, pepper, and a few other spices in with our things as well, because this rental lacked even the essentials.
That’s not always the case, of course — we’ve lucked out with fully stocked pantries a few times, and even experimented with some spices that previous travelers likely left in the cabinet. You often can’t tell in advance what you’ll get (if anything), though the instructions may tip you off — this place made clear we should remove everything from the fridge when we checked out, suggesting to me we would need to bring everything we needed, too.
6. Ziploc bags
Again, using the brand name to mean any sort of zip-top bags. Whether you’re bagging some trail mix for a hike or saving leftovers from your kid’s breakfast, having a resealable bag (or 20) is crucial. Even better if it’s reusable.
You can also fill a Ziploc bag with ice and use it to keep food and drinks cold in a cooler without getting water everywhere when the ice melts. Or store leftovers. Or myriad other uses like saving shells from the beach.
7. Wine bottle stopper
If you’re planning to drink wine, don’t forget you’ll need an opener and — maybe — a wine bottle stopper.
My wife and I are at the age where we’re almost never drinking to get drunk, and I can’t remember the last time we finished a bottle of wine the same night we opened it (unless we were with friends or family). In my experience, most rentals have had a wine opener, but I still recommend packing one just in case. But at least twice I’ve needed to go out and buy a stopper, which is honestly infuriating because we have far too many at home.
I’ve always left these at the rental hoping a future guest will benefit (and because a millionth one at home will drive me mad) but again, don’t count on finding one. The same may be true for a regular bottle opener if you’re drinking bottled beer or something similar.
8. Ice packs
If you’re reading this in the summertime, chances are you’ve already considered ice packs to throw in a cooler to bring on your outdoor excursions. Or maybe you’ve packed a couple to keep food or drinks cold on the drive to wherever you’re headed. But it’s worth mentioning ice packs as one of those kitchen staples that you almost certainly will not find at any rental unit. Plus, they’re precisely the kind of thing that would be annoying to either go without or buy in duplicate.
9. Chip clips
Yes, you could dump all the Doritos into a Ziploc bag after opening, but why not just pack a clip or two in your things? Like clockwork, I know my wife will want Ruffles and French onion dip for any sort of outdoor entertaining, backyard summer meals, or beach time. And so I should’ve thought to toss a chip clip of some kind in our stuff. I didn’t. And I refused to buy more, so we went without. But they’re so small and versatile, just make your life easier and bring ’em.
10. Paper towels
Not sure this one really needs to be explained. Yet again, it’s the kind of thing some rentals won’t even provide a backup for besides the roll on the countertop dispenser. And maybe you’re the kind of person who’s really good about using hand towels instead (in which case, you’ll probably need to pack a few of those).
With a toddler in our family, the amount of spills are infinitely higher. Paper towels become essential when milk spills on the couch, strawberries are thrown on the floor, or something oily comes out of the pan. And you’re not at home — that’s the whole point — so you don’t have all your normal cleaning tools and solutions on hand.
Bonus: Water filter. It didn’t make the list because it’s too bulky for me to ever pack, but it’s not always advisable to drink the tap water where you’re traveling and you may want to bring the Brita. At some stays, there’s been one on hand.
We often end up buying bottled water, and all that single-use plastic is such a waste, especially when far too many rentals I’ve encountered don’t even have recycling. You know, I’m kinda talking myself into packing a water filter as I type this. What about you?