The 2 best things to carry when traveling with kids

Blu-tack sticking toys to the wall – it may seem silly, but when you have very limited amount of toys, it makes a world of difference

While traveling, it’s always best to carry things that are multifunctional, right? It’s been one thing on my mind constantly – before we started the journey and now, every time we pack.
Not everything can have more than one function: I mean, what else can a nail clipper do? (in time, I’ve seen people use it to cut strings, but I do it with my hands, so….)

That’s why it’s important to carry as many multi-functional tools as one can. That allows us to travel carry on only, even with 4 kids.

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The best things we brought on this trip with kids

We did consciously choose whatever we could that would be useful in more than one way, but there are 2 things that we brought just because I wanted to and they have proven to be extra useful: BLUTACK and COCONUT OIL.

Coconut oil

Coconut Oil is super useful, we all know. Also, it’s healthy. We brought it because I drink it with my tea in the mornings. Try it, it’s super good.

But I also use it as:

• moisturizer. I love it. I like to take it to the shower and put it all over my face and body and rinse. It’s super moisturizing and the rinsing takes off the greasy feel. By the way, if you just let it sit on your skin for around 10~20 minutes, you’ll feel it setting into you and the greasy feel will go away anyway.
• hair cream. I can’t believe it took me so long to try it. I saturate my hair with it and leave for a few hours. After that, wash as usual and we get super shiny and soft hair. I also mix it with Melissa’s hair dye to get the tone of color she wants.
• oil in any recipe. It works perfectly for sweets, but it also works well to cook. It does leave some taste and smell, though, unless you buy the one that doesn’t taste or smell.
• toothpaste. I love it but the kids hate it. Just don’t put your toothbrush in the jar of coconut oil. Instead, take a teaspoon of oil and dab your toothbrush in it. Use the rest to moisturize your hands, or the tips of your hair, the area around your eyes….
• face and body wash. I’ve been trying to stop using soap for the last few years and coconut oil came in as a miracle. I’ve started using it, just a tiny bit, to wash my face and body. Of course, it doesn’t foam but it doesn’t dry out the skin, it has antibiotic properties, and it works great!
• deodorant. It sometimes works alone, but unless you don’t smell much (like me), you’ll need to add a few things to it to work. A few drops of lavender or tea tree oil, tapioca flour. shea butter if you want it solid.

Click here to find coconut oil prices on Amazon. (affiliate link)

Blu-tack working as phone holder

Blu-tack

Blu-tack was brought because we thought it might be useful for something (like putting the kids’ art on the walls without damaging either), and we had it so we brought it. It’s proven to be just so useful I can’t imagine not having it now. So far we’ve used it as:

• Blu-tack, to stick things on the walls, as planned.
• safety. In one of the houses we rented, they had this glass table that was broken on one corner. We couldn’t move it and it was really close to the sofa. I could see the kids’ bleeding feet every time I looked at that chipped table. All we had to do was make a ball of Blu-tack and stick it on the broken corner. It didn’t look good, but I’m glad to announce that nobody got hurt during our stay. It’s great for sharp corners in general, but also to prevent doors from banging.
• play dough. It’s not as soft, BUT it’s a lot easier to carry as it doesn’t need cases, it doesn’t dry up, and it isn’t oily or leave oil/color stains. Plus, it doesn’t stick to clothes, nails, hair. Just love it.
• as a phone stand. Really. Just make a ball, place it on the table, make a space on it for your phone and there you go. It works in the car, for a call, to watch videos, read recipes.
• as a door stopper. Works perfectly. Just put the ball of Blutack there and voi là. Make sure it’s a big enough ball of it, though.
• to keep keys where little hands can’t reach (and consequently, lose). In most places we’ve rented, the owners leave nice places to place the keys, but sometimes (mostly hostels or hotels) don’t, so we just stick a tiny piece of Blu-tack to the wall and, when we get back, stick the key there.

Click here to find out the latest prices for Blu-tack on Amazon (affiliate link)!

For you to pin it for later!

Do you have one life-saving weird object? Let us know in the comments!

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