trivial poll

[mrissa]

I was curious as I was packing my shampoo and conditioner while standing right next to the bathroom counter with unused hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

[Poll #938605]

Now mnfiddledragon says five more inches of snow at home this afternoon/early evening, and the Northwest website is being unhelpful. Well. We will go to the airport and hope for the best, and we have money, cell phones, books, and fruit leather. It's like we've done this before or something.

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Since they instituted the stupid three-ounce rule, I've generally taken my own stuff when I'm checking baggage, but used hotel stuff (or a friend's stuff) when not. I don't actually own three-ounce bottles of my stuff, or three-ounce bottles in which to put it -- though I might buy the latter soon, out of irritation.

[rosefox]

I travel a lot, hate checking luggage, and am very picky about my toiletries, so I invested in 3 oz. bottles. It's worth doing.

[orbitalmechanic.livejournal.com]

Although I didn't take my own shampoo to China, because I was trying super-hard to pack light and three weeks is a lot of shampoo.

[orbitalmechanic.livejournal.com]

Okay, BUT I did bring my own conditioner. Way more important.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Well, yah!

[columbina.livejournal.com]

Let's try this again and maybe LJ won't eat it this time.

I use dandruff shampoo, and anyway hotel shampoos always smell like stuff. I don't use conditioner.

Three ounces of shampoo is two applications for me. (I have a lot of hair.) On the other hand, I don't wash my hair every day. For short trips I am more likely to wash my hair before and after the trip and not take shampoo at all. For longer trips, I would probably be checking a suitcase anyway (I have complex feelings about carry-ons, their intended purpose, and their abuses, none of which are germane here) and I'd have a full-sized bottle of shampoo in it. Only in the case of a stay lasting exactly two washes of hair - which time period varies - would decanting shampoo into the little bottle (if you find a travel-size bottle of dandruff shampoo sold commercially, you're one up on me) be worth the effort.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Non-hotel shampoos always smell like stuff, too. "Odorless" shampoo isn't. But non-hotel shampoos often smell like not-me stuff, so.

Decanting shampoo annoys me. In fact, decanting most toiletries annoys me. Possibly I am Just Cranky. It's happened before.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

I don't tend to carry shampoo with me - depending on the situation I might use the hotel shampoo, have a friend who is local provide me with shampoo, or buy a small bottle of something once I hit the ground.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

I use a bar shampoo. I'm not sure if that counts as a shampoo alternative, but I voted as if it does not (because it _is_ shampoo, just in a different form).

I didn't make this choice because I hate checking luggage, but it is a handy plus.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

I don't shampoo my hair often enough for it to be worth carting shampoo along. If I need to wash it, I'll just use whatever's there. Now, I do usually bring my own conditioner, even though it means i have to check my bag. Stupid TSA! My conditioner makes my hair soft and bouncy and will not damnage your plane!

When I flew home for xmas, I asked the guy at the checkpoint before you get things xrayed about my eye drops, and he said, "Put them in your pocket." Sure enough, no problems there. Flying back, I forgot that and left it in my purse. They open my bag at the xray machine and pull out the world's tiniest bottle of eye drops, my mascara, and my neosporin (which were in the bag in boston as well), and tell me I can't take them on the plane unless they're in a plastic bag. Now, never mind the amazing plane-saving powers of ziplock bags to begin with, but when I luck out and my brother has one in his camera bag, she scolds me because it's a 1 gallon size, not a 1 quart size. "They might not like that in Philly," she says, but apparently she sensed I would kill her if I missed my flight because the ziplock wasn't an acceptable size, and I was allowed through.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

I need to shampoo this hair daily (it becomes a fire hazard after something like 18 hours). Mostly I use hotel shampoo, but I also have a bottle (bigger than three ounces) that I carry some of my normal cheap shampoo in. For whatever reason, I actually used mine rather than the hotel's this week.

I've been thinking about finding ways to get rid of the checked luggage. The thing I can't get around is the pocket knife. I've been debating finding somebody to keep a small storage tub in their office for me, so I can leave things here rather than carrying them back and forth. Toothpaste is hard, too, since all the sizes they sell are too big.

And it's annoying that the nice travel bottles I've been using for years are now too big. But I guess at least it should be easy to find 3-oz bottles now! And they'll make my toiletry kit smaller.

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

Toothpaste is often available in trial sizes at your local drugstore or discount store. That's what we carry in our toiletry kits. They may not have your favored brand, but that's not an issue unless you have some sort of problem with what they do have.

Jordin almost always does only carry on unless the trip is a week or more, but he's not wedded to the idea of always having a knife handy. I have no problem checking luggage myself and nearly always do so I don't have to deal with it.

MKK

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Nearly all my trips are a week -- at least, a work week, generally five nights in the hotel. I can sometimes find small-size toothpaste at Target, but that's the only place I've found it so far.

I've been looking at the time savings on the checkin end from not having to go to the airline desk at all (Internet boarding pass and no checked luggage), and of course on the arrival end it's even better. And they never get to lose it. Then again, I usually get my checked luggage before my ride gets there on the Minneapolis end (I call as soon as we're off the runway).

And I might end up having to put the backpack with the computer under the seat in front of me, which isn't really an option (since my *feet* have to go there).

[ysabel.livejournal.com]

"shampoo alternative" might be too strong but I use special SLS-free shampoo and so I take that with me.

[marykaykare.livejournal.com]

If so, I am the other. I almost never take shampoo with me as it's just one more potential spill in the suitcase. I don't use conditioner as I have baby fine hair. Of course, it's harder for Mrissa because she has that smell thing going on. I'm not as sensitive to smell as she is. Unless it's skunk.

MKK

[timprov.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I'd go so far as enjoys, but I find diversion in it. Multiple-hotel trips are better than staying in one place for a week, though.

[ladysea.livejournal.com]

They have now said maybe 2-3 inches.

And that is in effect until 6 pm our time.

I hope it does not snow more. We are running out of places to put the snow piles. heh

[redbird]

Most of my travel these days is to see people who are happy to have me stay with them, and I generally use my friends' shampoo. On short trips, I tend to wash and condition my hair right before I leave: I'm flexible about shampoo but somewhat particular about conditioner, and flying with same is a nuisance (silly rules aside, it tends to get all over other things unless double-bagged).

[fiddledragon]

hah - of course since I said that (well, not long after) another statement came out that said expect only about 1 inch, so you're probably safe...only I then had to go clear the driveway, so couldn't get back to you.

And as far as shampoo and travelling. I CANNOT stand anything but my own stuff, so I bring it with me no matter what...and there have been times I've done the whole no 'poo thing so it was even more important that I brought my own stuff. But ick, my hair is gross with other stuff :)

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

I have to wash my hair every day or Bad Things happen, so I was a bit worried about my 3 oz and WFC (especially since I was staying in Austing longer than the con), but it turned out to be okay. I left town a couple days early and was just on with shampoo and conditioner. One day I used the hotel shampoo because it smelled all right to me. (I don't know how it smelled to everyone else, though; I have a bad sense of smell.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Usually hotel shampoo is no more likely to smell bad to passing strangers than a randomly selected shampoo is, so how you smelled to everyone else is in the general case likely fine. The only problem comes in if you have other body-care products that clash with the hotel shampoo, but you didn't at WFC. (I would tack on hedge words like "that I noticed," but I would have; this is like saying, "you did not dye your chin green that I noticed.")

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

Hee. Well, I had just switched to all non-fragrence cleanser and lotion, so I wasn't *terribly* worried about smelling weird because of clashes, but it's really good to hear it from someone who can smell. :D

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

I am crazy about things pertaining to my hair. Really. I go through a truly ridiculous amount of conditioner, so that comes with me no matter what. I use far less shampoo, but I don't like having to force it out of the teeny bottles.
It's mostly the conditioner that does me in. Must stop using it as a detangler.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

If my hair was longer and I cared about it staying healthy, I would bring my own shampoo. As it is, I find it does what I want BETTER when it's a little damaged, so I don't care about my shampoo anymore.

[clarentine]

I bring my own shampoo, but always take home shampoo and soap when it is offered because one of the shelters here takes donations for their clientele.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

What a good thought. I will have to look into that with the shelter we support.

[mkille.livejournal.com]

onehipmama brings shampoo when she travels, so when we travel together, I use that. Otherwise, I don't like to carry shampoo in my luggage, or anything else that might leak, because it almost always does. (If I put it in a ziploc bag, the *bag* leaks).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I wear contact lenses, so avoiding carrying stuff that might leak is just not in the cards for me.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I take shampoo and shower gel also - I've sensitive skin and allergies and its not worth the risk.

[sculpin.livejournal.com]

I use shampoo at home, but when I travel I bring a shampoo bar from Lush. (Which I was going to link to, but I've had that same shampoo bar for so long that they no longer carry that kind. Hm.) And then when I get to the hotel, I sniff at the shampoo; if it smells good, I might try it.

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

I bring my own shampoo and conditioner but sometimes use the hotel's instead. I cannot discern a reason or a pattern for which I use when. *shrug*

[fishbliss.livejournal.com]

I sometimes bring my own shampoo; depends where I'm going, what shampoo I'm currently using, my mood, etc. Nowadays I'm just as happy not to travel with it, and the extra hassle.

I do carefully grab the shampoo/conditioner/soap/shower cap/lotion bottles every day when I'm
hoteling. I store them in my suitcase, and take them home with me (in my checked baggage.)

What? Think I'm obsessive-compulsive? That I collect obsessively? That I hoard things?
That may or may not be true, but that's not why I collect hotel shampoos.

Every once in a while I take the bag of them I've collected, and bring them to a friend
who brings them to a battered women's shelter. They make up hygiene kits for the folks
who need the shelter's services. I'm happy to think that a tiny bit of my personal and
corporate travel expenses goes to help folks in need.

It makes me feel even better than when I get microsoft t-shirts at trade shows, then
give them to the homeless people who are panhandling near the convention center. I
love putting corporate Marketing budgets to good use!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That's fabulous.