I’ve said before I try to only travel with a carry-on bag. One thing that is really important, especially when you’re trying to fit a lot in a small bag, is organization. First of all, if you get randomly stopped by security (which has happened to me the last TWO times I have flown!) you don’t want to open your bag and have a bunch of underwear fall out because you shoved it in at the last-minute when you realized it was almost forgotten. (I will neither confirm, nor deny that I have had that happen to me.) Secondly, you don’t want to have to dig through the entire contents of you bag to find that one bottle of lotion for which security stopped you, because it MIGHT have been bigger than regulation. And thirdly, if you’re going to be living out of a suitcase for a few days, it is just much easier and stress free to know where everything is. Plastic, sandwich sized bags make all of these things so much easier.
Yes, I keep the courtesy hotel toiletries. Don’t judge. For weekend getaways, when you don’t need to bring a full bottle shampoo, conditioner and body wash, they are the perfect travel size. Some hotels are even getting really fancy with it. I stayed in hotel last summer that only had Bath and Body Works products. Fancy!
I normally use three bags to separate my stuff: Electrical/Chords (Camera, Charger, Laptop Etc..) Hair stuff (Clips, Bobby-pins, Ties) and toiletries.
They keep everything organized, prevent your clothes from getting ruined if a bottle breaks, and (the best part) the bags are clear, so you can see everything that’s in them. No digging! Once you’re done packing, put them all right on top. Chances are, anything that looks suspicious will be in these bags, so it makes the security check easier.
I know I am not saying anything groundbreaking here, and a lot of people already do this, but I thought I’d share. Traveling can be exhausting and stressful, so every little bit helps!
Two Thumbs 
I do recall one time going through customs when the customs agent was so embarrassed by what fell out of my bag when he opened it that he didn’t bother to check the rest of the contents. It can be useful. Great tips. Thanks —