Naked and Afraid in Ohio: What to do if your luggage gets lost
Admittedly I’m always a sunny side gal, so I’m not the greatest at planning for every doomsday scenario. I have friends that are phenomenal at it - my girl Martha can pull a rabbit out of a hat in the middle of the ocean because she’s just that well prepared. Instead of the Unsinkable Molly she the Unsinkable Martha and I’m talking full pharmacy complete with the make-up isle in her carry-on, not just 12 layers of clothing in a lifeboat kind of prepared! She could be digging thru her purse for some lipstick she thinks would look great on you, have some Advil for your headache, a phone fuel cell and flare gun pulled out before she found that lipstick! The girl has magnet hooks for the walls of your cruise stateroom and travels with a fan. That’s right, friends! I’m at that age where I’m getting the hot flashes so trust me when I say I had real fan envy that trip! My friend Martha packs like its doomsday prepping - but for trips! My girl is prepared for it aaaaalllllllllll!
I’m more of a - weigh out the chances of me actually using the item before putting it in my suitcase - bare bones traveler. When my daughter and I were on a whirlwind summer of dance travel in 3 different locations in a mere 2 months, I really hadn’t even considered the possibility of lost luggage, even though I totally should have! Truly, that was a trip that just kept on giving. Lost luggage is only the very tip of the iceberg on the many, many, many things that went wrong on that trip, but I digress…. another story for another day!
My point for today is this, nothing makes you better prepared and leaves you weighing out your life choices like being stranded in a Hilton in the middle of Columbus Ohio for 3 days washing out your underwear in the sink. Use me as your cautionary tale, here is my list of minimalist travel items to have in your carry-on in case of luggage doomsday, I call it my Oh Sh*t Kit.
Things that should always always always be in your carry-on no matter what:
medications prescription and non-prescription
phone charger
How to manage the airlines:
Airlines generally try (sarcastic finger air quotes) to make things as comfortable (eye roll) as possible reimbursing you for “basic items” (snort of contempt). Your travel advisor can help you determine what your specific airline will reimburse you and help you make arrangements for car seats or any lost equipment you may need in the interim. Keep on top of where your bag is located, when we were in Ohio I could see that my bag was in Columbus, GA. No one from the airline could tell me where the bag was but I could go into their tracking system and see it with no trouble. It took me staying on top of the airline as well as calling the tiny community airport in Georgia where my luggage was having it’s very own vacation to actually get the bag moving in my direction. In fact, this is where having a travel agent is a game changer. I chase my clients luggage around while my client gets to go ahead and start their vacation!
You will need to keep your receipts and it’s best if they only have the items the airline will reimburse, as in don’t buy a six pack of beer with your toothbrush and then submit that receipt to the airline. Also ask if you are eligible to be refunded any baggage fees for your flights!
There is absolutely no need to make an extra trip to the airport for your bag. Typically your airline’s baggage agent will get the name and location along with directions to where you would like your bag to be delivered once it arrives. I’ve had 2 hour drives to get to the airport and they still delivered my bag to me even though I was pretty far away.
If your luggage is lost for 24 hours (hey, life happens. Having your bag returned in this time frame is a reasonable response to the problem) Things to add to your Oh Sh*t Kit:
Toothbrush/toothpaste/dental pick
sanitizing wipes, consider body wipes that can cleanse *anywhere*
face soap
deodorant
underwear
pajamas
If your luggage is lost for 48 hours (inconvenient and becoming outrageous, call the airline customer service and talk to a manager) Things to add to your Oh Sh*t Kit:
Everything listed above
change of clothes that can double as pajamas like yoga pants/athleisure wear/sweatpants
hairbrush
If your luggage is lost for 72 hours (outrageous, definitely escalate things to customer service manager and consider reporting to the DOT):
So what would you have in your Oh Sh*t Kit? Chapstick (or lipstick), lotion, slippers, dry shampoo? Let me know!