Convenience Kits Blog

Crunching leaves hit the ground as the chill in the air signals the approach of colder days. Bathing suits are swapped out for pashmina scarves and leather boots. As we put away the candy corn and dust off the cobwebs of Halloween, November marks a perfect time for traveling with friends, family and loved ones. It’s shoulder season, which means prices won’t be as expensive as they will be after Thanksgiving kick starts the holiday season and with it, higher flight prices across the US and overseas.

So why not take some time off before the rush of the holidays begins and the Christmas markets across Europe cause airfare prices to soar? Get in your car, or head to the nearest airport, and try one of these amazingly quaint and less-explored favorite fall destinations.

As the leaves start to change colors and a winter chill blows in from the North, American families from sea to shining sea are gearing up for the great American road trip this fall. It might be driving through New England to see the best of fall colors or simply packing up to spend Thanksgiving at Grandma’s house, but millions of Americans will soon be hitting the road and travel has never been easier. Granted, this is in large part due to portable DVD players and devices that keep kids from fighting in the back seat. However, it is also because packing up your family’s hygiene essentials is a breeze with custom convenience travel kits. The road awaits you this fall and now you’ll have everything you need to keep the family smelling fresh along the way.

Every year throughout corporate America, gifts are given to employees to show appreciation. From coffee mugs to golf towels, these gifts more often than not are a mere duplicate of what someone already owns. There is no practical value in one more coffee mug or one more golf towel. However, there is a great deal of practical value in gifting pre-packaged hygiene kits that are sure to find some use during the next holiday or travel for work. Let’s just take this Unisex Hygiene Kit for example.

For many children, the back-to-school shopping craze is an opportunity to purchase fresh clothes, sport new haircuts and if you are lucky enough, a new pair of sneakers. The body is the armature of the self and when children feel confident through personal appearance it often translates to other aspects of life. Meanwhile, a great number of children from sea to shining sea return to school with no such feeling. For families living in impoverished communities, even the basic necessities of hygiene are often overlooked. The result is a child ashamed to go to school and growing up far from confident. Fortunately, teachers and administrators around the nation have taken notice and are taking action. Charities and schools are giving the gift of confidence through the power of prepackaged hygiene kits to children in need. A simple and affordable act of compassion that pays off in a big way in the lives of children.

Summer time temperatures and longer days of sunlight can make now as good a time as any to take that dream Euro Trip. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean has never been cheaper, and as a result, island hopping in Greece or pub crawling in Germany are suddenly very realistic ways to spend a week (or even just a weekend for those East Coasters) off from work. To cut costs even more, you can travel on their budget airlines without checking a bag. Carriers like Ryan Air often offer international flights across Europe for 7€, and even for the last minute, spontaneous travelers among us, you can find flight prices as cheap as trains and busses that’ll shorten your journey by half the time (although I’d still recommend cheap busses through companies like Flix Bus, as its way better for the environment).

The 4th of July is just around the corner, and especially since this year it falls on a Wednesday, for most of you, that means you’re getting a nice long weekend! (Bonus points if you took off work for the whole week - how can we get your job?)

If you’re taking a road trip this weekend, or later on this summer, here are 8 must-have items that you can’t forget to bring along with you!

Life can be hard and when natural disasters, financial hardship, or traumatic experiences strike, life can be even harder. Convenience Kits International is proud to partner with nonprofits, religious, and disaster relief organizations around the world to preserve human dignity during the most trying times with good hygiene. To many, a toothbrush and soap might seem like the last thing on a person’s mind when they are facing disaster or chronic homelessness. Yet, the body is the armature of the self and maintaining one’s sense of self worth when all seems hopeless can be the catalyst for a new future. Every human being, regardless of what hardships they face deserve to feel valued. The Good Work partnership offers affordable solutions to and compassionate outreach with pre-packaged hygiene kits ready to ship in bulk at a moment’s notice. Join with us today and help us support the Good Work, that you do everyday.

Most people often think of the holiday season as the biggest “family time” (and it can be, considering it’s usually the only time you’ll see Cousin Jimmy who lives on the other side of the country). But right now is probably the best time to grab your whole gang and get in the car (or hop on a plane) for a long weekend adventure.  You'll beat the crowds - and the prices - plus there are plenty of short-term get-aways to be had just before the craze of summer sets in and everyone’s out from school.

The great American road trip is the stuff of legend from sea to shining sea every spring in America. Trips to the beach, Disneyland, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and more are taking place this season as families pack up the car to hit the road. Perhaps none more famous than the hilarious National Lampoon’s Family Vacation, long car rides with the family can really test a family’s cohesion. Nothing tests that more than poor hygiene and smelly feet trapped in a minivan for 12 hours a day. Fret not, as an impromptu road trip or planned vacation doesn’t have to mean substandard hygiene. Convenience Kits International offers the go to solution for hygiene on the go and there is a little something for every family member at the ready.

March is just one of those months where you have no idea what to expect. Between March Madness and the old cliche “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb,” it really is an unpredictable time of year. You can go from a snowstorm to a nice 70-degree day.

But one thing is certain about this rather hectic time of year: SPRING BREAK! Whip out your hot pink ski masks and get ready to party in paradise like James Franco. Whether you’re staying Stateside in Miami or dusting off your passport to hit up Cancun with your sorority sisters, there’s a few things to keep in mind before jetting off.

Anytime I travel, be it for 2 weeks or 2 months, there are always a few comforts from home that I miss on my adventures.

No matter where in the world you may come from, we can all agree that we each have our own favorite products and stores that we frequent. We’re loyal to certain brands and carry around extra knick knacks that we cannot seem to live without.

But after spending the past year and a half living overseas, I’ve started to miss these American staples more than ever before. So much so, that I’ve compiled a list of 13  American Products & Brands You’ll Miss Abroad 

1. Chipotle - I think it goes without saying that I miss this fast-casual restaurant more than I miss most human beings. Let’s face it, the latin food outside of, well, Latin America is just not that great. Fajitas don’t sizzle. Guacamole sometimes comes from a box. Worse, a frozen box. And forget about choosing from pinto beans or black beans, let alone refried. Chipotle’s constant fresh ingredients coupled with affordable prices are something I frequently miss in foreign airport cafes or shopping malls.

chipotle.com

2. Tide to Go Pens - These are unheard of outside of America and arguably one of our best inventions. It’s a little portable stain remover from the FMCG giant, made famous from that Super Bowl commercial in 2016. I happened to have a pen with me at a bar in Melbourne, Australia when my friend spilled her espresso martini all over her white dress. It worked miracles, instantaneously erasing the giant stain and preventing us from a night that could’ve gone sour very quickly.

Tide.com

3. PB&J - Sure, I can still make my own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches wherever I find the ingredients. It’s challenging, though, because most countries have peanut butter that pales in comparison to JIF or Skippy (and if you can find the trusted American brands abroad, chances are they’re very expensive). Few grocery stores also carry grape jelly. So I’ve had to substitute for strawberry jam or raspberry, which is tasty, but certainly not a classic PB&J. Despite how hard it is to get this All American classic kiddie sandwich, sometimes you might be lucky enough to stumble upon Gerber PB&J in a single jar. I found a jar of it in the Philippines which took me down memory lane. If it weren’t for the $9 sticker tag associated with it’s import fees, that is.

mommyloves2save.com

4. TGIFriday’s Spinach Artichoke Dip - I didn’t even realize spinach artichoke dip was American until a friend was visiting me from New Zealand and inquisitively asked what it was on a menu. Thereafter, I found myself craving it abroad and could never find it in any restaurants. While I like all artichoke dips, I’ve always found the one from TGIFridays to be  the best.

Copymethat.com

5. Crest White Strips - There’s a reason why everyone says Americans have amazing teeth. For me, it’s Crest White Strips. I use them often back home to keep my pearly whites even whiter. Sometimes I bring a small kit with me to make sure my teeth don’t stain from all the delicious coffee and sweets I eat abroad.

conveniencekit.com

6. “Normal” Sunscreen and Tanning Oil - This may not be explicitly American, but its worth noting here that when you travel to Asia, so many sunscreens and face washes and lotions contain bleach in them. It’s a cultural difference - we in the West want to look tanner whilst they in the East want to be paler. So if you find yourself in Vietnam or anywhere around the region anytime soon, make sure you stock up on sunscreen before you go. You won’t find brands like Banana Boat too easily (or cheaply) and you will almost definitely NOT find any tanning oil.

bestadvisor.com

7. Reef Safe Sunscreen - On the topic of lotions, for those who do a lot of swimming in the ocean (or anyone who cares about eco-friendly products), most sunscreen we use isn’t good for our oceans. Especially the aerosol cans. So another product I miss/love, and often have a hard time finding abroad is Reef Safe Sunscreen. It’ll help keep our corals alive and all the animals who live amongst them.

cosmeticdesign.com

8. Laundry Pods - another convenience of laundry care back home are the little Tide or  Downy pods. You pop one into your laundry and it contains just the right amount of detergent and fabric softener. They’re easy to transport too (as long as you put them in a plastic bag to make sure they don’t pop all over your suitcase).

health.harvard.edu

9. Makeup from Sephora - I can often find Sephora in other countries (particularly Western countries)  but it’s always more expensive! They also don’t carry all the same makeup (especially the extensive line of Sephora original products, which are a bit cheaper than but still just as high quality as some of the other brands). It’s a good idea to stock up on that particular brand of foundation that you love or a mascara because chances are you won’t find it overseas or if you do, it’ll cost you double.

readunwritten.com

10. Travel Sized Shampoo and Conditioner - Other countries are getting better at this, but for some reason, most places I’ve been to either don’t have the brands I love or they charge way too much for the <100 ML bottles. In the US, you can usually go to Target or Walmart and get all your travel toiletries for $1 - $2 each . For a consumer, that’s a steal.

Even better though, you can order them in bulk online. Some companies like Convenience Kit have all the best brands and the more you buy, the cheaper they are - sometimes even amounting to less than $0.50 per product! 

Ordering these in bulk are a great option for businesses, too, maybe just before a big company holiday or attending a university career fair. You can print your company logo on the kits if you order +100. I used to have a few branded toiletries bags that I loved - got them from my university career days festival and it made me really like the brand (because what college kid doesn’t like free stuff?)

11. Venmo - While America is a bit behind some European countries when it comes to digitised payment platforms (and Asian/Oceanian), since we don’t have the instant tap-to-pay feature on our credit cards yet, one thing we’ve had for a while is an instantaneous money transfer app between banks. It’s so convenient to “Venmo” other people the exact amount of money you owe them while you’re still out to dinner, and it even works well if you’re taking money out of an ATM overseas with another American friend. (This way, you only use one bank account to take out cash for 2 of you so you don’t get hit with double the bank fees).

Theverge.com

12. Stick Deodorant - On topic of travel sized products, or just toiletries in general, you’ll find that in some countries its nearly impossible to find stick deodorant. Instead, they often use aerosol cans (which are horrible for the environment), or roll-on deodorant (which is similar but feels weird and doesn’t stay on as well).

dove.com

Whether you’re traveling for business or for pleasure, there’s not much worse than missing a flight. Except, of course, missing a connecting flight, which means you’ll also be stranded in an unknown city (and perhaps country, or worse, without any of your checked baggage). Most likely, your travel plans are altered due to a circumstance beyond your control, be it erratic weather conditions or worse, plane maintenance.

In my case, going from JFK to HKG it happened to be both. I scheduled a direct flight with a 4 hour stopover in LAX, which normally would leave plenty of time to catch my overnight flight to Hong Kong. Except we were 6 hours late leaving New York. This caused me to miss that last flight out of Los Angeles and spend an extra 12+ hours in the airport. I could’ve bought myself a hotel room. But I decided not to, since I was trying to save money! Had I anticipated my delay in travel plans, there are so many things I’d wish I’d done differently. In case you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here’s a few key tips to survive so you can have as comfortable a time as possible.

Family reunions, old friend reunions, events and outings just won’t feel how they should this holiday if you have to look for odds and ends on your vacation. You want to create time for what’s important, like catching up with everyone and making unforgettable memories; not spending more money and time looking for essential items at your destination. Even after spending up to $40 on tiny toiletries, you might only get hygiene items you don’t trust. It’s best to have a carry-on you can keep your personal care items in. On the other hand, packing a carry-on for a vacation can seem herculean. How do you pack everything you need while staying TSA-compliant?

This fall/winter season as you look around you at the many things to be grateful for, who can wish to NOT extend that gratitude out to others? There are so many who are less fortunate than ourselves. The gratitude we feel tugs on our heart strings, asking us if there’s some small thing we can do for others. This has become a universal feeling that can help your fundraising efforts to spread good cheer.

It really can be a struggle sometimes—preparing to travel—especially if you have to travel often, whether alone or with a group. There’s a fear that is common to us all when preparing to travel, the fear of leaving something behind, but in this case it’s forgetting to take that special personal care product on the trip—that shampoo, shaving cream or perfume. We all have that one product that we feel incomplete traveling without. Apart from being attached to the product, they might be difficult to get at your destination; and we have all learnt not to trust the hotel conditioner. Luckily, Convenience Kits International is here to help out in a peculiar way.