On my last visit to Japan, I brought home a cheap pair of reusable plastic chopsticks. The hard case they came with lets me toss them into my bag without worrying about them breaking, and usually I wrap a handkerchief or cloth napkin around the case.

I use these chopsticks more often than I would have expected. I used to be a fork person, but I've converted – once I got used to using them, chopsticks turned out to work better for the things I'd otherwise eat with a fork. Today I ate some salad on the plane that I brought with me to the airport, instead of spending $8 on wilted lettuce.

If you need a utensil, here are some options which I don't own but which seem nice (referral links):

• Plastic chopsticks – $8
• Titanium spork – $15 I have something like this for camping, but the Light My Fire-brand spork seems way expensive these days.

• Wear a sling bag for quick access to your stuff without having to go into your big bag on the airplane.
• You probably don't need the fancy laundry soap packets to wash your clothes in the sink. You can use a little bit of laundry soap bar in a plastic bag, or in a pinch, some hand soap.
• Nice sandals (like Bedrock) and zero-drop shoes (like Lems) can pack real flat into your bag and reclaim some space.
• Bring a Heroclip, a carabiner which can double as a hook to keep your nice backpack off the bathroom floor.
• Little A6 notebooks fit almost anywhere and are a great way to jot down notes during your trip.

I try to stay minimal in terms of volume, and for me, that means ditching most redunancies when traveling with one bag. I replace the electric shaver with a simple disposable razor, and I only pack one CeraVe SPF face lotion that I use for my hands if I need it. For doing laundry in the sink, I use a cut-down bar of Zote pink soap in the Matador dry-thru soap bag.

For my dry goods, I use this Sea to Summit hanging toiletry bag which I bought for ultralight camping. This thing is super light and has plenty of great organization for being so tiny. For the 1 quart liquids bag required for airline travel, I recently upgraded from a ziploc bag to this generic, durable, clear-sided plastic bag with a zipper and handle. I attach a small carabiner and clip the handle to the hanging bag if I don't have space by the sink.

What are your favorite toiletry tips?