1. Have a spare. 
There must be some deep-rooted psychological meaning to this, but I absolutely hate to pack my carry-ons. I consistently delay packing, allowing this pesky little chore to hang over my head the entire day, and night, before a trip. It is because of this continued practice of absurd procrastination that I have a spare of all necessary and important items—iPhone charger, TSA friendly toiletries, make-up essentials and sneakers. I keep the spares in their appropriate spot in my carry-ons at all times. Whenever I finally am inspired to pack, be it at midnight or 4:30am, I have a few less things to account for.

2. Pack black. 
I always stick to all black suits and then pack accessories based on that basic color palette. With the one color as a foundation, I am able to easily mix and match suit jackets, dresses and shoes. My carry-ons are heavy enough—I don’t need lug around a pair of black and brown shoes.Read my own Five Rules

3.  Get a keratin. 
I have to give a special shout-out to our girl, Amber, for this game changer. Back at the start of my Road Warrior days, circa 2003, I rocked my natural curly locks. Those unruly suckers were so difficult to manage on the Road. Have you ever tried to fit a diffuser into a carry-on or onto a hotel hairdryer? I had to wash and blow every day to avoid a frizzy mess. With my keratin-infused hair, I can now more easily manage my mane and often survive an overnight business trip with just a quick flat iron. Without trying to be overly dramatic or even a tad bit funny, the keratin treatment changed my life and I am forever indebted to Amber for her wise beauty tip.

4. Find your happy place. 
For each and every return flight home, I always purchase a celeb gossip magazine at the airport and read it in the time between cross check to when it is safe to use approved electronic devices. This is my time to zone out from the crying babies, the loud talkers, the turbulence, the work that needs to get done on my laptop and just take a break from it all. There may also be a bag of pretzel M&Ms and/or twizzlers involved in this happy place party.

Read Rachel Adler’s Five Rules

5. Be a tad superstitious. 
My Nanny always told me to walk in with my right foot for good luck. For each and every flight, I always make it a point to walk onto the jet bridge and then onto the plane with my right foot first. I also always say a Midwestern-esque friendly hello to the Flight Attendants. You never know when there may be one spot left in the life raft and that hello may just pay off. Traveling can be worrisome at times, so following my little superstitions brings me comfort while at 37,000 feet.

Bonus Tip: Check for bed bugs.
Whether your travels take you to the Four Seasons or the Motel Six, this one is a travel must. That’s all. No further explanation needed, right?

Thanks, Jaime! Stay tuned for more Five Rules.

“Five Rules,” is a series on Rouge18 in which I ask others to share their five rules for life about anything and everything. You can learn a lot about a person by reading which five things govern their actions, no?