6 travel hacks every military family should know

Travel — it either makes your heart do a little pitter-patter or fills you top to bottom with dread. Traveling does not have to be stressful, and using a few time-tested hacks is guaranteed to make your life easier.

Before you go

Scan a copy of your passport, driver's license and any trip itineraries or reservations that you have and save them to your phone outside of e-mail. Depending on location, service might be spotty and you never know when you may need to access your records offline.

Packing hacks

Vacation can be exciting, but packing is the pits. To maximize suitcase space:

• Roll thin clothing (t-shirts and dresses) and fold heavier clothing pieces (jeans and sweaters) and utilize packing cubes to organize
• Stuff socks into shoes
• Insert a rolled-up belt into a shirt collar to maintain the collar's shape
• Prevent fragile makeup from cracking by inserting a cotton ball in the compact
• Cover shoes in a hotel shower cap to avoid having dirty soles touch the rest of your suitcase

Utilize what you have

Did you forget your phone charger at home? Plug your phone into a hotel television. Don't panic if you have left your wall plug-in at home. Most televisions now have USB connectors on the back or side panel. Take a peek and use your connection cord to seamlessly charge your phone.

Leave the camping lantern on the counter? Not a problem. Strap a headlamp to a water bottle to create an instant illuminated "lantern."

Google’s offline tools

Heading out of the country or simply beyond service? Be sure to download Google Maps to use offline. While connected to WiFi, download the city or territory maps you might need for the duration of travel and access them later — no connection required.

Like Google Maps, Google Translate is usually needed when there's no WiFi available. Convenient, huh? Before you go, download the Translate app, and choose 'Offline Translation' in Settings. Here, you will be able to download different languages.

Pack a clothespin … or two!

A vacation seems like a weird place for a clothespin, but this handy accessory is ideal for keeping headphone cords from getting tangled, propping up a toothbrush in the bathroom, clipping hotel curtains closed for rooms that will not get dark enough or hanging up laundry to dry.

There’s an app for that

It seems like there is an app these days for everything, and traveling is no different. The following cell phone apps are handy for travel purposes for everything from airport navigation to Wifi passwords.

Foursquare is a collection of city guides, but it's notoriously great for tipping off visitors to connection spots by suppling local Wifi passwords.

Stuck in an airport without easy access to a USO? LoungeBuddy takes all the guesswork out of where travelers can relax by providing comprehensive guides to airport lounges around the world.

Headed on a long-haul journey with multiple connections? Download FlightAware to track flights online, see a live map of flight routes and be alerted to cancellations, delays and gate changes.

Timeshifter is working to banish jet lag for good. Using extensive research studies on sleep and circadian rhythms, the app helps in-flight travelers determine when to nap, seek light, eat and more based on gender, age and typical sleep patterns.

Whether you are planning a trip or daydreaming about your next destination, tuck these travel hacks away for the next big adventure to save yourself time, your sanity…or both.