Donate your unopened amenity kits.

If you fly a lot, you might work your way through a lot of business and first class amenity kits. Instead of cracking them open en route, consider donating them.

When I first started traveling frequently internationally over 20 years ago, I was always psyched for amenity kits for three reasons. First, I have a weakness for bags. Second, I have a deep rooted need to organize things, and in bags no less. Finally, I can’t resist things that are “free”.

I’ve collected amenity kits from all different airlines, carefully unpacking them and cataloging their contents: pens, socks, eyeshades, toothbrushes, snacks, mints, gum.

Typically, I would open one kit and use it across all segments outbound and inbound, and bring the extra ones home for a rainy day. I started giving them away to young nieces and nephews as joke gifts. They’d stumble around the house wearing the eyeshades and earplugs and acting like Zombies.

Consider donating unopened amenity kits

These days, I rarely open kits, carrying instead my own toothpaste, the best ear plugs, and age-defying creams (which obviously aren’t working). Still, I simply can’t fight the urge to bring home the amenity kits. I even leave a little room in my carry on so I can do so easily.

Now, every few months, I take all of my accumulated kits from the previous few months and take them to a local domestic shelter. They would be better if they had things like shampoo in them but the reception staff is always happy to have them. I hope they might do a little help for people in severe psychological and emotional distress.

What do you do with your amenity kits? Do you use them? Save them? Leave them untouched on your seat?