Schticky Lint Rollers

Schticky lint roller set from Amazon

When traveling around the world, or even across the country, lint rollers are probably not at the forefront of your mind, but here is why maybe they should be:

You took the time to pack one versatile outfit that could be worn to a nice dinner or job interview, right?  Nothing ruins a nice outfit faster than being covered in lint or dog hair or that finely ground dirt that tends to coat the bottom of purses and backpacks.
You're probably hand washing all your clothes in bathroom sinks and line drying them.  All those little lint balls that an electric dryer would take care of for you are eventually going to start showing up on your everyday outfits, making you look a little bit more like a hobo than you would like.
Animals.  Whether your host family has a pet or you just took advantage of riding a camel for the first time, animal hair clings to clothing like a magnet.  God forbid you put your dirty clothes in your backpack: now they are all covered in hair!
Here's where one of the myriad of magical lint rollers comes in handy.  It's easier than picking off all the offending particles by hand, and it's easier on fragile fabrics.  That's because it's made of silicon, which is naturally more attractive to dirt and grime than clothing is.   It won't leave a residue on porous fabrics like organza or rip off pieces of velvet.
In addition, it's far more eco-friendly than a regular lint roller or using a strip of duct tape because there's nothing to throw away.  You just run water over it and rub your hand to loosen the grime, letting it wash down the drain.

I love my Schticky lint roller set.  I use the larger ones to clean my apartment (couches, bedspreads, curtains, rugs...works soooooo much better than trying to vaccuum those things) and the travel one for, well, traveling.  I keep it in the bag I use for work so that when I arrive at the hospital and realize just how disheveled I am, I can use it to look a little more presentable.  The nice little snap case it comes in keeps it from picking up ay dirt before I want it to do so.

I wish I'd had this with me in South Africa when I had my picture taken with a cheetah.  It didn't occur to me beforehand -- with cheetahs being members of the cat family and me being allergic to cats -- that I should probably keep my distance.  I had to suffer through sniffles and itchy eyes from the cheetah hair that clung to my pants and jacket until I could get back to my room and change later that day.

Me with the aforementioned cheetah.