Review: Jumpin Jac Travel Pouch

I pride myself on being an organized person, but in reality, I’m not organized at all. When it comes to taking trips, I have my airplane itineraries scattered throughout my email inbox, along with the car rental reservations. Trip specific information I keep in random paper folders on my desk and filing cabinet. I do keep an Excel spreadsheet template with a generic packing list (including one for camping and one for Mexico), but it would be nice to keep everything in one place.

While I was at the New York Times Travel Show this spring, I stopped by the booth of Jumpin Jac Travel Organizers. This is a product that is so simple and obvious I kicked myself for not inventing it first. I kept thinking about it when I got home, and they were kind enough to send me a sample to test out for the blog.

The Jumpin Jac is a low-tech folder, and you use one for each trip. On one side, there’s space for you to write all your travel arrangements, including flight information, car rental confirmation numbers, reservations, hotel, limo/taxi etc. On the other side there are printed spots for your packing list, pre-departure “to do” list, major airline, car rental and hotel phone numbers and more. You can put all your travel information into the folder (sealed on three sides), like your boarding passes, maps, invitations, etc. If you’re using the folder for business, you can also store your expense receipts in there (and write them on the folder).

They run slightly less than $2 a folder, and you can get them in packs of 3, 10, 100 or 450 (good for businesses or travel agents). I’ve already started filling one for an upcoming spring break trip. I think it will help make me a more organized person. For real!