Paper Clips: However simple and unnecessary this item seams, it has been a great help to me in the past. All you have to do is get a Ziploc baggie and put several paper clips in it. (Personally, I like the colorful ones, but its all preference) Then whenever you need a stitch marker or place holder partially unbend one prong of the paper clip and tada! you have a stitch marker.

Post-it Notes: Another very simple but also very useful item to have because a post-it can serve multiple purposes. First, because they stick to almost anything I find it helpful to stick one just below the last line of the current row or round you're working on because then if you have to stop and get gas, or directions you can easily find your place again. Also, you can use that very same post-it to count rows or rounds off with a pencil and tally marks.

Pens: For the projects that require smaller steel hooks, a pen is a very useful way to hold them so they don't get lost. All you have to do is take out the ink of the pen and insert the crochet hook in its place. If the hooks are exceptionally small two or three might even fit in one.

Yarn-Tainers: These new cylindrical containers with holes at the top to pull the yarn through are really helpful in keeping the backpack or purse organized, if you have a knot it usually will pull free by itself inside the container without the whole mess of rewinding the ball/skein of yarn.

Spare Yarn and a Plastic Hook: I find that on long trips you sometimes misjudge how much time in the car you will have and you finish the project you're working on. In this scenario I highly recommend taking along an odd ball of yarn and a cheap plastic hook. This way if these items are lost in transit or something of that nature, it won't be a complete loss.