Minecraft wiki entry for Time-saving_tips, associated text: If you have access to a Silk Touch pickaxe, and blaze rods, carry ender chests with you at all times. You can put your lifesaver items (a stack of wood, food, iron) and use the rest of the space as extra inventory space (if you find a cave, temple, or if you die in lava and lose all your things).
Even without Silk Touch it's possible to use an ender chest to help transport items from storage in your mine to your main base. However, every time you move your ender chest, it costs one eye of ender to craft it again.