How to pack for a week in a carry-on comes down to three habits: pack clothes for four days, wash once, and wear the bulkiest things on the plane. Then come the limits: the bag’s size, the liquids, and the power banks.
- Clothes for
- 4 days
- One wash on day 4 covers the rest of the week
- Liquids
- 3.4 oz
- 100 ml per container, in one quart-size bag
- US carry-on
- 22 × 14 × 9
- Inches, on American, Delta, and United
- Power banks
- 2
- At most, on international flights since March 2026
Pack for four days, wash once
A week fits in a carry-on once you stop packing one outfit per day. Four tops, two pairs of pants, and two warm layers that all go together make enough combinations for seven days; underwear and socks for four days, washed on day four, carry you through day eight.
Our sample trip is a week in Amsterdam in mid-November, in an apartment with a washing machine. It is a hard case for a small bag: a city week, cool and wet.
What the weather asks for: Amsterdam in November
Layers and a hooded rain jacket, not a heavy coat. In November, Amsterdam averages a high of about 10 °C (50 °F) and a low of about 4.5 °C (40 °F), with rain on about 19 days of the month and wind on most days (Dutch weather service KNMI, 1991–2020 averages).
Dmitrii E. · UnsplashA thin sweater under a rain jacket handles 10 °C (50 °F); add a packable down vest for the colder evenings. It is the same layering idea as our list for Iceland in winter, with lighter pieces.
The packing list
Everything below fits in a carry-on and a personal item, because the bulkiest pieces travel on you.
| Item | On the plane | In the bag | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tops (one can be a button-down) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Merino or fine-knit sweater | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jeans and dark pants | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Underwear | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Wool-blend socks | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Pajamas | – | 1 | 1 |
| Waterproof walking shoes | 1 | – | 1 |
| Light shoes (optional) | – | 1 | 1 |
| Rain jacket with a hood | 1 | – | 1 |
| Packable down vest or jacket | – | 1 | 1 |
| Scarf, hat, light gloves | – | 1 each | 1 each |
| Compact umbrella | – | 1 | 1 |
Add your toiletries in the liquids bag, your phone and charger, one power bank, a plug adapter (the Netherlands uses types C and F at 230 V), your passport, and a foldable tote for dirty laundry.
The carry-on, item by item
In Traypass, the sample trip’s list is split by bag, and the carry-on holds the clothes: four T-shirts, two pairs of pants, and two sweaters, already checked off. Underwear and socks stop at four each, marked Laundry on day 4, so the count follows the wash.
The liquids bag carries its own reminder, 100 ml bottles, 1-liter bag: that is the European rule, and 100 ml is the same 3.4 oz the TSA allows. Below the list, settings like I’ll work out on this trip apply only to your bag; nobody else on the trip sees them.
The personal item: your second bag
The personal item holds what you need in your seat: passport, phone charger, power bank, medicines, and a layer for the plane. On American it can be up to 18 × 14 × 8 in, on United 17 × 10 × 9 in; Delta asks only that it fit under the seat in front of you.
In the sample list, the backpack holds four things. The rain jacket is marked Wear it on the plane, and the power bank Cabin only, never in the hold: it travels with you in the cabin, never in a checked bag.
Wear the bulkiest things on the plane
Your walking shoes, the rain jacket, the thicker sweater, and your jeans are the heaviest and bulkiest things on the list, so they travel on you. What is left in the bag is soft and flat: T-shirts, a pair of pants, a sweater, underwear, and socks.
How big can the bag be?
On American, Delta, and United, a carry-on can be 22 × 14 × 9 in (about 56 × 36 × 23 cm), wheels and handles included, and none of the three publishes a weight limit. The fare decides whether you get to bring it.
| Airline | Carry-on | Personal item | Cheapest fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 18 × 14 × 8 in | Basic Economy includes both |
| Delta | 22 × 14 × 9 in | Under the seat | Delta Main Basic includes a carry-on |
| United | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 17 × 10 × 9 in | Basic Economy: personal item only, on most routes |
| KLM | 55 × 35 × 25 cm | 40 × 30 × 15 cm | Basic: personal item only |
United’s Basic Economy includes the carry-on across the Atlantic or Pacific and to South America; on other routes, if you bought a Basic Economy ticket on or after April 3, 2026, a carry-on brought to the gate is checked there for $75 or more. On American, Basic Economy boards last, when the bins are often full.
On a European airline the limits shrink: KLM allows 12 kg (about 26 lb) for both bags, and a full-size US carry-on is a little longer and wider than its 55 × 35 cm. A bag of about 55 × 35 × 20 cm (21.5 × 13.75 × 8 in) and under 8 kg (about 17.5 lb) fits the big European airlines.
Liquids: 3.4 oz, one bag
Every liquid, gel, cream, and aerosol in your carry-on goes in a container of 3.4 oz (100 ml) or less, and all of them in one quart-size bag. That is the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule, and it still holds in October 2026: in July 2025 the Secretary of Homeland Security said it was being re-evaluated, but nothing has changed. Some lanes with new CT scanners let you leave the bag inside your carry-on, but the 3.4 oz limit stays. Medicines and baby food may go over it; declare them at screening.
Sweder Breet · UnsplashThe EU’s rule is the same 100 ml per container, in one clear, resealable bag of up to 1 liter. Since July 26, 2025, airports with approved new scanners may accept containers of up to 2 liters, but each airport, often each lane, decides: Rome Fiumicino and Munich (at its CT lanes) do; Amsterdam Schiphol and Madrid still don’t. Pack for 100 ml, because the airport you fly home from may be the strict one.
Buying duty-free liquids on the way home? If you connect in the US, liquids over 3.4 oz can stay in your carry-on only in the store’s sealed, tamper-evident bag, with the receipt, and only if bought within the last 48 hours.
Power banks: two at most, and charge before you board
Take one power bank, in your carry-on, and charge your phone before boarding. Since March 27, 2026, international rules from ICAO, the UN’s aviation agency, allow no more than two per person and forbid recharging them on board.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Two at most | Per person, on international flights |
| Carry-on only | Never in checked bags; take it out if your bag is gate-checked |
| Up to 100 Wh | About 27,000 mAh; 101–160 Wh needs the airline’s approval |
| No recharging on board | Not from the seat’s outlet or USB port |
| Using it in flight | Up to the airline |
Using a power bank to charge your phone in flight is up to each airline, and some ban it: Air France and the Lufthansa Group do, and both want it with you rather than in the overhead bin. On domestic US flights, the FAA sets no limit on how many power banks up to 100 Wh you carry, but warns that airlines may be stricter. On international flights, IATA expects the 101–160 Wh allowance to end in January 2027.
Laundry halfway through
On day four, wash underwear, socks, and a T-shirt or two. Our sample apartment has a washing machine; otherwise, use a laundromat, or the sink and a radiator overnight.
Miltiadis Fragkidis · UnsplashWool-blend socks dry overnight, and the foldable tote keeps dirty clothes apart from clean ones until wash day.
What to leave at home
- A heavy coat. At 10 °C (50 °F), a sweater under a rain jacket does the job.
- Full-size bottles. Over 3.4 oz, they don’t get through security, even half empty.
- “Just in case” outfits. Everything on the list goes with everything else.
- A third pair of shoes. One pair on your feet, at most one light pair in the bag.
- A 120 V hair dryer. Dutch sockets are 230 V; ask your hotel or host whether they have one.
In Traypass, the packing list builds itself from your trip’s weather and plans, sorts itself by bag, and counts underwear and socks around your laundry day.
TraypassApp Store
