How to pack toiletries in a 20-inch carry-on

Toiletries are where most carry-on packing fails. They leak, they take up the wrong volume, and they slow the security line.

A working method.

Decant first. The drugstore travel aisle sells everything in 3.4-ounce bottles, but the bottles are rarely the ones a careful packer wants. Buy a set of refillable silicone or aluminum bottles in 50 ml and 100 ml. Label the lids with a paint pen. The kit lasts years.

Sort by use, not by category. Morning items in one pouch, night items in another, shared items in a third. The pouches stack inside the toiletry kit, and the kit lives in the lid pocket of the Lucent or Valence. The wet/dry compartment goes underneath, sealed by its own zip. If a bottle ever splits, the spill ends there.

Move the quart bag to its own slot. The TSA quart bag should never live inside the larger toiletry kit. Keep it accessible. The wet/dry pocket in the lid is built for it. Pulling the bag out for the bin should take one motion.

The list, for a one-week trip.

• Toothbrush, toothpaste (3 oz)
• Deodorant (stick, no rule)
• Face cleanser (50 ml)
• Moisturizer (50 ml)
• SPF (100 ml)
• Shampoo, conditioner (50 ml each)
• Razor and blades (carry-on permitted)
• Skincare actives in original 30 ml bottles
• A small pack of cotton swabs and floss
• Prescription medications, labeled

What stays home.

Full-size aerosols. Glass bottles of any size. Brand-new product you have not tested. Anything you would not want to clean out of a recycled polyester lining.

The system rewards repetition. Once the kit is dialed, it stays dialed for a year. Refill, repack, repeat.