You want to look and feel your best when you travel for the Holiday Season. Discover the tips for how to fit "more" in your TSA approved quart sized liquids bag!
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No one wants to waste money on un-needed checked bags or risk loosing it during the holiday air travel rush. The amount of liquids you need to bring can determine whether you can save by traveling with hand luggage only or if you have to pay for a checked bag.
These tips can help you save time and money on your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's trip. I hope you enjoy and that you find them useful!
I avoid checked bags whenever possible because they're expensive, take more time to deal with, and I assume that anything I check will be lost or damaged.
Carry on liquid restrictions can be problematic, especially for women and on longer trips. You'll want to make sure you have your mascara for holiday parties and your favorite shampoo, conditioner, and lotion to keep your hair and skin supple after flying.
In this post I'm sharing my very best space-saving tips on how to pack your carry on liquids bag to help you avoid checked bags on your holiday trips.
How big is a TSA approved liquids bag?
The overall size of your liquids bag is limited to one quart (this is true in almost every country today), but how you pack it has an enormous impact on what you're able to bring in your carry on bag.
What size liquid can I bring on a plane?
First, I'd like to clear up a misconception a lot of people in the US seem to have about the liquid restrictions. The rule is actually not that each bottle must be 3 oz or less. TSA calls it the 3-1-1 rule because it's catchy, but each bottle can actually be 100ml, which is 3.4 liquid ounces. Isn't that nice to know?
The second thing I'd like for everyone to know is that, yes, all you liquids have to be in a clear plastic zip top bag.
Lots of people wonder if your liquids have to be in a ziplock bag. It doesn't have to be a "ziplock" bag like you'd put in your freezer. You can use a more durable, reusable TSA approved toiletries bag.
Either way, your liquids all have to fit "comfortably" in a clear, zip top bag. It can't be bursting open!
2020 hand sanitizer update
There was an important temporary change to the 3-1-1 rule during 2020. You were temporarily allowed to bring one bottle of liquid hand sanitizer outside of your liquids bag. This bottle of hand sanitizer could be up to 12 ounces.
This rule is no longer in effect, so make sure to leave your large bottle of hand sanitizer at home again.
Now on to the first tip!
How to Pack More in your Carry on Liquids bag
Everyone knows about "travel size" bottles, right?
A lot of different lotions, shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, etc have ready-packaged, TSA-compliant bottles of product available for a dollar or two. They're a great place to start if you want to travel with a carry on instead of all your full sized bottles in a checked bag.
As a general rule, I do not run out to buy lots of travel sized items when I'm planning a trip. Why not?
- Prepackaged travel sizes are far more expensive by volume.
- Even though many products are available, you can't get everything in a travel size.
- Many of these travel size bottles are still unnecessarily large.
- Most travel sized containers are designed to be disposable/single use, which means you'll be stuck buying more again soon and throwing away extra (plastic) trash.
Here are a few things to try instead of the usual prepackaged travel sized products:
- Save your last travel sized bottles if they're still in good shape and are refillable. Refill them and use them again!
- Check to see if the lids come completely off any of the little hotel-provided shampoo/conditioner/lotion bottles and, if they look refillable, take the ones in your room with you when you check out.
- Not all hotel bottles are refillable, and these ones are really designed to be disposable, so they're not the greatest option. This is, however, very cost effective! Just try to refill the bottles with like products - you probably don't want lotion residue in your shampoo.
The best reusable travel sized bottles
Get reusable travel sized bottles.
For a long time, I used some cheap-y plastic ones, but they started to break and were still too big/wasting space. Silicone bottle are much better because they last longer and are less likely to crack and leak.
Although they are more expensive, reusable silicone bottles are far more durable and come in a variety of sizes, so they're now my go-to travel bottles.
- Silicone travel containers
- Leak proof closure
- Wide opening for filling and cleaning
The GoGear tubes pictured above were unavailable for a little while, so I found this set of travel bottles as a great alternative.
They come with a little "loop" on the lid so you can clip them onto a carabiner or hang them from a hook in the shower. The company also makes multiple color schemes and sizes.
- The Original Soft Travel Bottle - humangear's patented GoToob+ is a classic for traveling, whether it's a day trip to the beach, overnight camping, or...
- Secure Lid - LoopLock makes it the only travel bottle with a locking cap - simply twist to turn the discrete collar into a secure lock
- Smart Design - Contoured tube can stand on its own for easy filling and cleaning, and textured area on the collar allows you to write content...
I do not recommend repackaging things like contact lens solution that need to be sterile. Just pack your travel size, instead!
Can you re-package liquids?
You don't need to bring something in its original package just because it is technically allowed. It is completely okay and within TSA rules to re-package liquids out of their original packaging.
Many women use facial lotion and foundation, and a lot of these containers are 100ml or less. Think about it - will you use that entire container of foundation on your trip? That whole thing of facial lotion? Probably not.
Save yourself a whole lot of space by transferring these items from containers like those above:
To containers like these:
I purchased a set of 25 5-gram containers on Amazon very inexpensively. They also come in slightly larger and slightly smaller sizes, so you can pick out whatever size you need.
They're clear, so it makes it really easy to tell the lotion apart from the makeup and the lids screw on instead of pop off. They can also be a good choice for things like face wash and hair gel.
NOTE - citrus essential oils can 'melt' plastic, so make sure to use a silicone container for products that contain genuine citrus essential oils. There are plenty of options available, like these lovely silicone 20 ml containers and this set of containers that comes with a spatula for transferring creams
- Multifunctional- these cute containers can be used as vitamin pills case, kitchen Spice box, bathroom cosmetic container and so on.
- Safe- 100% food-grade, 20ml silicone case.
- Leakproof- great for beauty lotions, cream, pill, hair gel, makeup, lip balms, or powder, condiments, toothpaste or spices
Transfer a portion of your liquids from their original container to the tiny container and you're good to go!
They make little spatulas specifically for this purpose that help you transfer things like foundation without using your fingers and potentially contaminating what you're trying to move.
- Safe Materia -- Mini jar scraper are made of quality silicone material,can be reused and has good toughness,safe and non-toxic,easily bypass the...
- No Waste of Any Little -- The makeup silicone spatula has a long enough body and narrow head for reaching food in jars and other tnarrow spaces,even...
- Easy to clean -- Silicone spatula for makeup adopts one-piece molding design,no crevices and easy to clean, save your time,you can carry them for...
The same goes for essential oils. I know lots of people love to travel with their essential oils, and all this bottles are legally-sized.
Once again, you probably don't need the whole container on your trip. Consider picking up some little "sample size" bottles and transferring what you need with a pipette.
Pack multi-use liquids
Have you ever used conditioner as shaving cream? It tends to work pretty well.
Dr. Bronner's Soap is a great example of a multi-use liquid. You can use it as shampoo, body wash, or even to wash your clothes! Plus it smells pretty awesome.
- RICH LATHER, CLEAN FEEL: Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Magic Liquid Soap is a true soap, with rich, thick lather that feels great on skin, rinses...
- MADE WITH ORGANIC OILS & CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS: Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Magic Liquid Soaps are made with over 70% certified organic &...
- NO SYNTHETIC DETERGENTS OR FOAMING AGENTS: Our castile liquid soaps are made with plant-based ingredients you can pronounce—no synthetic detergents...
I used to use peppermint, but they also make lavender, tea tree, and more. I had a (literally) Costco-sized bottle of peppermint, so I just transfer some of it to one of my handy silicone bottles.
Now that I have a child, I prefer to use the unscented Dr Bronner's Baby so everyone can use it.
Use sample sizes instead of travel sizes
Why use a travel size when you could use a sample size?
Some makeup and skincare companies include sample sizes when you purchase. Hang on to these and pack them when you fly!
Travel sized toothpaste is very easy to find, but for a shorter trip why not consider toothpaste packets? They're frequently billed as "single use," but they tend to have enough toothpaste for two or three brushings.
If you can't find any locally, try looking online for products like NOBS toothpaste tables or look for DoTerra OnGuard sample packets.
- FLUORIDE-FREE AND REMINERALIZING! Harnessing the power of nanohydroxyapatite for long-term protection, and leaving a refreshing minty aftertaste.
- ECOFRIENDLY PACKAGING! Conveniently housed in a plastic-free glass jar, we're the go-to for a no plastic toothpaste tablet.
- TRAVEL WITH CONFIDENCE! NOBS tablets bypass the TSA's 3.4oz liquid limit, ensuring hygienic, stress-free travel.
I know marketing has done a great job of convincing us body wash is awesome, but it's a liquid and a bar of soap isn't. Leave your body wash at home and use bar soap, instead.
There are also some very nice shampoo bars available. I personally use the Ethique line of shampoo bars and conditioner bars at home and on the go. This will save you major space in your liquids bag.
I always, always bring hand sanitizer on planes with me, but I frequently choose hand sanitizer wipes instead of liquid bottles.
Okay, who am I kidding - I actually usually bring both, but the hand sanitizer liquid is one of the first things I remove if I'm running short on space! You can get individually wrapped wipes, like these ones from Purell, or larger containers like these hand sanitizer wipes
If you think I'm being paranoid, check out this recent article on how dirty airplanes are. It repeatedly recommends sanitizing your tray table before you use it!
- Kills 99.99% of most common germs that may cause illness.
- 62% alcohol formulation cleans and sanitizes.
- Individually wrapped.
Especially for shorter trips, I also love using those single use toothbrushes instead of traditional toothpaste.
TSA liquids tip - evaluate if you really need it
Do you really, truly need that hairspray, gel, mousse, etc?
Maybe you're going to a fancy holiday party and those products truly are necessary.
Or maybe you're staying in hostels and you really want to earn a reputation as a "flash packer."
In my opinion, if you're going backpacking, trekking, to the beach, on an amusement park vacation, etc., maybe you don't need products like these.
As someone who's lived near the ocean for much of my life, I can assure you the humidity is probably going to wreck whatever you just did with your hair. And, trust me, the fashion police don't stay at backpackers' hostels.
If you really need some hair product, consider transferring some pump (not aerosol) hair spray into a reusable glass spritz bottle.
- 2oz Amber Glass Bottle
- with White Fine Mist Sprayer
- PK of 6
Leave it and find something at your destination.
This tip is last on the list for a reason - I'd personally rather not be running around buying things I already owned and simply left at home.
Here in America we're accustomed to hotel shampoo and conditioner freebies and, depending on where you stay, they can be perfectly usable.
If you're staying in more budget accommodations, guest houses, or in another country, you might not be able to expect complementary toiletries and will have to go buy anything you didn't bring.
As I said, I'm not big on buying things I already own just for the fun of it! With that in mind, if the choice comes down to check a bag or buy shampoo once I arrive, I'm going to go with buy the shampoo.
One final tip to make your life with carryons and liquids even easier - make sure you are absolutely ready to be screened as soon as you hit the front of the TSA checkpoint line.
Have your 3-1-1 complaints liquids bag out and ready (I like to carry mine either on top of my bag or at the very top so there's no digging around) and have your shoes either in hand or ready to whip off.
TSA liquids FAQs
Can I bring hand sanitizer on an airplane? Yes, but it counts as a liquid unless you get hand sanitizer wipes
What is the TSA approved bag size? The TSA approved bag size is one quart. The bag must be clear and have a zip top, but it can be a reusable bag.
Does deodorant count as a liquid? Logic says that deodorant is not a liquid, but it is a "gel" according to the TSA which means it must comply with 3-1-1 rules.
Does hair gel count as a liquid for TSA? Yes, since hair gel is a gel, it has to go in your liquids bag.
Is lotion considered a liquid by the TSA? Yes, lotion counts as a liquid unless you use a lotion bar (which is a solid)
This post deals exclusively with making the most of your carry on bag of liquids. If you need more tips for how to pack your carry on/hand carry luggage, please stop by my post filled with packing light tips!
Traveling with just a carry on not only helps keep your items safe, but it can also save you quite a bit of money. The first time I flew to Hawaii, I purchased a new carry on bag because it cost less than checking a bag both ways!
If you're trying to figure out what can and can't make it past the TSA checkpoint, you may also enjoy this post on the best travel snacks for airplanes that will make it past TSA!
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