A carry-on for a week is not a feat of endurance. It is a matter of planning before you pack, packing in the right order, and accepting that you will wear things more than once. Done well, it means no waiting at the carousel and no lost luggage.

Plan Before You Pack

Check the forecast and your plans, then lay everything out on the bed. Build each day’s outfit from what is there. Anything that only works once goes back in the closet. Aim for a single color story so that every top works with every bottom.

Wear the Heaviest Things

The coat, boots and bulkiest sweater travel on you, not in the case. That frees a surprising amount of room.

Roll, Fold or Bundle

• Roll knits, jersey, T-shirts and underthings. They take less space and wrinkle less.
• Fold shirts, trousers and anything structured along their natural seams.
• Bundle a jacket or dress around a soft core of rolled clothes if it creases easily.

Use Packing Cubes

Cubes do not create space, but they compress soft clothes and keep the case in order, so you are not unpacking everything to find one shirt. A slim one for tops, one for bottoms and a small one for underthings is enough.

Shoes and Toiletries

Limit yourself to two pairs in the case, packed in bags along the bottom by the wheels, with socks stuffed inside them. Liquids follow your airline and airport rules; decant into small bottles, and buy anything bulky on arrival.

Plan to Do One Wash

A week is easier if you plan a mid-trip wash: a hotel laundry service or a sink and a little detergent for underthings and merino. It is the difference between packing seven days of clothing and packing four.

Shop the Edit

• Rimowa Essential Cabin, 24S
• Away Insider Packing Cubes, Revolve