Creating the perfect airplane outfit

 The perfect airplane outfit changes per trip, but it always has a few things for me:

• Compression socks for international flights
• A scarf
• My heaviest pants
• A light weight jacket

For my trip to Germany in summer 2023, I wore:

• Not pictured: Clarks slide on shoes that I wore pretty much every day to work that are very comfortable
• Purple compression socks that have been with me on every international adventure since 2013
• A lightweight scarf I bought in Spain
• A print t-shirt
• A black exercise jacket with zip up pockets
• Jeans - my only long pants jeans for the whole trip.  These are my heaviest pants and surprisingly comfortable.  I've been able to "rest" in jeans on planes before.  I don't sleep well on international flights anyways.
• Not pictured: my money belt

When I arrive to the airport, there is nothing in my pockets for ease of going through security.  Once I'm at the gate, I move things from my purse to my pockets so I'm not elbowing my neighbor or making a mess to find my essentials.  What I want on hand for my flight are:

• Ear planes - these are a LIFE SAVER for me since my ears will otherwise pop and I'll be in pain for hours to days afterwards.
• Headphones with a 3M jack.  I have a 3M to lightning convertor so I can use one pair the whole trip, whether to my iPhone or the airplane's TV or to a museum's audio guide.
• Hard candy for take off and landing
• Hand wipes
• Entertainment, ie: Kindle

How to pack your 3-1-1 liquids bag

By now, almost everyone is familiar with the 3-1-1 liquids rule.  According to the TSA: Each passenger may carry liquids, gels and aerosols in travel-size containers that are 3.4 ounces or100 milliliters. Each passenger is limited to one quart-size bag of liquids, gels and aerosols.

My liquids bag contains:

• Shampoo - even though this is provided at most hotels
• Conditioner - even though this is provided at most hotels
• Dish soap so I can wash my water bottle and my plastic silverware 
• Liquid foundation
• Moisturizer
• Toothpaste
• Sunscreen
• Nasal spray for my allergies - if it were a prescription with my name on it, it could go outside of my liquids bag
• Laundry soap so I can handwash my clothes in the sink
• Two laundry "pods" since I'll be away for a month on this particular trip and will be using washing machines
• Not pictured: the liquid for Covid tests.  I'm still packing my own tests since they are easy to carry and more convenient than finding a pharmacy if I'm unwell.

Other things I've put in my bag over the years:

• Peanut butter
• Hummus
• Over the counter first aid items like Neosporin and Sting Kill 

My favorite hack for keeping my liquids contained is to put a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth of the bottle BEFORE tightly screwing the lid on.

The past two times I've flown from O'Hare, security had us keep our liquids bag inside our carry on.  I still keep it near the top of my bag or in my purse for easy access.

I travel with an extra empty quart bag in case mine gets damaged along the way.  I always use a freezer bag so the bag is stronger and won't break as easily.  The rounded bottles are always no problem, but it's the pointed ends on the toothpaste and sunscreen that are most likely to damage the bag.

What's in your liquids bag?  Do you have any hacks?