The rules
| Item | Rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Underwear, socks | Nights + 1 | A spare for travel days |
| T-shirts | Nights + 1 (up to about 8) | Changed daily |
| Shirts | One per night | For business, one per meeting day |
| Pants, shorts | One per 2 nights (1–4) | Worn two days |
| Jeans | One per 3 nights (1–3) | Worn longer |
| Pajamas, swimsuit | 2 if 4+ nights | Time to dry |
Examples by trip length (per person)
| Trip | Underwear/socks | T-shirts | Pants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 nights | 3 each | 3 | 1 |
| 3 nights | 4 each | 4 | 2 |
| 5 nights | 6 each | 6 | 3 |
| 9+ nights | Plan a laundry day | about 8 | 4 |
If you can do laundry
Beyond a week, one laundry stop beats packing for every night. Check whether your accommodation has a washer and bring detergent and a laundry bag; you can halve your clothes.
Setting quantities in the app
Enter nights and people
When creating a trip in Packing List, enter the number of nights and people.
Auto quantity
Auto quantity sets underwear, socks, T-shirts and similar items to the rules above in one go, showing what will change before applying. It’s free once a day, and you can always edit quantities by hand.
Your own items stay as they are
Items you typed yourself are never changed, so quantities you set by hand aren’t overwritten.
FAQ
What about baby clothes?
Allow nights + 2 for babies. See packing for a baby.
For a group, do I just multiply?
Multiply personal clothing by people; shared items like detergent and zip bags aren’t multiplied.
Packing List: Travel Checklist
No sign-up, and your trips stay on your phone. Free on Android.