Packing Cubes. Do you really need them?

I’ve had my eye on packing cubes for quite some time.  As a single girl, I used to travel quite a bit for work and usually kept a bag packed because I was fortunate enough to visit locations for business that were also great for vacations.

During this time of constant business travel, I tried different ways of packing my clothes so that they wouldn’t wrinkle.  Wrinkles were the worst on a business trip and I was always afraid I was going to ruin a piece of clothing with the hotel iron.  After trial, error and some research I landed on the practice of rolling my clothes.

I have found that rolling my clothes versus folding them left me with few wrinkles and more room in my suitcase.  And, I needed that extra space for the clothes I inevitably purchased while I was away.  

After years of successfully rolling my clothes, I was eyeing these packing cubes with suspicion and curiosity.  Could I really get the same results as rolling and still have space in my suitcase for the mandatory shopping haul?  Now that I shop not just for me but for our son (mostly) and my husband, I need a lot of extra space in our luggage.

So, what about these cubes?  How many packing cubes do I need?  What size packing cube do I need?  Do packing cubes save space?  How do you pack a suitcase with packing cubes?

Let’s find out together, shall we?

Now in the interest of full disclosure, my mom purchased these cubes for me from Amazon.  These are BAGIL 6 Set Packing Cubes in three various sizes.

BAGIL 6 Set Packing Cubes

The set of 6 includes:

• 2 Large ( 17.5" x 13.7" x 4")

• 2 Medium (13.7" x 9.8" x 4")

• 2 Slim (13.7"x5"x4")

The challenge, can I get all of this into the 6 cubes that came in this set and still have room for any of my son or husband’s items?

Into one of the large cubes, I packed the following items for me:

• 7 pairs of shorts

• 12 tops

• 4 dresses

Into the other large cube, I packed the following for my son:

• 10 pairs of shorts

• 15 t-shirts

• 4 collared shirts

• 15 pairs of underwear

Into one of the medium cubes, I packed the following items:

• 2 two-piece swimsuits

• Swim coverup

• Swim shoes

• 1 night gown

• 1 pjs short set

• Personal garments

Into the second medium cube, I packed the following items:

• 2 pairs of swim trunks and rash guard tops

• My workout gear

• Socks for both of us

I did use the smaller slim cube for our masks which I held onto in the car in case we needed extra.  

So, do you really need packing cubes?

My point of view is, yes!  After this trip I am truly a packing cube convert and will use them going forward. 

If you would like to give them a try then, I’d suggest the following:

5 tips for using packing cubes

• Tip #1 - Use the rolling method within the cube. I still find that rolling my clothes gives me more room to work with, and I didn’t have to iron anything at any point during our trip.

• Tip #2 - Don’t unpack the cube. When you arrive at your destination, simply lift the cube from your case and place it in a drawer. Hang up what needs to be hung and leave the rest. This way if you don’t use everything, you don’t have to begin the repacking process from scratch.

• Tip #3 - Play with the packing cubes. As I finalized packing, I was able to arrange and rearrange the cubes in my suitcase to maximize my overall packing space. Try different configurations in your luggage to get the most space saving layout.

• Tip #4 - Let your length of stay and the season dictate your choice of cubes. Our trip was a long one and lasted just over 30 days. Normally we do a 7-10 day trip in the summer and under those circumstances, I suspect that I would have been able to pack for my family of three using a combination of three of the large and medium cubes. If we were traveling when we needed heavier and warmer clothes over a 7-10 day period, I would expect that we would need the four larger cubes.

• Tip #5 - Separate your clothes. If you happen to have access to a washer/dryer or don’t use all of your items while you’re away, the cubes provide a nice way to separate your clean from your dirty clothes. Pack the clean ones in the cubes and let the items to be laundered fill in the space around the case. Or use them to wrap breakable or fragile items that you’re bringing home in your suitcase.

Have a look here to see how I actually got our items into the cubes.

Happy packing and Enjoy the Journey!

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