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I am skipping my usual Monday Weekly Wrap Up this week in order to do a 3 part series about packing. Not only am I going to share some of my packing tips, but I need your advice as well! Today is all about packing cubes. I have heard great things about them and have been debating for some time now about whether or not to invest in a set, and I think I am about ready to take the plunge. After traveling last week and living out of a disorganized suitcase for 4 days, I sat down to order a set to try out on a trip next month and discovered that there are TONS of options available. This is where I need help from those of you who have used packing cubes, and I will try my best to provide feedback (after I order & use mine) to those of you who haven’t. If any of you have a favorite or recommended brand, please let me know! I think I have narrowed it down to the following brands:
eBags Packing Cubes
TravelWise Packing Cube System
Eagle Creek Travel Gear Pack-It Specter Set
I have read great reviews about all 3 choices, and I think I have made up my mind about which set I am going to try first but I wanted to see if I could get any feedback from you all first. Is there another brand that you love? Are they worth the money and effort it takes to use them? Do you like them for yourself, your kids, or both? Do they only help with organization, or do they save space as well? Do Ziploc bags work just as well?
ETA: I have since traveled with packing cubes and you can read all about it here.
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Also, you can read some of my other posts about packing here:
How I Stay Organized While Traveling
My Top 10 Disney Cruise Packing Tips
How I Pack Our Princess Dresses
10 Things I Always Pack for a Disney Cruise
If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more, scroll down to see the archives where you can find links to all of my previous posts!
I look forward to your review. I have read about packing cubes for some time now, and thinking about investing in some myself. One of my concerns is, with packing cubes, I won’t be able to pack as much stuff in my suitcase. My clothes may be better organized, but I’ll be packing less clothes with the cubes. Look forward to your experience.
My vote is for “yes” on packing cubes! I bought a set for myself when I knew I was going to be traveling for a month last summer. I loved them and would like to get cubes for our entire family, however, my husband, who travels OFTEN says he would never be bothered with them. (It is important to note that I am generally the organizational, list-maker, planner-type person in our family, while he is the “Let’s go on an adventure and buy underwear when we get there-type of person. Grin!)
I bought the “regular” Eagle Creek pack-it cubes. The Specter ones are thinner, lighter, and I think (without checking) more expensive, and I saw them as something along the lines of cubes for backpackers who were trying to save ounces of weight, which I didn’t think was much of a issue in my regular suitcase.
On the Eagle Creek site, they have diagrams of each of their suitcases, showing which cubes work best in different combinations. I actually grabbed some graph paper, drew the dimensions of my suitcase on it, and then started checking the dimensions of different cubes to see which ones would work best for what I needed and diagramming them in. That helped me to decide which cubes I wanted to start with. I have not yet purchased a packing folder, which I would really like to get, so I can’t comment on how that works. I would also like to get one of the Eagle Creek toiletry bags…the ones with the hook that will allow you to hang all of your toiletries from a bathroom hook or shower rod and save on counter space. However, the pieces I do have have made packing and organizing incredibly efficient.
If you are good at thinking outside of the box, you will find multiple uses for each piece. For example, I use the tube cube, which most people use for socks and underwear, for holding my curling iron and hair straightener to contain the cords and keep my hair stuff together. Also, I went with standard black pieces for my main cubes, but also purchased a small bright red cube to use as a minor “emergency” kit, which is easy to spot.
My sister has bought packing cubes for their entire family of 4 through L.L. Bean. (These seem very similar to the Eagle Creek ones, from what I can tell.) Each person has a different colour, so when they travel, it is easy for her to locate each person’s clothes and personal items. It is easy to simply unzip and fold back the tops of each cube and just slide it into a drawer or grab a specific cube, take what you need from it, and then return it to the suitcase, without digging around and messing things up. This is also helpful if you are going through security and they want to scrounge around in your bag.
As far as dirty laundry goes, I have seen cubes that have a “clean” side and a “dirty” side. I have also read about how some people sort their dirty laundry back into the cubes by colour (whites, lights, and darks), so that when they get home, they just dump the entire cube’s worth of clothes into the washer.
I think you are being wise to “sample” some cubes first. I have more cubes than I need for one suitcase, but depending upon what I am taking with me and which suitcase/bag I grab, I use different combinations. I have often seen cubes sold as “starter” sets, which is fine, but I find that while I might use a couple of the smaller cubes for odd items, that I wouldn’t necessarily need a starter set for each member of my family, knowing that they would mostly just need the larger cubes or half-cubes for the majority of their clothing. Plan on doing a bit of experimenting with packing different items in different-sized cubes to see how much you can get in there based on your kids’ sizes, etc. There is no sense wasting money on cubes you will never use.
As I mentioned previously, I think the packing folders would be a great addition (especially for adult clothing), but don’t overlook items like the Eagle Creek sacs as well. Like the cubes, they come in different sizes and colours and have a myriad of uses. For example, I use one to carry a change of clothing for our son if he may need it. It allows me to stick his clothes into whatever daypack we are using and not have them get jumbled up with the other stuff in the bag.
I look at my packing cubes as investment pieces. Yes, you can put your clothes in plastic bags, but bags tear and will likely get tossed as soon as you get home. Bags also do not allow you the simple drawer organization and versatility that cubes offer. As far as the space-saving factor goes, I think that depends upon how you traditionally pack. I do feel like with the cubes (and anticipate with the packing folders), that I can roll and compress, then zip more packets of clothes in than I could with just folding clothes and setting them in a suitcase. The cubes are kind of like the “spanx” of packing. When I use cubes, I find that my suitcase looks “trimmer” and doesn’t get that unsightly bulge in the middle when I just heap my clothes in and zip the zipper. I’m not saying that you are going to have room to put three more outfits in there or anything, but I think there is a marginal space-saving effect.
I am so totally looking forward to the updates on this article. I am anxious to see which sets you choose and in which combinations.
(Sorry for the long ramblings! I could talk organization all day.)