Have you ever used "packing cubes"?

[pampaul]

I ran across a thread on another message board and from the few people that replied, they all seem to love them.

 

I'm thinking of getting them but would like to hear how you liked them. We're a family of four, so should I get each of us a set of 3 (sm, med, lg)?

 

What sizes work best for you?

[Hibiscus13]

I am a fan of packing cubes. I don't think it cuts down on weight or space issues, but it certainly helps to keep everything organized. I like that clean and dirty clothing can be separated and that it's exremely easy to take one or two cubes out if a piece of luggage is overweight at a check in counter.

[firefly333]

Not a chance. I put socks into my shoes to pack and pack as tight as someone could who uses cubes. It might make you more organized, but doesnt save space to me.

 

Of course I pack light already. The lighter the better.

 

I know I used to pack a extra folding bag, because I always buy stuff to bring home. I have all the glitter shirts they sell on the ships. Dont pack stuff tight going, because unless you dont shop, you will have more coming home.

[firefly333]

I am a fan of packing cubes. I don't think it cuts down on weight or space issues, but it certainly helps to keep everything organized. I like that clean and dirty clothing can be separated and that it's exremely easy to take one or two cubes out if a piece of luggage is overweight at a check in counter.

 

We were typing at the same time. Exactly .. its to be organized and I unpack when I get on the ship into drawers. I dont dress out of my suitcase, so I want things packed as tight as possible, even if its not organized.

 

I wouldnt be able to pack with those cubes and bring all I want.

[sprint180]

I use them and love them. I think you can fit more in a bag and be more organized. But, I don't have enough for my family so I use big zip loc bags for my kids and that worked well also. If you don't want to fork out for the cubes try the bags and see how that works for you.

[Tralynn]

I use them and love them. I think you can fit more in a bag and be more organized. But, I don't have enough for my family so I use big zip loc bags for my kids and that worked well also. If you don't want to fork out for the cubes try the bags and see how that works for you.

This is exactly what I do. The big zip locks work great and you can separate dirty clothes for the return.

[PennyAgain]

I travel a great deal for business and now and then for a cruise. I use packing cubes very often and in a variety of colors and sizes.

 

I prefer the ones from EBags (their brand) for the color choices, price and the fact that they are machine washable.

 

I gave up using drawers in hotels after I found most of the drawers to be unclean and often containing left behind dirty magazines and worse!

 

Each member of my family has his/her own color scheme and I have several colors that I use up to the point of keeping basic stuff packed all the time and sorted by climates.

 

One major benefit of packing cubes is the ease of packing and repacking and the reduced chance of leaving something behind in a hotel room.

 

I use some zippy bags as well, but prefer the packing cubes.

[Happy ks]

I use them sometimes, not for every trip. I think 3 per person is overkill, usually just one or two is fine, you don't need to pack everything into cubes/folders.

 

This last trip I used 2 small cubes, neither of them for clothing. I used one for charging cords, the other for our battery powered alarm clock, travel speakers and extension cord (a short one, 6 ft). I like having all that stuff in one bag.

 

I sell packing cubes/folders in the luggage store where I work. I own several brands including ebags, Eagle Creek, Tumi, as well as brand X from Target. I prefer the Eagle Creek, just better made. Some people love them, some try them and don't care for them at all...it's all personal preference.

 

What I've used the packing folders (different from the cubes) for almost exclusively is when we go to a hotel a night prior to a cruise. I pack everything we need (clothing, robes, pajamas, underwear, socks) into one folder so we don't have to disturb the rest of the case. It also works well on the reverse trip, pack up one the morning of disembarkation and pop it into your case. You can do the same with the cubes, the folders are just neater to me.

[karinad]

I used them for the first time for our last cruise in Nov. I bought mine from Amazon. I think they're Rick Steve's brand. As the other posters have said, I don't think they save space either, but it's much easier unpacking on the ship. It's just my dh and I, but I usually do the packing and unpacking. I think I put his underwear and socks and polos in one, my bathing suites, shorts, underwear, in another. They're also good for stuff like cords, etc. The cubes I got are made of a lightweight mesh. They don't really add any more weight to your luggage. I'll use them again next cruise.

[triodes]

I haven't used cubes, will have to look into them.

 

If you want to save space, and have very few wrinkles, travel light and look nice - you might want to check out "bundle wrapping."

 

http://www.onebag.com/pack.html

 

works surprisingly well.

 

Only disadvantage is every night that you move, you have to rewrap.

 

Should work even better on a cruise than it does for short trips.

 

Works better than I thought it would. Very few wrinkles, and what wrinkles there are tend to be in good places that don't matter.

[cruisemom42]

I've tried it, and I get more into my suitcase packing my normal way than using the cubes. And I unpack everything on a cruise anyway (most of it gets hung up). But some folks love them.

[wocheez]

We started using them about a year ago and I find it much easier to pack since we use duffel bags. We were always moving stuff around to try and find everything no matter how neatly it went in. We actually get more in bags then without them. We use 3 to 4 each. We use the ones from LLBean they come 3 in a set and they are washable.

[Shak]

I love to use both cubes and folders for packing. I pack shirts with collars and pants in folders and roll everything else and put them in cubes. When I get to the ship I leave my clothing in the folders and cubes and stow them away in drawers or closet. As I hand wash or have my clothing cleaned on the ship I place each item back in the folder or cube so when it comes time to pack to go home all I do is replace these packing aids. Since almost everything is cleaned I just put away the clothing when I get home.

 

Shak

[pampaul]

I noticed on a video using these that they had this plastic thing that they use to fold the shirts. Is this sold by itself anywhere? What is it called?

[kazu]

I noticed on a video using these that they had this plastic thing that they use to fold the shirts. Is this sold by itself anywhere? What is it called?

 

I've seen them called envelopes. Not sure of other names.

 

We use both. I like the cubes as I basically don't have to unpack in hotels, etc and the items stay clean. usually things are left there on the cruise ship as well.

 

The envelopes keep things wrinkle free (or they drop right out) and keeps the clothes from moving around. Use them every trip.

 

BTW - TSA loves the cubes and envelopes - easy for them to see what you have without makeing a mess:D

[Pushka]

I use several. I have a small one for all my electrical chargers. One for undies and night wear. One for T-shirts that are rolled up. One for pants. one for bathers and coveralls. I can unpack in around five minutes. I usually leave things in their bags that don't require hanging or that don't get creased.

[5326jan]

http://www.ebags.com has many different sizes and shapes of cubes. Sometimes you can find eagle creek cubes on sale at places like Sierra Trading Post and REI. The envelope things are called folders and come with the plastic folding form. We cubes use for long trips when we are taking checked bags, but not usually for short trips in a carry on. Although, I do always put my underwear in the small size. If TSA has to rifle through my luggage for any reason, I want my underwear contained. :rolleyes: I personally don't like sticking something I'm going to wear into my shoes, other than socks.

[Happy ks]

I noticed on a video using these that they had this plastic thing that they use to fold the shirts. Is this sold by itself anywhere? What is it called?

 

 

I call it a folding board, similar to what they use in stores to fold T shirts so they aren't folded down the middle. Most of them have a diagram to show you how to fold the garment. I use them with a bundle method instead, folding the shirts as one rather than individually, with a soft core (underwear or socks) as the center soft bundle that eliminates creases.

 

I don't take them along when I pack in folders, it adds a bit of weight and I think the shirts hold their shape without the board. I get 7 - 10 shirts in a folder. Same with shorts or pants, several pair in each folder.

[maryann ns]

Our dollar store sells small zip mesh bags. I use these for underwear and socks, etc. I have made several 'mesh' bags for shirts, pants, etc. These work great and prevent my DH from messing things up too badly when he goes digging. Now all his shirts are folded and in one bag and he can make his choice easily. We can also tell at a glance when we need to do laundry.

 

The mesh I used was cheap remnants of lace from the fabric store. I just made a bag with one wide side left open. Take the fabric, fold it in half and make two seams - easy and cheap. This bit of mesh or lace takes almost no space.

[flamomo]

For a number of years I have used 2 1/2 gallon ziplock bags for packing whenever I travel. By folding carefully and "burping" all the air our of the bags, my clothes arrive amazingly wrinkle free.

 

Many of the items, such as tops, that I put in the bags for cruises go right on the shelves in the cupboard in the bags, and stay there until I want to wear them.

I use smaller ziplocks for underwear and to keep power cords, etc. organized.

 

No matter the type of bags/cubes. you need to be aware of the fact that by compressing the containers to eliminate the air, it is easy to get more in your luggage BUT run the risk of exceeding the airline's weight limits. That's why I bought my own luggage scale, and weigh my bags before leaving home and again after packing for the return home. If I have to rearrange, I'd much prefer to do so in my cabin instead of at the airport!

 

I also started using 2 25" suitcases, in addition to a roll-aboard, for cruises, rather than a 29" bag, because it is easier to stay within the weight limits imposed by the airlines. Actually, that gives me more square inches of packing space than one 29" bag!!

[t60]

We crosspack (just in case a piece of luggage goes missing we still have some clothes to wear) Last cruise i used his and hers cubes for the first time. Plus and extra cube for shirts. I used a piece of cardboard from a previous shirt purchase as a folding board, so all shirts folded to the same size and then went into the cube top to tail ie collars at alternate ends. The cubes worked well for us. I used another cube in our hand luggage to contains a days clothes and night clothes for overnight hotel stay.

I used ziplock bags as well for a variety of odds and ends including anything which might leak. I used a zipped wash bag for electrical stuff, chargers, cables etc.

We each took one of those hanging wash bags with different sections that just fold up (to go on the back of the bathroom door), but found just one would have been enough for us both.

I also packed one of those door hangers with numerous pockets for all the odds eg, medications, plasters, nail varnish, scissors, marker pens, postits, etc this was very useful and will definitely take that again.

Another must have for us were suction hooks, which we stuck to the mirrors. I used them to hang up my cheap necklaces, braclets, the lanyards with our cruise cards. i tried to use them om the walls to hang shopping bags, but they weren´t strong enough, I know to take some bigger, stronger ones next time.

Another must have for us was Blu Tack to attach postcards, notes, diary, pictures, tickets etc to cabin wall.

When we arrived home and unpacked we found a note in our luggage to say it had been opened by TSA, but we would never have known if they hadn´t put a note inside.

HTH someone. Sorry I strayed a bit off cube

Sandy in Spain