How do you pack your Packing Cubes?

It's probably a personal preference but I pack all shirts together in a larger cube and underwear in a smaller. Slacks/jeans don't get a cube as I only take a couple pairs of those.

I roll my clothes in the large cube: slacks, shirts, PJ's, and sometimes have a baggy with a light sweater inside the cube, but on top of all the rolled items. I also can usually fit the underwear sandwich size baggy in there as well. Socks lay in the indentations between the extension handle tubes under the large cube. Bras and scarves in the zipped section inside the suitcase top. So my clothes are separate, but easily accessible once I remove the large cube as most are inside, but some under or in the inside top of the suitcase...and sometimes I don't need to remove the large cube, just open it up in place and reach underneath for socks. This leaves about 25% of the suitcase on one side for all the other stuff…plugs, general meds, dry toiletries, etc. This was in the 20" RS roll aboard, which I checked after the first flight (learned my lesson). When I check the bag I pull out a cloth bag (think grocery-type) with the items not in my purse, but that I want to be sure not to lose…just in case. I also have a large baggie for dirty clothes awaiting sink wash willy nilly in the suitcase. This is how I packed for my recent 17 day trip.

Not exactly on subject, but close. Regardless of how one packs the cubes, consider this. Pack half of one person's stuff and half of the other person's stuff in one carry on. Do the same with the other carry on. That way if one of the bags has to be gate checked (and it does happen even with a legit sized carry on) and goes on it's own vacation, each will have at least half their stuff and can get by.

Gretchen, I pack by category: toiletries, meds and electronics go in separate ziplock bags inside a small cube; medium cube gets underwear and socks; large cube gets tops and bottoms.

TC, the excellent advice in your post brings up a question I have been asking myself lately: why am I not bringing only half of what I pack if it's enough to get by?

I put the large clothing items into the bottom of the suitcase. I put the packed cubes in the center of the suitcase. Then, I fold the large clothing items over the top and around the cubes--avoiding making any creases. I place toiletries on the top in the prescribed 1 quart zip lock bags. That way, they're easy to get to if airport security wants to see'em.

I'm a little puzzled by this, "...if I put all the underwear together, I have to get out every packing cube at each new hotel to put together an outfit." Are you doing carry-on? How many cubes are we talking about here?

I use a 22" soft-sided (except for the wheels and back with the handle) Lipault spinner. Thank you for asking this question. It urged me to actually measure the inside capacity of that spinner. It is 20x14x9. That's right at 2500 cu in.

I have packing cubes in a variety of sizes: Large 14x10x3 (420 cu in), Half 10x7x3 (210 cu in), Quarter 7.5x4.5x2.5 (85 cu in) and Tube 13x4x3 (155 cu in). Note to anyone buying cubes or any luggage: Do the math yourself. Some of the capacities are way off what may be listed online.

I typically use 2 large cubes for most of my clothing. One gets tops, including tanks and sleepwear, folded. I've tried rolling my tops and they seem to take up more room and end up more wrinkled than if I fold them. The other one gets bottoms, a vest and/or cardigan, socks, scarves or anything else there is room for in it. I usually pack a half-cube with my panties (rolled). Bras and shapewear also go in that one, any way they will fit.

Have you been keeping up with the math? That means I have used up a total of 1050 cu in of my spinner's capacity. The rest of the stuff I pack in it also goes in whatever cubes it will fit in and that will fit in the spinner. That may vary because the cubes are soft-sided and their shapes may be contorted a bit due to what's in them, which often is not soft-sided.

My 2nd pair of shoes goes in a plastic grocery bag or two, depending on space available. There are one each zipper pockets in the top flap and the long side of the bag. They are often empty or at worst have some pieces of paper in them. There is an outside zipper pocket in the top of the bag, too, but I only use it for the "leash" I sometimes use to attach the bag to me.

The result is that I can see everything in the bag when I open it, and there are really only 2-3 cubes I need access to for the night and the next morning. If I want to take them out, it uses all of about 10 seconds to do so. If it's a one-nighter, I will hang up whatever I'm going to wear the next day. If we will be there for 2 nights or more, I remove the cubes from the bag, hang up what I need to and put what's left in a drawer or on a shelf, still in the cube.

It never occurred to me to pack outfits together since I pack for a week and a day and everything goes with everything else (Vivienne Files style only with fewer and much less expensive pieces). That extra day is in transit or the day we deal with laundry. Our trips have all been 4+ weeks.

I have been considering compression packing cubes. They might help with the volume, if not the weight, if I go to a smaller 19x13x6 2-wheeled bag. The capacity of that bag is probably close to the exterior measurements, i.e. about 1500 cu in. Secretly I was hoping that the new IATA bag size would generate new bags at about 2000 cu in, but I guess that won't happen now.

Gretchen,

I tend to use a "modular" approach, packing similar items in each cube (or other container). For example....

• Underwear & socks in one cube (I also store my spare glasses there, since the clothing provides some protection & padding)
• Miscellaneous gear in a separate cube (Plug Adaptors, laundry soap, clothing repair kit, etc.)
• Chargers, etc. in a separate container

This is something that's always a "work in progress" and I'm always fine-tuning it with every trip.

Hi,

My husband prefers to check his bag, so I usually will pack our swimsuits & 1 outfit each in by daybag that I bring on the plain. In our packed bags, I put all shirts together, pants together. Underwear & socks will go in one small cube.

Mary

I had the same dilemma as you, but on our last trip I settled on putting like things together. We got slim cubes that fit across the carry-on but are narrow. I rolled my socks into one, underwear into another and scarves into another. Then I only had my pants and shirts loose in my bag instead of having to rearrange all the small things each day. I put things like our toothbrushes, brushes and toiletries in the zippered pouches on the inside of the suitcase lid. I'm sure this method will vary depending on what you like to pack. This was our smoorhest packing yet and our longest trip, so i think I'll do it that way again. Have a great trip!

For work trips, I place my work pants in the bottom half of the suitcase (closest to the wheels) and place my extra pair of shoes in a plastic bag on top of the pants. For the portion of the suitcase close to the handle, I use two medium cubes, one stacked above the other - one for underwear, wrapping the smallest items around the edges of the underwire to protect them; the 2nd holds all of my non-wrinkle tops. That's a maximum of two packing cubes per day to open.

For vacation trips, I exchange most of the work pants for dresses & capris. The dresses go into a 3rd cube. That's still a maximum of two packing cubes per day to open.

I'm sorry but I can't help being just a wee bit amused: packing is not rocket science. Most of it is just figuring out what works for YOU, and sometimes that just takes doing it a few times. I have no issues throwing packing cubes in and out of our bags when we need to: so much easier than if they were NOT in cubes. It takes a matter of seconds.

I'll be very brave and admit that we do check luggage. Our bags are not huge; we can lift them in and out of buses and trains ourselves; we can walk a mile+ with them when we need to; we have run up/down stairs at train stations with them. It's just easier for us personally than trying to sort it all into carry-ons. That's a personal choice, and I realize that it's not the touted 'Rick Steves' Way' but for three weeks, that is what's proven to be the best method for us.

OK, so I'm ready for the hail of rotten tomatoes for bucking the status quo but we're all different so it's only RIGHT if it works for YOU.

We have not ever used packing cubes. When they were becoming popular we looked at them and decided not to use them because they were all opaque and we though the time spent unzipping and rezipping them to find things would be a waste of time. That thought hasn't changed although we do use several zipper lock bags for various small things. You'd think a couple of librarians would be compulsively more organized. You'd think.

Kathy, no tomatoes from us. We agree that everyone must find the travel methods that work for them, whether that is packing or transportation.
Having said that, we did several prototype packing sessions for our most recent travels because we felt we had to do carry-ons. Not because of some cult belief, but because we tracked the flight history of our flight. The initial leg into Europe was significantly late and/or cancelled several times over the two months we watched it. Therefore we felt we needed to have our luggage with us because once we arrived we left for another destination almost immediately and would not have been around to retrieve late luggage. It was a much larger challenge. We ended up using compression bags that had the amount of outfits necessary for the number of nights we would be in each location. Shirt, underwear, socks,etc. Pants were not included in this. It worked well for us. For this trip and for this specific itinerary.
Our next trip allows us to unpack for several nights, so we will use regular packing cubes. One for shirts, one for underwear etc. Every trip is different and every traveler has different needs. It is kind of fun (in an OCD kind of way) to spend time experimenting ahead of time. As Charlie Brown always said, "The expectation was exceeded only by the actual event."

My cubes are mesh, so there are no problems seeing what's inside for me or for security at either end of the trip. I much prefer the cubes to slippery plastic bags or loose items in my bag. My husband prefers the "loose in the bag and slippery plastic bag" style.

It's definitely a case of personal preference for us, although I find that the cubes keep me from packing too much, and he always packs about twice as much stuff as he needs.

I'm one of those super-organized retired librarians. He's definitely not. We both retired from technical jobs, but neither of us was a rocket scientist. Probably a very good thing...

In the 20" RS carryon, I roll my pants or capris and put them in the middle bottom of the bag,between the handle tracks. Socks in 1 Eagle Creek half tube (for winter), undies in another half tube. I used to roll my tops and put them in a med packing cube. Now I prefer to put tops (folded flat) in an EC small shirt envelope. That lets me pack scarves safely between the tops and compress everything. I buy scarves and postcards for my souvenirs.

I'm tall with big feet, so I have to put my shoes or sandals along the long sides of the bag. For the 21" RS roller they fit well on the short ends. But for me, the smaller bag requires a different approach. The key to packing the 20" is to make great use of the corner space. I'm a light packer, but not super light.

I like using Tom Bihn organizer pouches (especially the Size 2 or 4 Knitting pouches) to organize small items, like spork/tea bags or charge cables. They are slim, and line the sides of the bag easily. I pack my raincoat in the big exterior pocket. If the 20" bag is a little puffy for the luggage sizers (as it was on the way home from Rome/Paris last year) I can whip out the coat and wear it through security or gate check. The 20" case can get "bulgier" than the 21".

As Charlie Brown always said, "The expectation was exceeded only by the actual event."

Isn't that the truth!!!! :O)

I use the Eagle Creek sil-nylon extremely lightweight cubes. They are not really see thru, but the fabric is light enough I can see where things are in them. I use a big one for my shirts and sweaters and a small one for underwear, socks, pj's. I fold my pants on the bottom on my suitcase. I have miscellaneous ziplocks for toiletries. I never take my cubes out of the suitcase. I traveled for 8 weeks with them in the RS 22" convertible last fall, and just got back from a week in Yellowstone with them in the 20" wheeled RS bag. All of my clothes go with each other, so I don't have outfits, per se, so that method would not work for me. If you are packing by outfits, you will have too many cubes and they may not be full enough to justify using them. Your cube should open wide enough at the end to just pull out whatever shirt/underwear/etc that you need without unpacking the whole cube.

Someone upthread mentioned compression cubes. I have the Eagle Creek silnylon compression cube which is not really a compression cube, it just has an extra zipper to squash it down. I tried both rolling and folding shirts for this cube and found the folding gave me a more evenly shaped cube when the compression zipper was zipped.

Let us know what works for you!

All of my clothes go with each other, so I don't have outfits,
Same here. All tops go with all bottoms, and I don't pack anything I'm not sure I'll wear more than once or even twice.

Count me as one of the "loose in the bag and slippery plastic bag" guys.

We always carry about a dozen plastic supermarket bags to organize our clean clothes and gear, liquids, dusty shoes, dirty or damp clothes, food,drink and garbage. These bags pack down to nothing and are disposable. By the end our trip, we are scrambling to find extra shopping bags to wrap souvenirs etc.

I considered buying some packing cubes before our trip. (Best selection and prices are on eBay from China). But in the end, I just preferred the flexibility, water/leak protection and simplicity of those plastic bags (we have hundreds of them recycled from our shopping).

My thinking was that you can organize all your clean clothes perfectly in the cubes at the beginning, but once you are travelling, you will have some dirty or less fresh clothes that need to be separated out from the clean stuff. I am pretty OCD about washing the dirty stuff every day, but some times I just can't do it or the clothes may still be a bit damp. I also like to organize a set of clothes in one plastic bag near the top of the bag if I need to grab it for a quick change when we are on the move, but need to dress up for the evening out etc.

At the end of the trip, I was wrapping bottles of limoncello, souvenir baseball hats, Murano glassware, cookies and other souvenirs in clothes and plastic bags into all different shapes to make things fit and to protect things from breakage. It would have been less flexible to try and fit things into the cubes.

Anyways it worked for us.

When I travel foreign or domestic, I use Ebags packing cubes. In my large cube (17.5 x 12.75 x 3.25 in) I put my rolled shirts. In my medium cube (13.75 x 9.75 x 3 in) I put my underwear and socks. In the small cube (11 x 6.75 x 3 in) I put misc stuff. My extra pair of pants, I fold up and lay on top of my cubes. This all fits nicely in my Campmor Essential Carryon bag. In my carry on backpack I use the Ebags Slim Packing cube (2.8 x 14 x 5 in) for my necessary power cords, adapters and more misc stuff.

When I check into a hotel, I just move my packing cubes to the dresser in my hotel room.

FYI I just bought (today) some Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Cubes at REI for about 1/2 off.
Some of them are clearanced and a good price.

Minimalist approach, I've been traveling for business and pleasure for over 45 years and my system is real simple. No packing cubes or organizers other than the hanging toiletry kit. Socks and underwear go on the bottom between the RS wheeled bag handles. I do roll pants but shirts and everything else are just stuffed in wherever to even things out. I always try to make sure it all fits without needing to sit on the bag to close the zipper and I always leave the expansion part closed until/unless needed on the return trip. Yes, shirts come out wrinkled but for personal trips I use travel shirts from Ex-Officio, Duluth Trading, REI and don't worry about the wrinkles - they come out within an hour or so of wearing. For business trips, every hotel I've ever stayed in had irons.

I use cubes in my carry-on for soft, rollable items; and a small cube in my daybag/personal item for cables, chargers, etc.

On my last trip I did a mix of bundle and packing cubes. I took mostly knits. I was able to pack 4 skirts and a jersey dress folded in half lengthwise, a pair of stretch twill trousers - all laid out in the suitcase in the traditional "bundling" method. 7 t-shirts and a dressier knit top rolled up in one cube; underwear/socks, pjs, swimwear and microfiber towel in another cube. The cubes were placed on top of the other clothing which I then alternately folded over the cubes. A pair of sandals and a pair of flats on the sides of the bag. (Lo - I went for the smaller Lipault bag a couple of months ago and I love it. I was surprised it held so much.)

I too find it easier to think in terms of mixing and matching clothing items rather than packing "outfits". I find it much more versatile.