OMG. Packing cubes

[falleninlove]

I'm 60. Spent 35 years in a high pressure career which took me around the world. Spent most of my professional life living out of a suitcase.

Getting ready for a really special trip to celebrate combined 60th and retirement and decided, after reading up on mumsnet, to try packing cubes.

OMG. Where have these been all my life. Beyond fabulous. I'm completely blown away. Sorry. Just had to share.

They are very useful, I think they are great but on longer trips where I’m living out a bag.

How come people are posting affiliate links to Amazon? I didn’t think that was allowed?

@NomDePrune , same idea but they close properly. I used to use carrier bags or lightweight drawstring bags, but the cube shape helps be more organised.

I love packing cubes also but the ones you can squish down. If we are traveling light and hand luggage only, I roll the clothes, place them in then close the cube. Also use the second zip to 'squish' in and it makes it so much smaller. One cube in my rucksack and the other in DCs. It's great. I packed a week worth of clothes this way our last trip in one cube each.

Yeah, after a long haul road trip last month I'm a convert. I didn't think they saved much in the way of space but super useful to have categories e.g. all tops, or trousers, or dresses ect in specific cubes then the worn items put at the bottom of the case.

I'm not sure of the benefit if staying put in one location (and able to unpack fully and use a wardrobe) but for a multi stop trip I'd definitely use again.

It's just a link - wish I did get paid for it!

They all slot together and are clothes shaped!

For multi centre/wandering trips I found nylon type zip bags of varying colors were fab. Got them in the tiger shop. A different color/size for different items, and one for laundry. They pack flat and take up little space. I tried cubes but I didn't get on with them at all, found them quite bulky. Each to their own though...

I hear ya! Total convert here. Makes packing easy as you can make sure you’ve got the same type of things and when staying somewhere it’s just a few items to take out of a bag and put on shelves or hang up (things to hang up all go in the same cube)

I've asked for it to be removed sorry!

Don’t be sorry. It’s not you. It’s mumsnet. There is something that changes links to affiliate links. It’s them, not you.

They're bloody brilliant.

We holiday every 1-2 months and have two young children. I cannot believe I've ever gone without them!

Especially for the little ones stuff. Soo easy to differentiate. We take 1 large case and 1 little case for 4 of us now. May not sound earth shattering but we've saved so much money on luggage.

I tell anyone who will listen about them!

Twenty years with the military means i can pack a case, know where everything is in it and don't need to iron a thing when i get to the other end. Why squish clothes into a cube and have it creased ?
On my last trip with a friend who is ex military, she used packing cubes but vowed never to use them again.

Oh ho! Come on then and tell us some of your military packing tricks!

Good point above re creasing - I love packing cubes for stuff like underwear, PJ's, swimwear, activewear etc, but I don't want my actual clothes to be all creased up and most (admittedly not all) of my holiday clothes won't stand for being rolled up then squashed.

I don't want to spend the first night of my hols ironing and the 'hang it in a steamy bathroom' trick doesn't work in my experience.

We tend to use ikea zip lock freezer bags, as we have small children we make outfit bags, as they’re zip lock you can squeeze the air out like you would a traditional compression sack. It clothes are properly rolled they don’t become creased. We do reuse them, so I’m not overly worried about plastic use. We’re not a fan of packing cubes for adult clothes, a properly packed case doesn’t need them, plus you have to unpack with them if they’re item based rather than outfit based.

Best things ever!!!

I also pack on the hanger as well now, so just shuffle the hanger down! Literally can unpack in seconds, have enough hangers and works even more awesome with kids clothes!

I bought a cheap set in TK Maxx to try out at the start of last year. Oh my god, they so work.
Instead of taking a suitcase, a travel bag and a hand luggage case for Christmas, I only took the suitcase/hand luggage. I managed to fit everything into my suitcase and had the hand luggage for Christmas presents.
One broke so I will get a new set for the summer.

I discovered packing cubes last month for a couple of trips! Game. Changer.!!
All my bras/pants in one, jumpers in another, thermals in another.
Ive read people,on here rave about them in the past and I’ll admit, I just didn’t get it. I do now!!

The ones I got were 3 for a fiver from Home Bargains

Which ones did you buy OP? I occasionally look at buying some but the reviews are always very mixed.

Were v useful when I wanted to take stuff out of my cabin bag and into hand luggage when I got rerouted last year and was v nervous of suitcase arriving after it was diverted into the hold. Quick to take out the cubes with the most irreplaceable stuff in.

Suitcases tend to be standard sizes (cabin sized, medium, large) Most decent packing cubes are designed to fit especially width ways across a cabin luggage width. Which then fit jenga style in larger Suitcases. You rarely have gaps, but if you do, that's where the makeup and wash bag go!!

Fit way more in a packing cubes than I do without. In fact found I couldn't really do compression cubes because everything was already compressed.

Can you explain how they work in primary school terms?

Especially for travelling

tbh I found them a bit meh.

some very clever marketing imo

They are so good! Just bung them into drawers when you get to your destination. Unpacking done in 2 minutes.

They are very useful. Everyone has a cube for pants and socks. Put them straight in the drawers at your destination and any clean ones are easily packed back into the suitcase to come home.

I had a first aid cube, toiletries cube. Young DC clothes cubes. There’s no point putting large adult items of clothes in them as you can just lay them on the top last, but for everything else they are so great for organising and keeping things neat at your destination.

I didn’t find it gave me extra space, but the organisation benefits make them so worthwhile.