How Packing Cubes Can Change Your Life
I have resisted the packing cube for a long time. Of course people are in awe of them and this is a classic travel hacker . “But what will they actually do for me?” – I thought, tightly rolling up T-shirts and throwing them into my suitcase niche. “I mean, it’s a whole extra layer of fabric, so they don’t save space,” I mused, digging in the bottom of my backpack, looking for a flashlight I could swear to put next to the top.
What Packing Cubes Really Do
In fact, packing the cubes does not directly, physically save space; everything still takes up the same amount of space as before. (Unless you’re buying compression-wrapped cubes , which is a common thing.) Instead, they will pack the same number of things, but they will behave like less.
This is what I mean. Imagine a fantasy world in which you only have to carry a few things. You could easily find everything in your bag, right? It would never be too difficult to unpack, let alone repackage. You can think a little about what is happening and where, but it doesn’t require levels of strategy like Tetris. Packing cubes give you all these benefits, even if packed to the brim.
Cubes make it easier to pack tightly
If you’re already an efficient packer, you know that rolling up your clothes will buy you a lot of space. But clothes remain rolled up only if they are pressed against something: either against neighboring rolls, or against the wall of your suitcase.
This means that the only way to keep these rolls tightly closed is to keep them under control. If they don’t fill your suitcase completely, they will fall apart and flop. If they fill their suitcase, and then minutes you remove something, the whole scene is thrown into chaos.
Enter packing cubes. You can fold the shirts as loosely or tightly as you like, then zip them into a cube where they stay rolled up. If you take off your shirt and it doesn’t fit so tightly anymore, it doesn’t really matter – the rest are still snug in their cube. They won’t unfold much, and even if they do, they won’t spread over everything else.
Cubes make it easy to find
At first, I used packing cubes on a trip where I was going to be camping and was also at a wedding. My beautiful clothes fit in one cube, my hiking clothes fit in another, and various items, such as books, in a third. This left enough room for other large items. If I need something, I unbutton my backpack, pull out three dice and grab what it was. Then I rolled the dice back. Everything was easy to find and my dress didn’t even wrinkle.
Even in the more traditional suitcase situation, everything is still easily accessible. I will have my clothes and essentials in a few cubes and then packing the suitcase is a matter of how to put those cubes inside and zip up. If I need to add a large bag or hide my winter coat while I’m sitting on a bench at the airport, this is a simple operation, not a wrestling match.
Oh yes, and they are good for organizing
If you are splitting your material into multiple cubes, you will naturally split it logically. If you know in which cube there are some things, you have organized everything by definition and you can pretend to be one of those organized people with it.
For a typical one-person trip, sort things either by type or by when you will use them. I often have a cube of nice clothes, a cube of underwear, spare shirts and pajamas, and a cube for training equipment.
For several people, cubes are what allows the suitcase to be divided peacefully. When I take my family on summer vacation, each child gets their own packing cube with their name on the strip of masking tape outside. Each of the older children should pack their cube in their backpack (the rest of the backpack can be filled with toys), and the small child’s cube goes next to mine. When we get to our destination, I put each cube in the hotel dresser drawer.
You can also snap a cube to a location or target. For example, I like to stack all my swimwear and glasses into one cube. Take it on your way to the beach and you know you have everything you need.
Ever since I figured out how to use packing cubes, they have become indispensable. I wouldn’t travel without them, and I’m constantly finding new uses. How do you use packing cubes?