Any packing cubes fans? Teach me your ways!

Mousemommy1 · Feb 3, 2016

Talk to me about how you use them -- I know, sounds stupid, right?

I bought some awhile back and am going to use them for the 1st time in April. We are typically ziploc bag/outfit a day people...and I still might do that even inside the packing cubes.

How many do you have? What does your packing look like?

We are a family of 5 -- DH and I, 2 girls (ages 11 and 9) and a boy (age 1).

I am trying to become a more efficient packer now with the baby -- I had it down pat when it was just the four of us, but now we have the baby and all the extra "stuff". I found that when the 5 of us went down last year, my packing wasn't nearly as stellar.

Can you help me out?

unrequited23 · Feb 3, 2016

I love my packing cubes! My packing strategies vary based on where we are going and for how long. Sometimes I pack all the swim stuff for everyone all together, then another cube of our pajamas and make sure those are the last things put in the suitcase since those will be needed first. I roll everything to fit more in each cube. Sometimes, I pack by color if we are going to be gone longer and will be unpacking the suitcase. DH gets one color, I get another and my boys (4 & 1.5) share the third. Diapers still get packed in a ziploc with all the air smushed out. We have one large master toiletry bag that gets refilled after every trip (if needed) and lives in the suitcase along with a first aid kit.

Tara1988 · Feb 3, 2016

I prefer the outfits in Ziploc bags method. So much easier to just grab and go. We never unpack on vacation, just live out of our suitcases. But this year, we're adjusting from me, hubby and a preschooler to me, hubby, 5 year old, toddler and infant, so we will have to make some changes. Can't imagine having to go through everyone's suitcase every morning.

Mousemommy1 · Feb 3, 2016

unrequited23 said:
I love my packing cubes! My packing strategies vary based on where we are going and for how long. Sometimes I pack all the swim stuff for everyone all together, then another cube of our pajamas and make sure those are the last things put in the suitcase since those will be needed first. I roll everything to fit more in each cube. Sometimes, I pack by color if we are going to be gone longer and will be unpacking the suitcase. DH gets one color, I get another and my boys (4 & 1.5) share the third. Diapers still get packed in a ziploc with all the air smushed out. We have one large master toiletry bag that gets refilled after every trip (if needed) and lives in the suitcase along with a first aid kit.

I think what I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is that this trip has many segments. We have 2 nights at WDW, 4 nights on a DCL cruise, and then 2 more nights at WDW. Usually we are 1 resort for 11 days, so this is A LOT of changing around for us. I want to be strategic so that we only need specific stuff for specific portions of the stay but I feel a bit overwhelmed!!

fairy oma · Feb 3, 2016

I love my packing cubes. Each of us have a different color and when packing I coordinate the outfits for each person and day and pack them appropriately. Unmentionables go in their own cubes and I put the swimsuits/pjs cube in our carryon backpack. They sure make for a lot less chaos when we are rushing to get to the parks in the morning.

epsmith921 · Feb 3, 2016

I am a huge fan of my packing cubes. I find I use the large ones most (ebags) including for the kids. Last trip with the four of us I had bathing suits in one, then each kid had their own large cube (10 day trip with easy laundry).
The thing I like the best about the large size is it fits in most standard size drawers pretty completely. So when we arrive somewhere, I just start throwing the cubes into drawers.

Then again, my stuff and husband's stuff gets segmented by item type for the most part, so one cube for his shorts, one cube for his shirts, etc.

For your trip, I would consider basically writing down the clothes each of you needs for each leg and try to arrange things into a set of "cruise" cubes and "land" cubes. That way you can kind of look at it al on paper. I even list quantities next to items, so for 4 days for my 4 year old and 1 year old I would bring 6 pairs of shorts each. (Never fails if I don't have
extras we wind up with multiple serious wardrobe changes required.)

Hope this makes sense or helps. I like packing and making the lists. I also found that writing down helped me pack less since I could more clearly see the vast quantities I was planning on packing.

Mousemommy1 · Feb 4, 2016

epsmith921 said:
I am a huge fan of my packing cubes. I find I use the large ones most (ebags) including for the kids. Last trip with the four of us I had bathing suits in one, then each kid had their own large cube (10 day trip with easy laundry).
The thing I like the best about the large size is it fits in most standard size drawers pretty completely. So when we arrive somewhere, I just start throwing the cubes into drawers.

Then again, my stuff and husband's stuff gets segmented by item type for the most part, so one cube for his shorts, one cube for his shirts, etc.

For your trip, I would consider basically writing down the clothes each of you needs for each leg and try to arrange things into a set of "cruise" cubes and "land" cubes. That way you can kind of look at it al on paper. I even list quantities next to items, so for 4 days for my 4 year old and 1 year old I would bring 6 pairs of shorts each. (Never fails if I don't have
extras we wind up with multiple serious wardrobe changes required.)

Hope this makes sense or helps. I like packing and making the lists. I also found that writing down helped me pack less since I could more clearly see the vast quantities I was planning on packing.

Thanks. I will definitely be making a list of each segment of the trip. I have the ebags ones in different colors. Thinking about whether I should do each person a different color or each segment a different color, lol.

epsmith921 · Feb 4, 2016

This is something I would agonize over!! I personally think I would do different colors per person if I was able to do something like a suitcase for the cruise, a suitcase for land, etc.

Kind of like if we drive somewhere and have to stop overnight, I'd better have a bag with everything we need for that night in one smaller suitcase. (Husband mandate

)

If I couldn't do the separate suitcase scenario, then I would go with the colors for each trip section.

There might be serious spreadsheets involved in my packing process. :rolleyes1

I also might have a slight luggage obsession.

Mousemommy1 · Feb 4, 2016

epsmith921 said:
This is something I would agonize over!! I personally think I would do different colors per person if I was able to do something like a suitcase for the cruise, a suitcase for land, etc.

Kind of like if we drive somewhere and have to stop overnight, I'd better have a bag with everything we need for that night in one smaller suitcase. (Husband mandate)

If I couldn't do the separate suitcase scenario, then I would go with the colors for each trip section.

There might be serious spreadsheets involved in my packing process.

I also might have a slight luggage obsession.

Yesssssss!!! Good idea!!!! SEGMENT SUITCASES and COLORED PACKING CUBES BY PERSON IN EACH ONE!!!

This is genius!!!

Clearly, with 79 days until our trip remaining, I am obsessing over this myself, lol. I've been putting clothes in a pile (because we don't need any of them right now) and just thinking....HOW WILL I ORGANIZE AND PACK IT ALL?!?!?! :magnify:

DznyPrnces · Feb 5, 2016

I love my packing cubes. Each family member has their own set. Mine are from ikea, so only 2 colors. Pink for the girls, blue for the boys. The largest one is double sided, so I put shirts on one side, pants/shorts on the other. Pajamas in the next size, and socks and underwear in the next. The ikea set also has a shoe bag, which I used for diapers last time (overnight and swim diapers went in the shoe bag, and unopened package of day diapers went in the suitcase). Now we are diaper less (!) so the shoe bags will get used for shoes. It was my first time using them, and it made such a difference in my organization!

Noelle1066 · Feb 5, 2016

This is so smart, I'm totally new to this.....how much do packing cubes generally cost?

Dashzap · Feb 5, 2016

Noelle1066 said:
This is so smart, I'm totally new to this.....how much do packing cubes generally cost?

Cheapest are from IKEA or Marshall's/TJMaxx. Then there are ebags and Eagle Creek. (I like the Eagle Creek ones.)

There are fun packing cube videos on Youtube.

Here is a packing cube review video:

And a how-to pack with packing cubes:

This one is on unpacking at WDW:

Julylady · Feb 5, 2016

Love, love, love packing cubes! We like to do split stays, usually 3-4 nights at each hotel. Each person has two large packing bags. In each bag we pack 4 complete outfits (kids put the outfits together) including swimsuits and pjs. We also include a large plastic bag (for dirty laundry) in every cube. We then pack one packing cube for each person (we travel with 4 of us) in a large suitcase. We also have an extra suitcase for all toiletries, shoes, umbrellas, raincoats, snacks, etc. When we get to the first hotel, we "unpack" the suitcase with the packing cubes. This can be done in 2 minutes since all we do is unzip it and lay it in a drawer. (For those resorts without sufficient drawers, we just set the open packing cube on a desk or other flat surface.) As clothing becomes soiled, they are put in the plastic bag. With this method, one luggage (clothes for days 4-8) is never opened at the first hotel.

When we move to the 2nd hotel, we open the second piece of luggage and have a complete set of clean clothes. This method works for a trip of 7-8 days. If our trip is longer, we do laundry around day 7 and repack. This allows us to only be using two pieces of luggage at a time with the 3rd one stored away. The plastic bags allow for easy distinction between clean and soiled laundry. It keeps the room neat and tidy and its easy for the kids to find their clothes each day. This method really works for us!

Pam :) · Feb 6, 2016

Julylady- perfect, exactly what I was thinking. I think the goal is to limit the amount of stuff that is out, and the number of decisions to be made....and to cope with laundry.

maxiesmom · Feb 7, 2016

What I have that I love (in addition to the cubes) is this:

http://www.ebags.com/product/eagle-...lder-18/231274?productid=10182441&rlid=DETAIL

The large packing folder. I have the cubes too, but that folder is the greatest packing thing ever. It holds so many pieces of clothing, much more than you would think. It has a little board that helps you fold everything in to the proper shape, and velcros shut. Love it!

Disneylover99 · Feb 7, 2016

Tara1988 said:
I prefer the outfits in Ziploc bags method. So much easier to just grab and go. We never unpack on vacation, just live out of our suitcases. But this year, we're adjusting from me, hubby and a preschooler to me, hubby, 5 year old, toddler and infant, so we will have to make some changes. Can't imagine having to go through everyone's suitcase every morning.

I prefer big see through ziplock bags too.

Each person in our family has their own colour packing cube and we have them in every size. I hate that I have to constantly unzip them to see what's inside. It drives me insane. That's why I prefer the large see through zip locks.

memo10 · Feb 7, 2016

I love packing cubes too! But then again, we always unpack at a hotel if we are staying longer than one night. I also pack differently depending on the circumstance. Sometimes we get a cheap hotel near the parks so we literally just have somewhere to sleep. In that instance I pack all of our night things in one cube and all of our clothes for the next day in another. If we will be there a few days, I pack each person's wardrobe in a cube and then unpack it as soon as we check in. It literally takes less than 5 minutes to have everyone's stuff put away in drawers. As far as grab and go, I lay everything out the night before so it's ready to go in the morning.

DisneyOma · Feb 7, 2016

Those bags look like they take up so much space - like mini suitcases inside of your suitcase? How do you compensate for the space they take up?

Why not use the travel versions of space saver bags?

2Pirates2Princesses · Feb 7, 2016

Great thread! I've gone the zip lock bag route, but I really need to get with the times and invest in these. We typically don't unpack into drawers when we travel because I am afraid someone's stuff might get left behind. These would make life so much easier. Packing for trips is a stressful nightmare, even more so for Disney because we fly down. Since I pack in intervals, I forget what I pack and tend to over pack :laughing:

. On our last Disney trip, when we unloaded all our luggage onto the airport shuttle, the shuttle driver looked at us and said "Are you sure you want to go on this trip?" :laughing:

. DH is determined to take half the luggage we usually take (which I felt was very ambitious with five kids), but this gives me hope it can be done. :thumbsup2

scdak · Feb 7, 2016

I LOVE packing cubes and have a number of different colors and a number of different sizes. I would like to say that I actually pack clothes in them but.............lets be real, look at my Avatar you can see I am NOT tiny LOL so my clothes take up more space that the packing cubes are suitable for! But socks etc are fine, one is filled with meds, 1-2 for toiletries, one is "travel essentials" and its never unpacked - markers, pens, papers, chip clips/clothes pins for many things, scissors, packing tape etc. My last trip one corralled slinky scarves that were forever getting loose and having a party in my suitcase! I even used one for 2 shirts/clean essentials

when I flew home a few weeks ago from Ft Lauderdale since we had snow and ice in SC the day before I didn't know if or when I would make it home, I didn't want to be stranded in Atlanta without clean stuff ..............but that's about the only time clothes would fit

Any packing cubes fans? Teach me your ways!

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