Do you unpack your suitcase and use the drawers, closet, etc? with poll

[chelynnah]

Me neither. But you would be surprised the number of people who don't know how to pack a suitcase. My husband for example can't pack a suitcase to save his life. Drives me insane. We take separate luggage for all our trips.

I have been an expert packer (even though I overpack) most of my life. When I was first given packing cubes they got tossed aside and never used. But then I tried them properly for one trip and never looked back. It takes expert packing and organisation up a notch. I’ll never not use them now.

Until the packing cubes we rarely unpacked, and within a couple of days the suitcases were a jumbled mess. Now we pop the cubes into the drawers if we’re more than a long weekend. Either way it’s still better organised. I wouldn’t have believed it (and didn’t) until I tried it myself.

Contrary to most of the videos earlier I find rolling into the cubes better. And we also use vacuum bags for packing on the way back for extra space and to keep dirty clothes separate from any clean that might be left. Packed cubes shrink down in those just fine.

 

[chelynnah]

What do you find is the best source for buying packing cubes? I’ve got a set of three that are more like rectangles but they are sure handy. I think I bought them at Tuesday Morning.

I’m not finished reading the thread yet, so not sure if anyone else has answered, but Amazon. You’ll find lots of different brands and size combinations. I usually buy a 6 cube set (2 each of 3 sizes). Like others I buy them in different colours.

Ebags are good, but generally read the reviews and you’ll get an idea of quality if you find a pack you like the look and shape of. I’ve had several brands from the super expensive Heyes (given as a gift) to mid range ebags to the relatively cheap ones. Most are pretty equal. You don’t need to go super expensive, but don’t go super cheap either (those will fall apart).

 

[chelynnah]

Ziploc bags (any brand) allow us to save so much space after removing the air in them. DH also has a really funny technique to remove the air by laying down on them and rolling! Lol. Then, when we leave all our dirty clothes go in our suitcase(s) and we add the ziploc kits on top that are left so the clean clothes stay clean!

We do this too with ziplocks and with vacuum bags if we can’t get hold of a vacuum.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

When I've looked inside hotel dresser drawers, whether onsite or at various offsite chains, I often see little dark things in the corners. Not sure if they are bugs, dirt, or something else. But it seems rare for hotels to clean the inside of the drawers. I feel that my clothes will stay cleaner if I avoid using the hotel drawers. I also don't want to spend my vacation time cleaning up the residue left in drawers from previous occupants' stuff, or any bugs in the drawers, since I'm already paying for housekeeping and I think they should do that, although it seems like they seldom do.