Packing Cubes

Hello!

Welcome back to Maggie Travels! Today, I’m going to be talking about this text:

“Thoughts on packing cubes? Good or unnecessary?”

This is a recent message from a friend about to travel solo to Europe in a month.

Now, I purchased packing cubes last fall, in preparation for our Honeymoon. I was possessed of the idea that they would organize all the items my husband and I were bringing, plus they were on sale. Seriously, look how cute and neatly organized that suitcase looks! I purchased a set of 4 cubes of various sizes (still not entirely sure why they’re called cubes…) and didn’t use any of them. In my rush to be a picture-perfect traveler, a delusion I will blame on pre-wedding stress, I overlooked two incredibly key elements. First, we only bring carry-on luggage when we travel, and it is almost never in the form of a suitcase (check back later for a posting about rolling suitcases). Second, we almost never bring so much stuff that we need to organize it into separate pouches and compartments. In the end, the packing cubes simply seemed to add a little extra bulk that wasn’t going to work for us. I had spent too much time on Pinterest, looking at packing lists, and convinced myself these items would be so useful and so vital, and they just weren’t. I use them to organize other things now, but I still haven’t used them while actually traveling.

So, my immediate response to that message was, ‘Nah packing cubes are no good’, but that’s not what I said. Her question wasn’t good or not good, it was good or unnecessary, which is probably a question we should ask about everything we buy, but is also one that rarely has a yes or no answer. Packing cubes, for Mr. C. and I, were not necessary, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be necessary for my friend. My response, instead, was that I would loan her mine, to see how she likes them. If they work for her, great! If not, well perhaps someday I’ll use them. In the end, the advice is two-fold, don’t lose your cool to pressure from the Pinterest-perfect images, and consider what is necessary for you.

Packing cubes are a cool invention and they truly appeal to the type-A neat freaks amongst us (I can say it because I am one). However, they may not be the right tool for you right now. It is also possible that similar results might be achieved with an alternate and significantly cheaper strategy:

Ziploc baggies, while plastic, with all its attached taboos, are reusable, sturdy, and actually compress what you put in them.* If you want a way to organize your luggage that works as well as packing cubes, though admittedly being less stylish, buy a box of gallon Ziploc baggies and go to town! It costs less too.

*I realize some packing cubes also compress their contents, but the cost factor stands.

Pro-tip: If you’re concerned about people seeing what you have stuffed in those see-through bags, wrap the items you’d like to leave unexposed in a neutral tee-shirt or pair of socks.