To packing cube or not to packing cube? That is the question.
And it’s a question I feel I’m qualified to comment on because first of all, I’m a professional organizer, and second of all I travel a lot. My husband recently informed me that as of October I had been on a plan 46 times in 2026. So, when I say I travel a lot, I’m not making things up!
I used to be a chronic overpacker, but years ago my husband laid down the law that we would be traveling carry on only. That sounds mean, he was very nice about it, but basically he explained that between the time spent getting to airports early and then waiting at baggage claim, and the pain of hauling big heavy suitcases around on trips, he thought we’d enjoy travel more if we didn’t check bags. It turns out, he was right! (Except for ski trips. Ski trips require my own equipment please and thank you.)
So over the years, I have learned to pack really well. I’m pretty proud of it, actually. I can get a lot of stuff into a carry on suitcase, and I can stay pretty organized throughout a trip. So you might assume I love and use packing cubes!
Reader, you assume wrong.
Here are the pros of packing cubes.
They help you keep categories separate. If you’re not used to packing this can help you pack more efficiently.
They keep clothing segregated from shoes. Shoes are gross.
You can often use them to organize when you unpack, as a drawer insert or even just placed on a shelf. And if you don’t like to unpack, they make living out of a suitcase easier.
But here’s the thing. Despite these clear pros, I don’t use packing cubes. I’ve tried them but they’re just not for me.
The biggest reason I don’t use packing cubes is that I can get more into a suitcase without them than with them! I file fold my clothes in my suitcase, and carefully Tetris everything. I’ve found that if I pack a packing cube as full as it can get, it is shaped like a giant overstuffed sausage and doesn’t squish down into my suitcase, creating unusable air pockets!
I have a couple other gripes with packing cubes. First of all, most of them don’t zip around the entire top and flap open - which would clearly be the way to make them easiest to pack. Many just open partway, or on a diagonal seam, so that it’s hard to efficiently pack the cube or access the stuff in it during your trip.
The other issue I have with packing cubes is that many of them only come in sets, and you can’t buy them individually. I am extremely anti-set for almost anything storage related. You will have unique container needs and a set will rarely fit them exactly. For example, I don’t find it useful to use large size packing cubes because only one of them fits in each side of my roll aboard suitase and then I haven’t really accomplished anything, have I? I’m still combining categories which is the whole thing we’re trying to avoid.
Now, I am having things a little bit both ways here. I don’t use packing cubes, but I do use small cloth bags that zip, one per category, for small items like underwear, bras, socks, and bathing suits. Think a net laundry bag but solid fabric. I do not have time to be folding and Tetrising socks and underwear every time I pack! The cloth bags I use came for free with early Girlfriend Collective orders, but the key is that they are just loose little pouches that can squish easily into awkward corners of my suitcase, like around shoes and between the ribs of a roll aboard.
That said, if you can find me a packing cube that a) is made of thin, lightweight material, b) zips all the way around the top, and c) can be purchased individually, I might reconsider! Trust me, I’ve gone far down the chatbot rabbit hole on this one and have yet to come up with anything!
Do you love packing cubes?
LMW
