Packing cubes are THE BEST
Packing cubes help you, and everyone who needs to access things in a suitcase, to know what items are where and to be able to keep them in the right place. They help organize your things and KEEP them organized. No more suitcase-explosions-o-crap going everywhere.
Once your kids are able to start packing, I’ve found they LOVE the structure of knowing underwear and socks are in this packing cube, shirts are in that one, pants are in that one, etc. It also helps them to pack by themselves, make sure they haven’t forgotten anything, and feel like they’re in control.
But, not all packing cubes are created equal…
What to look for in a packing cube?
#1: VISIBILITY
The attribute I find to be MOST important is that you can see through the cubes so you know what is inside without having to unzip them. Usually this means there’s some sort of mesh. There are a surprising number of packing cubes that are solid material and unless everyone is a mind-reader or has perfect memory, you won’t know what packed items are inside unless you unzip it – which totally defeats the purpose of ease and easy-access. That’s ridiculous. So get ones you can see through!
#2: DOUBLE ZIPPER
Cubes with double zippers (meaning there are two zippers that meet in the middle) are much easier for you (or your kids) to get things in and out of. If it’s only got a single zipper, you have to unzip a lot more of the cube and I find that kids won’t zip it back up as well, so there’s more spillage.
And then there are the obvious two remaining attributes: size and color.
Size: You’ll likely want a variety of sizes. Kids usually don’t need large ones; they just use several of the small ones (11”x3”x6.75” or somewhere around there). Large can be more like 15.75’’x11.61’’x3.54. I rarely use large ones unless my kids have stolen all my small ones. Every once in a while larger ones can be helpful for bulkier things (sweaters/jackets) in larger suitcases, since they do take up a lot of space. Smaller or medium sizes can be tetrised together much better in carryon luggage than larger ones. If you have to choose and you tend to be packing for carryons, I’d err on the side of more smaller-ish cubes and fewer large-ish ones.
Color: And, just like with colored plates or cups, kids will sometimes fight over the colors… so pick your packs of cubes wisely 🙂
These are some packing cubes we have loved:
- Multi-colored 5pack of small ones 11x3x6.75 inches
- Mulit-sized pack of all one color (blue, grey, pink, etc)
Happy packing!
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