How To Use Packing Cubes To Pack Like A Pro

When Jordan and I planned our 5 week trip to Europe last summer, we knew we wanted to travel light.  Not only were we traveling with several budget airlines that have strict luggage restrictions (like Ryanair and Easyjet), we also knew we’d be doing a lot of walking around in our backpacks and didn’t want to be carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.   I started doing research on general packing tips for a trip like ours and found lots of great tips (like how to use packing cubes to rock your tiny backpack).

Everything I packed fit in this one small backpack!

Using all the tips I describe below, we were able to fit everything we needed for five weeks of traveling through countries with very different climates in two small backpacks.  I’m not kidding, folks, we had everything we needed to travel well, stay clean, AND look cute (in my totally unbiased opinion).

A Few Basic Tips For Packing Light

These tips are some basic ones that you can find just about anywhere on the internet, but they helped us a ton.

1)  Pack in layers: Think about the climates and general weather where you’ll be traveling, and plan your outfits accordingly. Knowing we’d have some chillier weather in Great Britain and in the mountains of Switzerland, I brought a cardigan, a scarf, a zip up hoodie, and a longer rain coat, each layer a bit warmer than the next.  When I wore all of them together, it was more than enough for our colder days without needing a big coat.

2)  Every top should match every bottom: Choose a few neutral bottoms (denim, khaki, etc) and make sure every top you bring matches every bottom.  This about triples your outfit potential! For example, on our trip I brought one neutral skirt, two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts, 5-7 tops (4 simple solid/striped tees, two cuter shirts), and two dresses (along with the cardigans/jackets I mentioned earlier).  Every top matched every bottom so I had lots different options!

3) Think practically about everything you bring:  When we travel, we care much more about comfort and function than always looking cute.  That means I wasn’t afraid to rock my Converse All-Stars with my jeans or my Toms with a dress.  Yes, you might look cute in a pair of heels on your night out, but a pair of cute sandals will transition more easily from a day of walking to a dinner out.  Yes, that delicate dress is cute,  but it will look like a wrinkled mess after being rolled up in your bag for four days.  Everything you bring should be functional as well as cute.  I promise you, your tired shoulders will thank you when you leave that clunky pair of heels at home!

4) Buy some things as you go: Depending on where you travel, you can buy most toiletry items.  They might not be the brand you use, but they’ll get the job and you can just buy more as you go.  This saves a ton of space in your bag!

5) Figure out ways to do laundry: We packed enough outfits for ONE week of travel and then figured out ways to do laundry about once a week.  Since we traveled primarily with Airbnb (see my guide on how to get started with this amazing site HERE), I just booked Airbnb’s with a washer/dryer about every 6-8 days and we were usually good to go! You can also wash your clothes in the sink and hang them on a travel clothesline like this one.

The Packing Light Game Changer:Packing Cubes

All of those things above were really helpful, and I hope you’ll keep them in mind.  But if I had to choose just ONE thing that saved us when it comes to packing? It’s these miraculous little creations called packing cubes.

You can find these bad boys on Amazon for anywhere from $15-$40, and they are AMAZING.  I know, it seems silly.  How could small, mesh, zippered cubes help with packing? There are a two key reasons why these things are super helpful.

1) They help you stay organized: Jordan and I each had three packing cubes in our backpack: one medium-sized and two small-sized.  We would put the majority of our clothes in the large one (I’ll explain how below) and then organize the smaller ones for other items.  I usually had one small cube for underwear/socks/bras/tank tops and another one for some miscellaneous travel items like my Hot Sock hair diffuser (another game changer for curly-haired folks), a travel clothesline, some toiletries etc.  These packing cubes make you feel like you have drawers in your backpack and help you stay MUCH more organized when you are packing and unpacking about every 48 hours.

2) They save space: This is maybe the most magical part.  These things have magical powers and about DOUBLE what you can fit in your bag! Using the strategy I describe below, you can fit significantly more in your bag than you could if you just rolled or folded everything.  Hopefully you are still traveling relatively light, but this allows you to fit all of the essentials and not have stuff just rolling around in your bag taking up space.  I also love that these are zippered, because they allow you to access certain parts of the cube in ways you couldn’t with just a Ziplock bag or something along those lines.

How To Use Packing Cubes

Have I convinced you yet? Head over Amazon and buy some, and then come on back to the bloggity blog to try this strategy.  Got ’em? Okay, let’s get started.

Step 1: Lay Out All Your Clothes

Take the time to make a list of all the things you need, using some of the suggestions I described above.  Please do this first instead of just jumping in to packing. I promise making a list and sticking to it will prevent you from throwing in last-minute items you will never wear!

Step 2: Start Rolling The Big Clothing Items

The travel world seems to be divided between the rolling and folding schools of thought when it comes to packing, but I am officially a roller.  Start with your biggest items like jeans, dresses, jackets, etc, and roll them up as tightly as you can.  Place the rolled item on one side of the packing cube.

Step 3: Keep Adding More Items, Zipping the Packing Cube Little By Little As You Go.

This step is key.  As you keep adding more items and one end of the cube starts filling up, start slowly zipping up the cube, inch by inch.  If you have a little bit of space on the top, start squeezing in smaller items like rolled tank tops, t-shirts, underwear, or socks.  Zipping as you go allows you to squeeze the maximum amount of items in the packing cube (trust me, you will be amazed!

Step 4: Add the rest of your small items and zip it closed!

Once you’ve got all your big items and a few small items in, add the rest of any smaller items and zip it closed.  Step back, take a look at your handiwork, and be amazed at how many things you can fit inside this magical mesh cube.  Place inside your bag, grab your passport, and start adventuring!

One last time…in case you didn’t see it in the first picture, I fit two pairs of pants, four pairs of shorts, one skirt, six shirts, two tank tops, and two sports bras in this ONE packing cube, and I probably could have squeezed some more socks and underwear in there if I was feeling ambitious.  Amazing, right?

Our five-week European adventure changed the way we pack, and we both love taking our backpacks and packing cubes just about everywhere we go now.  It’s so much easier than throwing everything in a big bag and we feel much more organized with everything in compartments.  I hope you’ll give packing cubes a try!

Have you ever traveled with packing cubes? Do you have any other packing tips you’ve learned over the years that I could try?

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