Anonymous wrote:Team bath towels.

I hate packing cubes, but I'm more of an "organized suitcase liver-outer". The people who seem to like cubes are the ones who unpack entirely and use the cubes to keep *that* organized.

Personally I find it way more work to a) pack into cubes b) find what I want from cubes c) repack into cubes. YMMV, but I'm not a fan.

Yes, all of this. We are minimalists and do not unpack at destinations, except when it's Embassy Dinner type clothing we need to unwrinkle and air out. We live out of our carry-on hiking bags, know where everything is in the bag, and it's so stuffed that nothing moves. There is no room or need for packing cubes. Even for multi leg trips involving different climates and clothing choices.

If you're the sort to bring your house with you and have extra room so that everything gets jumbled up, then yes, packing cubes or other types of bags to separate things are more useful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Team bath towels.

I hate packing cubes, but I'm more of an "organized suitcase liver-outer". The people who seem to like cubes are the ones who unpack entirely and use the cubes to keep *that* organized.

Personally I find it way more work to a) pack into cubes b) find what I want from cubes c) repack into cubes. YMMV, but I'm not a fan.

False. I don't unpack entirely. I use them because we are often traveling with multiple family members and only stay in a place one night at a time. I can easily unzip my suitcase and locate any clothing item I need by the cube size or color. Next morning as when we leave it I'm not spending precious time re-packing my suitcase, trying to make everything fit.

+1

I'm enough of a convert that I now use cubes when I travel solo too but what really sold me was doing multi-leg travel with kids. The cubes made it easier to pack for different settings, kept suitcases tidier, kept hotel rooms tidier, and sped up packing and unpacking at every stop.

Also I think cubes keep suitcases cleaner because basically nothing ever touches the inside of the suitcase except the cubes, which are washable. It's a small thing but I do appreciate it.

To me they are just another thing to buy. A suit case is not so big that I can not find things. I guess I could see it if multiple people were sharing one bag.

Anonymous wrote:Team bath towels.

I hate packing cubes, but I'm more of an "organized suitcase liver-outer". The people who seem to like cubes are the ones who unpack entirely and use the cubes to keep *that* organized.

Personally I find it way more work to a) pack into cubes b) find what I want from cubes c) repack into cubes. YMMV, but I'm not a fan.

False. I don't unpack entirely. I use them because we are often traveling with multiple family members and only stay in a place one night at a time. I can easily unzip my suitcase and locate any clothing item I need by the cube size or color. Next morning as when we leave it I'm not spending precious time re-packing my suitcase, trying to make everything fit.

I opt for oversized ziplock bags. Since these are clear, you can see what you are looking for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find them essential to family travel. Everyone has their own color of cubes and they fit perfectly in our luggage. It keeps anyone from over packing but also makes it impossible to forget essentials (cube for sicks and underwear, spare shoes,toiletries, everything labeled). Also super easy to pack a carry on with a change of clothes and basics for everyone and put everything else in checked baggage and it helps with red eyes or if luggage gets lost.

Just generally makes me feel super organized and speeds up packing and unpacking.

that seems like a lot of cubes/person? wouldn't a list do th esame thing?

Not really-- you can get cubes in any size plus a lot of cube sets come with pouches. The point is having a clear visual that shows you that you are packed (and that makes it easy to find what you need at your destination). Sure you can make a list (and we do) but when you are packing multiple people, it is so useful to just be able to check "okay I have 3 pink cubes for Kid 1 and 3 green cubes for Kid 2" and also when the cubes are labeled there's no confusion about what goes where.

All I know is I never used cubes and then I got them for a specific trip and some nice then I always use them and packing is easier and we never forget things.

I started cubes last year and love them. Watch Marie Kondo videos about how to fold too.

Anonymous wrote:I'm an expert minimalist packer and cubes just add unwanted bulk.

However, lots of people swear by cubes.

I'd go for the new towels

Same. I use them to organize sometimes but they don't save space.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only recently started using them and am a convert now. So much easier to organize everything in my suitcase and I am a person who brings a carryon for a weeklong trip around Europe. They don’t add much bulk at all if you get the right kind.

Please share your packing list! I'm planning a trip to Europe and trying to convince myself that I don't need to check a bag.

I did this for ten days in the spring and all in a carry on. Where are you going and do you need fancy clothes?

Ireland and I do not need fancy clothes.

I use Amazon basics cubes and there is no bulk to them. They’re super slim and flexible. I mostly use for socks and underwear or if sharing a suitcase/multi destination trip. Not everything goes into a cube.

It’s so much easier, especially if you pack the cubes well. For example, I pack a small cube of my T-shirts and tops which I fold Marie Kondo style so I just unzip the cube and see them all there, easy to remove and keep everything tidy.

Converted a year ago when we went on a 2 week, all weather vacation. Puffers with gloves and scarfs were all compressed individually. All winter per person were in right sized cubes. Each person had a socks undies pjs bad. Final cubes were all season the stuff. We all carried on backpacks with the littlest ones stuff distributed among others.

Team bath towels.

I hate packing cubes, but I'm more of an "organized suitcase liver-outer". The people who seem to like cubes are the ones who unpack entirely and use the cubes to keep *that* organized.

Personally I find it way more work to a) pack into cubes b) find what I want from cubes c) repack into cubes. YMMV, but I'm not a fan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering spending some Kohls rewards on a little starter set of packing cubes for an upcoming vacation. Convince me I need them more than I need new bath towels!

They facilitate living out of a suitcase by keeping similar things together and make it unnecessary to mess up the whole suitcase looking for particular items. Clothes stay neater and relatively wrinkle free, especially when you roll them. I love packing cubes.
https://www.target.com/p/7pc-packing-cube-set-muddy-aqua-open-story-8482/-/A-86391412

^ Prior to using packing cubes our family struggled with finding items and keeping the suitcase neat. Its especially frustrating when you aren't staying in one place long and you get get settle in. We have different sizes and different colors - each family member has their color and decides how they want to pack (per outfit or per items together). It has made traveling much less stressful. Prior to using them - I could probably fit a few more items in my bag - but having to re-pack at an airport one day in a rush was the last time I packed without them.

Anonymous wrote:Considering spending some Kohls rewards on a little starter set of packing cubes for an upcoming vacation. Convince me I need them more than I need new bath towels!

You don't need either. Store rewards are a gimmick to get you to buy crap.