Packing Cubes Are The One Hack That Will Change Your Packing Game Forever

Swirled/Libby Ryan

Remember the days when your carry-on bag actually had enough space to pack multiple outfit options for a leisurely weekend away? Vaguely? Us, too. It seems like the B plot to our travel lives has been watching airlines shrink the size of carry-on luggage. But the hero of that story? Packing cubes. We fell in love with these gadgets a few years ago, and now that bag requirements are even smaller, we think they’re an absolute necessity. Here’s why we’re obsessed.

A set of packing cubes usually comes with assorted sizes to fit your bigger items like sweaters and jeans, as well as bras, underwear and swimsuits. It’s not hard to come up with a system to fit all the things on your packing list into one of the cubes in an easy, organized fashion.

Libby Ryan

Packing cubes have even led us to occasionally abandon one of the old standard rules of packing light: roll your clothes. With packing cubes, rolling items like jeans or leggings is very efficient. But shirts and sweaters can stack neater in the bags without rolling. The zippers help flatten everything down and it’s much harder to flatten a roll than a nice and neat stack.

Once you’ve got all of your clothes into the cubes, the cubes fit perfectly into a carry-on bag. Say goodbye to looking like a cartoon character sitting on your bag until it closes!

And when you open your bag upon arrival, there’s no mystery as to where your favorite shirt is. Everything is neatly inside your suitcase — no scrambled mess about it. You can also get an extra set of cubes and use them in a checked bag just for the organizational zen of a cubed suitcase.

Convinced? We like Away’s packing cubes for the smooth backing that allows for easy sliding in and out of your case ($50) or the basic set from Amazon ($20).

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