What’s the worst thing about going on holiday? Packing and unpacking has to be it. Apart form the lines in airports and waiting for taxis to leave airports, but I digress.🙄

Some of is have a packing list that we strictly adhere to. Some of us stand at a distance from our luggage and throw stuff five minutes before we leave (Note to reader: I’m in the first category) and so I used to feel that I had the art of packing nailed. Write and refine my list, put on some music and get packing. Not too fast – rushed packing is how I left my warmest jacket at home when I was headed to New York in the middle of winter – just steadily working my way through the list and actually enjoying the process. Then, I started to see ads for July luggage pop up in my social feed and I was intrigued wth these cute packing cells or cubes as some places call them. How could these make a difference I thought to myself. In desperation for a present for Paul for his birthday a couple of years back, I decided to get him some as he is always traveling for work and I thought they might “make his life better and easier”. And I was right.

Of course, packing cubes – sometimes also called compression cubes – are rarely actual cubes with all sides of equal length. They come in a variety of shapes, to slot neatly into your bag and let you justify all those hours spent playing Tetris.

And as it turned out, these zippered pouches are a game-changer.

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A new level of organisation

Let’s start with the obvious: packing cubes make organising your stuff (mainly clothes) a breeze.

I’ll generally designate one cube for t-shirts, one for shirts, one for pants and perhaps jackets, another for undies and socks. Sometimes another slim cube will contain my exercise tops and shorts, one contains swimmers/bathers if we’re off to where the sun is and one becomes a medical/medicines kit. You can also use one for tech stuff like cables, however July in particular have a hard case for this stuff.

You can also use them for shoes, however I usually use the shoe bags that come with shoes and toiletries if you dopnt already have a toiletries bag.

If moving from a cold climate to warm climate during the trip, you can pack a cube with warmer clothing including a scarf, gloves and cap, then leave this sitting at the top of your cabin bag so you can easily change into it on arrival without rummaging around in your bag.

And if you’re an aficionado of capsule wardrobes, then packing cubes are a match made in heaven.

Unpacking made easy

The flip side of the coin is that packing cubes make unpacking easy, too.

When I arrive at my hotel room I just transfer some cubes – such as smalls and T-shirts - from suitcase to drawer, while everything that needs to be hung in the closet is also ready to grab.

And as an added bonus, packing cubes help keep items secure within your bag, minimising movement which can see creases and folds settle in.

Related: The ultimate cruise packing list

Do packing cubes save space?

One thing I didn’t expect packing cubes would do was save space within my bag – and as I’m almost always in carry-on only mode, space is always at a premium.

But because cubes keep things folded and together, they have the side effect of making the best use of space compared to everything just floating around loose.

Maybe some of this is psychological, from seeing everything in neatly ordained compartments. All I know is that I can actually get more stuff into my cabin bag when I use packing cubes.

If you’re not already using packing cubes, they’re really worth a shot. And you don’t need to spend up on brand-name packing cubes. You can find them at most department stores, even K-Mart. However if you want to look at the July ones that we bought (and love) click here.

Don’t go overboard: just start with a set of four or six cubes (they do come in packs of up to 8), in different shapes, and see if they don’t make life on the road just that little bit easier. If you’re buying for a partner too, get a different colour for each person, so you know who’s stuff is who’s when it’s in the cruise ship wardrobe.

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