Happy Friday: DIY Packing Cubes

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Sent from reader, Elsee:

Our family of 5 recently went to visit relatives for a week long stay. You can imagine packing was extremely difficult and time consuming. I wanted to make unpacking as quick and as easy as possible so that I would be able to start enjoying my vacation as soon as we arrived.

Instead of going out and buying “packing cubes,” I used the thick heavy plastic bags that sheets, pillow cases and other linen items come in. The smaller ones I used per person for socks, accessories, and underwear. The big ones (like from a quilt) I used to pack for activities or incidentals that the whole family would need at the same time like everyone’s swimming items in one bag or rain jackets and sweaters in another.

As soon as we got to our destination, I unpacked the whole bag into drawers. Unpacking took a few minutes and everything stayed grouped nicely together and was easy to find. I thought others might find it useful and can enjoy using these “free packing cubes” to make packing and unpacking easier.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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Comments 30

  1. Mourrene

    Great suggestion! Thanks.

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      You’re welcome!

  2. Tolu

    Awesome! I already do this.

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      Perfect!

  3. Jules

    I always save these bags too from pillows and bedding. I use them for stuffed animals, blankets, seasonal pillows. I throw in a dryer sheet to keep it fresh. These last much longer than any large ziploc storage tote or space bags.

    • Gerta

      I like the idea of using these to organize toys…our dogs have way too many dog toys and putting a dryer sheet in will keep that funky dog smell at bay!

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      How cool! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Lakshi

    I save these too! They are surprisingly very sturdy. Used them to store stuff but this an awesome idea!.

  5. Edy

    Used this ones to collect unwanted clothes from my daughters rooms and mine and when I go to Mexico , just throw them in the car and give them away to relatives to either use them or sell the clothes thank you , in some I put gift bags bowls tissue for gift giving

  6. Cindy

    I do the same thing too! When I cruise I put each bag on a different shelf and Im ready to go. I use the pillow case ones for my shoes and toiletries!

  7. Kelly

    I use mine for my yarn hoarding problem.(And I know I’m not alone! 😂)

    • Chrissy

      You got that right! I use my small ones to store my tangled up ribbon and thread. I love how easy it is to find things cuz of the clear bag.

  8. LN

    Us hispanics have been reusing these bags for many years. Cant believe alot of people are barely figuring it out. Smh

  9. LN

    Already do this too. Has been shown from generation to generation

  10. Laura

    Lol jodi. I don’t think LN was being rude. I think it was more of a realization bc it’s true a lot of the things we see here for repurposing or reusing are introduced as something new but many have been doing for years. It’s things passed down from generation to generation. Maybe he/she (LN) just found it unbelievable. 🙂

    • Suzy

      I agree with Jodi, LN was quite rude in that response. I’m not hispanic and I have saved and reused these bags since I began purchasing goods packaged in them. It is rude to single out a certain group of people and make them look dumb.

  11. Chrissy

    I have to agree not the nicest comment I’ve seen on here.

  12. Jodi

    You’re probably right, Laura. I guess I just didn’t like the smh part. Seemed unnecessary . Maybe I’ve had a more stressful week than I thought lol. I’ll take it down a notch now. 🙂 thanks for the perspective !

    • MommySpendsLess

      “smh” almost always irks me too, I really hope it goes out of style soon. Because it’s Internet speak and just three letters I think it gets used a lot in situations where someone wouldn’t actually respond that way in person. To me it conveys disappointment bordering on scorn and (to me) the person doing it almost seems to feel superior. Maybe I’m taking it too literally/sensitively though.

    • brooke

      I’m so “out of the loop” that I actually had to go look up what SMH was… perhaps that will bring a smile to someone’s face. 🙂

  13. Emily

    Always seems strange to speak for an entire race. I would never claim to speak for an entire race, gender, etc. And would have kept the smh part to myself if i were them. Sharing a good idea doesn’t mean they claimed to be the first and only to ever have the idea.

  14. Nina

    Brilliant idea!

  15. Nicole

    I LOVE these! They are better than any bag that I have purchased ON PURPOSE! 😉
    I use them for keeping toy sets together. Bag each set, zip it and throw in a big in in the closet. Kids rooms never looked so clean 😉I also like the small pillow case ones with zippers for craft items!

  16. Lucy

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      YW!

  17. Briana Macy

    Love this! We use the laundry mesh bags that are multi-colored, one color per person. This way I hand each kiddo their bag and a list of what to pack, they fill their bag and I throw them all in a couple big suitcases. When we arrive we pull them out and line them up so each kid knows where their clothes are. The dirtys we put in one of the empty suitcases and when it’s time to leave we throw the colored bags in the other one. When we get home it’s super easy to dump out the dirtys in the laundry room and each kid takes their bag and puts any leftovers away. I got most of the laundry bags at the dollar tree, so super cheap for our family of nearly 8. 🙂

  18. Young

    I totally agree with you, Jodi.

  19. Jessica

    Last vacation. I also used shoprite grocery store bags to separate each child’s outfit for each day. I pUT a full outfit with socks and underwear in each bag then labeled it with the childs name and it made it easy for them to grab clothes for the day without messing up an entire suitcase of clothes.

  20. Jana

    I thought I was the only one who reused these! I store our linens in them and then keep them in each bedroom in the closet.

  21. Mama Bearsville

    Such a great idea! Thanks for posting.

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