Mesh Packing Cubes are an Excellent Way to Pack
and Stay Organized While Traveling

Maybe you noticed the last time you traveled your stuff was all over the place. You couldn’t find what you needed digging through your suitcase, the items got all mixed up and when it was time to leave you had a hard time getting everything back in the suitcase. Then after you leave, you realize you left something in your hotel room because you simply didn’t see it and left it behind in a hurry to get out the door. Yes, this has happened to me.  I thought I had remedied the problem using large zip lock bags for organizing my packing. I still use a small fresh zip lock for my liquid toiletry items, but not for clothes.  The large ziplocks worked for a while, but then the plastic gets cloudy and brittle after multiple uses and the zip locks start to break.  So much for low cost, durability and recycling I thought.  Finally, a wonderful thing emerged just for travelers- mesh packing containers and cubes. Once you start using them you will never turn back. 

When choosing a packing container or cube there are some standard things to look for.  It should have a mesh top panel, making it easy to identify the contents and allow some ventilation. This is really great at the airport because the security screeners can see into your bag without having to take things out. And although you can see in, the bag is designed in such a way to still maintain some privacy. The mesh should be soft with decent zippers, because the last thing you want is to get your clothes damaged or torn. The material should be lightweight, but also durable and well-made. Lightweight material is essential, because extra packaging takes up precious space and adds weight in your suitcase. 

Using the cubes keeps you super organized, simply roll your clothes and pack. Cubes come in different sizes making it easy to pack your undergarments in a smaller cube, shirts and sweaters in a medium size and jackets, suits and slacks in the bigger size.  I particularly like the eBags packing cubes, 3 piece set which I found at a discounted price for $26.24 at Amazon.com. EBags are extremely well-made, with strong zippers that zip easily with handy straps to help you zip without all the pulling and tugging or trying to grab onto the little metal zipper piece. They come in three different sizes, and with bright colors like grasshopper green and raspberry. They are much easier to see in a hotel room and they are handy for color coding. You can go green for your things, raspberry for the hubby or blue for kids. This is by far one of the easiest ways to pack and stay organized.  It's also simple to separate clean clothes from the dirty ones.

I love that they are made of rip stop nylon. The material is very strong, the cubes are sewn well and easy to wash. They take up virtually no room in your bag. When you open these up in the mail, you immediately appreciate what you ordered, because eBags paid attention to detail and craftsmanship, no shoddy loose threads or things falling apart the minute you get them. When you are traveling, you need things to last and work well over and over again. Another nice thing about eBags is they guarantee satisfaction for exchange or return, their goal is to succeed our expectation. Instead of a return, I ordered a second set. These also make excellent gifts for fellow travelers in your family or group of friends. 

Now when I pack, it’s not such a big stressful ordeal, I just pull out my suitcase and packaging cubes and it is actually fun to pack.  I found all three sizes work well for me. The good thing is you can also order the ebags in just one size if you prefer. It's a little hard to tell just from the picture how big they actually are. For example the largest size looks pretty big in the photo, but it's actually about a foot and a half long. It's perfect for a suit jacket folded in half, or larger items that you roll. Here are the dimensions to assist:  

Small 
11" x 6.75" x 3" 
27.9cm x 17.2cm x 7.6cm

Medium 
13.75" x 9.75" x 3" 
34.9cm x 24.8cm x 7.6cm

Large 
17.5" x 12.75" x 3.25" 
44.5cm x 32.4cm x 8.3cm

Click here to get the discounted eBags cube style bags like the green one shown in this article at Amazon.com  
The blue flat style mesh bags I found at Magellan.com 

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