About 2 times a year i travel to central america and do the backpacker thing for about 10 to 12 days each time. I swear by packing cubes for my backpack. For travel with family in a suitcase it is a toss up if I use or don't use.

I like them, especially for longer trips when there's the temptation to get messy.

We use them - not as efficiently as some of the YLFers, but they work for us, especially when traveling as a family (2 adults and 2 teens). Great way to separate outfits, husband loves the shirt folder (no wrinkles, shirts all in one place) and DD loves that she doesn't get cooties from her brother's clothes. I try to have different colors for everyone to make it easier to sort out once we get to our destination.
(This has been a great thread!)

I guess I'm the only one who stuffs socks in her shoes before travel and then puts a shoe or two in one of those plastic bags that protect delivered newspapers? Or am I the only one who gets a paper newspaper delivered? And we used to get two per day delivered, so that was a lot of plastic bags during our rains after the drought finally ended.

I can totally see cubes for a backpack or duffel. And for the mess I make.

For travel in a backpack and with smaller bags I prefer stuff sacks to cubes, they get less "brick like" when they're full and they are easier to pack around. I have Sea to Summit stuff sacks in three sizes in a very light nylon and one in mesh (for wet things for example). Of course they are better with casual clothes, I definitely couldn't put interview clothing into them. But I like them to keep underwear, shoes, dirty clothes etc separate from my other things.

Odis not read all the other responses but like the packing cubes for underwear, belts and other accessories, device cords and chargers, etc. I love most the packing envelopes for compressing and holding my clothes. Minimal wrinkles if you fold as directed. My sons who are masters of packing, buy envelopes and cubes to exactly fit in a carry on or backpack. It is amazing how much they can pack and how organized they are. I could not pack without these things. They can be a bit of an investment but worth every penny and will serve you for years and years.
I also like my hanging cosmetic bag. It is indispensable, especially in tight quarters like on a cruise.
I think all of our cubes, envelopes and toiletrie bags are from Eagle Creek.

Donna, we get 2-3 newspapers a day in those bags. They are repurposed to pick up and dispose of doggy doo on walks. Hand fits inside to pick up without mess, then tie it in a knot. Can also be used to hold a soiled baby diaper.

My sister gave me a set. I roll most of my individual items and don't overpack, so they weren't particularly useful to me.

Ebags - they have every size and use. I packed my son for two weeks in europe, he's 16 yo, and he was able to stay organized. I roll within the travel cubes. I have small different colored bags for electronic accessories. The shoe bags, a great travel toiletry bag. I could not live without them and they hold up really well. Well worth the investment. You get the sizes, you need. Fantastic!!

These are the ones I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod.....#038;psc=1

I don't use the very large ones much. Maybe they would come in handy for a huge suitcase, but if I have anything that bulky to pack, it usually just gets laid across the top of everything I packed. The others are super useful though.

I agree with Joy about the hanging toiletry bag. Those are a necessity for me!

Joy and DonnaF - I went digital on newspapers last year. Losing the steady supply of bags was a bigger loss than the physical newspaper!

I've been contemplating a hanging toiletry bag for a while. Y'all are convincing me to give one a try.

I put my shoes in bags before packing them. Recently they've been bags from clothes I ordered online; if you return them with the clothes, they get thrown out.
I used to use a hanging toiletries bag from Lands End, but after carryon restrictions changed to small bottles, it didn't make sense. Eagle Creek's Wallebee is made to work with the 3-1-1 rule, so I've been considering it, but I'm not sure I carry enough toiletries for it to be useful.

I love all the things related to organizing! Generally I don't put main clothing items in packing cubes but I like them for underwear, socks, sleepwear, bathing suits. As others mentioned, it's nice if your suitcase gets opened plus it's great to easily unpack and keep things organized in drawers. I also have a flat mesh pouch I use for cords, chargers, etc.

Someone posted in June(?) about her ingenious method of packing toiletries in little ziplock bags. I couldn't find it with search. If someone can find it and post the link, I think it would be helpful here.

I love packing cubes! Before airlines starting charging for luggage, I kept my sanity when packing for 3 kids and keeping everything organized by using a different color for each kid. Two of my three kids still use them when they travel near or far.

I personally find them very useful, I separate tops and bottoms, use smaller cubes for underwear/different activities.

Packing cubes help keep belongings tidy in the event security needs a closer inspection or I have to look for something last minute.

Tom Binh makes a drawstring travel tray that I find indespnsible for keeping track of small items in a hotel room. https://www.tombihn.com/collec.....s/products
/travel-tray?variant=17227942407.

For carry-on liquids, the Ziploc slider quart size stand and fill bags are my go to!

PdxRae, there's nothing at that link. Can you try again, or post a pic of yours?

ETA--nevermind, i found it. The link was just truncated by YLF when you pasted it in.

I've been trying to use trays to corral things better at home. This is interesting. Thanks for posting it.

I use these cheap Amazon cubes though I might upgrade some day.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014VBIEZQ/

Donna, I also pack my shoes full of socks and undies. Keeps them from getting crushed.

I started to go blind from reading reviews, but last night I ordered the AmazonBasics four pack which has one each of four different sizes. I found it interesting that some reviews complained about the cubes being too small and others complained that they never use the larger sizes. It probably has to do with the types of clothing one packs and how large they are. If some don't work out, I figure I can always pass on the largest size to DH and the smaller ones to DD who runs hot and wears skimpy clothes.

Oh, and I also bought a shirt envelope so that I can pack shirt dresses and shirts on trips!

I'm not sure why I agonized so long and hard about a relatively inexpensive item -- other than the fact that I'm a confirmed agonizer.

I think you will be very happy with them.

Looking forward to hearing how these work for you, Donna! I've never tried the shirt envelope; please report back on specifics of that.

Everything delurked said. I kept reading her post thinking there might be a "downside" section. The only one I've found is the temptation to use the cubes for other purposes when not traveling. Before having used them, they seemed to me like a superfluous purchase that couldn't be much benefit. So I can empathize with the agonizing.

All of my cubes are from Eagle Creek, "Pack-It Original" cubes. Perhaps not very original, but indispensable. The plastic lining in the water-repellent side of the clean/dirty double cube is showing signs of disintegrating after only five years, never exposed to extreme heat.
I don't love Eagle Creek's pouches for travel, so repurposed them for power supplies and small camera accessories; didn't ever find a use for the largest pouch.

Here are the pouches I like. They're kind of overkill, but a pleasure to use.
https://www.dsptch.com/products/accessory-cases
The set I bought came with a vertical pouch as well, which didn't suit me, but Mr Max was very happy to take off my hands and uses regularly as a pencil/brush/pen case; it stands solidly on its bottom and the sides can be turned down when unzipped.

I have a few of these as well:
http://www.thesavvytraveller.c...../1home.htm
Though I use them for handbag sanity rather than for travel. The colors are, as Janet pointed out, helpful visually.

My old workhorse, perfectly compartmented hanging toiletry case was from Deuter. Silly me, got rid of it when I minimized after leaving the job that involved 80%+ travel, and the kind I had is not made any more. Love to hear any current suggestions.

DonnaF and Greyscale, I also stuff my shoes with undies and socks. I can't stand the thought of all that space inside my shoes or around the straps on sandals going unused! I have used newspaper bags, but since I no longer get a newspaper, I've found that shoe bags that come come with more expensive shoes are great, too.

These thoughts about packing cubes are really interesting. I think I might be able to make some use of them. But I do worry about the pockets of unused space around odd-shaped items (shoes, hair dryer, diffuser--yes, I always bring my own dryer, because of the need for a diffuser).