Alternative Uses for Packing Cubes

We all know that packing cubes are an organisational saviour in a suitcase, but did you know that they are equally as handy around the house? Learn how you can streamline your home and your life when you’re not travelling, with these alternative uses for packing cubes.

Store Your Travel Accessories

If you’re in-between trips, use a packing cube to keep all your travel accessories together. Things like your passport holder, travel wallet, luggage tags, portable scale and locks and keys often end up in several different places around the house. By storing all travel-related accessories in a packing cube you can keep everything in one place. We suggest placing the cube in your empty luggage bag so you know exactly where to find it when you need it - or at least it will be in a logical place for you to look!

Handbag Organiser

Many women have a go-to handbag that they will use most days, but sometimes an outing or outfit calls for a handbag switch-up. To make things easy, keep your handbag essentials such as lip balm, hand cream, hand sanitiser etc in a small packing cube that you can take from one bag to another. This will also help keep your everyday handbag in order.

Keep Electronics Neat

There’s nothing more annoying than a drawer full of tangled electronic cables. Keep your unused electronics neat by sorting them in small packing cubes. This way you can keep like items together, for example, all camera-related bits can all go in one packing cube, and headphones and music-related cords can go in another.

Organise Socks and Underwear drawers

Other notoriously unruly drawers are socks and underwear drawers. Use packing cubes to separate most-used socks and undergarments from seldom-used items. For example, thermals, singlets and fancy stockings can be kept in separate cubes to the things that you use every day. We would suggest leaving the flap of the packing cube used for everyday items unzipped or tucked back so that they can be easily accessed without needing to unzip the bag.

Keep Toys Tidy

Packing cubes are perfect for organising loose toys such as lego and blocks. You can also group toys into separate activity packs, for example, colouring books and stickers, that can easily be picked up and taken on a trip to keep your children busy. It’s also a good idea to pack a toy cube to keep in the car to keep them occupied on unexpected trips and appointments. The best part about packing cubes as toy organisers is that they are washable, so you can easily give them a wash when they inevitably get dirty.

Keep Your Car Neat

An emergency entertainment kit for kids isn’t the only thing you can use packing cubes in the car for. Packing cubes can be used to keep your boot organised. You can keep emergency items such as a blanket, bottled water and a flashlight in a medium cube; you can keep non-perishable snacks in a separate cube, and keep miscellaneous items such as reusable shopping bags in another. Then, you can store them all neatly in a large packing cube in the boot or back seat of the car.

First Aid Kit

Every home should have a first aid kit on hand. You can purchase great kits from chemists, but there are likely at least one or two personalised items that you’ll need to add for your family members and pre-purchased kits don’t often leave room for extras. This is where a small or medium-sized packing cube comes in handy. Keeping your first aid items in a packing cube rather than a box or basket means that you can easily grab and pack it for road trips or outings. Better yet, pack a second kit for the car.

Packing cubes are also a great way to organise your medicine cabinet. You can also lock the zippers of the bag together to keep children out.

Create a Mess-Free Wardrobe

If you or your kids have trouble getting ready because of too many clothing options, packing cubes can help. Create more space and less confusion by storing away out of season clothes. Packing clothing into cubes will also mean that they don’t get dusty. We recommend compression cubes for packing away bulky winter items. Pack your clothes away with a tissue sprayed with some perfume or essential oil to keep your stored clothes smelling fresh.

Keep Linens In Line

If your linen cabinet tends to get messy, use packing cubes to keep it organised. Large packing cubes are especially helpful for storing bulky items such as extra doonas, quilts and beach towels. If you need to create more space in your linen cabinet, use compression cubes to pack these bulky items down.

Medium-sized packing cubes are especially helpful for storing smaller linens such as pillowcases, tea towels and hand towels. You can even use small packing cubes to keep irregularly-sized miscellaneous linens such as table runners and cloth napkins neat.

Organise Seasonal Decorations

If you and your family love to get festive, then packing cubes can help you keep your seasonal decorations sorted. Medium packing cubes are handy for keeping Christmas ornaments together. You can also use small packing cubes to store tinsel and string lights without getting them tangled (we recommend wrapping string lights around a piece of cardboard).

Wrapping paper and general party trimmings such as candles, party bags and banners can also be stored by theme or colour so that you can easily find what you’re looking for.

Locker Emergency Kit

If you have high-school-aged children with lockers, make an emergency kit in a packing cube for them to keep at school. This can include anything from spare stationery items to spare socks and spare toiletries.

Backup Nappy Bag

If you have very young children, packing cubes can be used as backup bags that will help you navigate inevitable mess on the go. Pack an entire spare outfit including shoes and socks (you never know what they’ll soil) in a medium packing cube and keep extra diapers and baby wipes in a smaller one. If you have a few young kids, consider packing the same sort of emergency kit for each one, but keep them colour coded to make things easier to find when the time comes.

Gym Bag Essentials

Keep everything you need for before or after a workout in a small packing cube to help keep your gym bag organised. This can include a razor, toiletries, extra makeup, deodorant and even a spare set of clean clothes just in case you have a change of plans for after your gym session. A spare medium-sized cube is also handy for keeping your dirty clothes separate from everything else.

Sports Bag Organiser

If you have active children that partake in many sports, use packing cubes to pack together all the things they need for each activity. For example, one packing cube would be used for soccer, one for swimming practice and another for dance. This way you can use one duffel for all the activities and simply swap out the packing cubes for specific gear.


4 comments


  • Margaret Cumberland

    Wow! Great ideas. I love my packing cubes when I travel. I don’t know how I managed without them and Zoomlites are so much better quality than similar products. There’s no comparison really. But with these great ideas they don’t need to languish in my suitcases until I travel again – soon I hope.


  • Margery

    I find packing cubes very useful for travel, and love that I can just put an opened cube of clothing into a shelf when I arrive at my destination, but for home use they would be even more useful if the lids zipped completely off.


  • Pam Redcliffe

    I love your packing cubes and have and will use them for travel. The idea of how to use them in the home when we are not travelling is brilliant and as I’m home going through cupboards and draws I will get them out and use them as I love everything being tidy, neat. Thanks heaps for the tips.


  • Connie Kramer

    What great ideas for using packing cubes around the house…
    Mine have been lying empty in the suitcase…
    Thank you I will make good use of them now… and perhaps even purchase some more


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