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How I keep my backpack organized
I've become such a smug packer. On my last trip, I packed for three states, two countries, and three climates, which varyied from Alaska winter to springtime Mexico, and I would proudly What's ironic is that I'm a total mess - I'm famously disorganized, and the contents of my bag will spew over the floor and bed of my hotel room in a colorful vomit until it's time to move on. So, in order to contain my sloppy piles, I've implemented a packing strategy that has changed my travel life. Well, it's less of a strategy and more of a product: Eagle Creek's packing cubes. (Full disclosure - I receive a pro-purchase deal on Eagle Creek products, but I was buying packing cubes long before that privilege.)
For my round-the-world trip, I used a Marmot Diva backpack, which is thin and deep, and only has a top opening. With the packing cubes, I could color-coordinate (pants in the yellow cube, shirts in the blue one) and grab exactly what I needed rather than dig blindly through the black cavern of the backpack. Though the pack is cylindrical and the cubes are square, I could use the empty space along the sides of the cubes for stuffing dirty clothes, books, and shoes.
I found that the half-cube size works better for me than the full size. The full one is so big that it ends up becoming just as disorganized as my pack would be without one, unless I'm taking bulky winter gear. The half cube is perfect for my lighter clothes: I simply roll everything up into tubes and line them up inside. I use a long tube cube for my underwear and one or two pairs of socks. Once I'm home, I'll throw all my travel accessories (pack towel, hand sanitizer, headlamp, etc) into a cube or two and keep it in a drawer, where it's all in one place.
I would have included a picture of my own stellar packing job, except that I've been home a month now and my stuff is currently spilling out of my cubes and pack on my bedroom floor....
I would have included a picture of my own stellar packing job, except that I've been home a month now and my stuff is currently spilling out of my cubes and pack on my bedroom floor....
Filed under: North America, Central America
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JoAnna May 5th 2009 12:23PM
Thanks for the great tips. I haven't used the cubes, though I like the idea of color coding. I'm a big fan of using large and small Ziploc bags on the road. You can see through them, make them as small as possible, and they're great for keeping wet stuff off of dry stuff.
Fiznatty May 5th 2009 12:47PM
If you need to save even more space, vacuum seal bags (available at places like REI) are very handy. We fit three weeks' worth of clothing for two people in one medium-sized travel backpack during a jaunt to Greece a couple years ago with the help of two large-sized vacuum bags.
Max
Catherine May 5th 2009 1:25PM
Thanks for the comments.
I used to use ziploc baggies, but found that they fell apart on long trips. I still pack a few for toiletries and whatnot though.
I've always wondered about the vacuum seal bags. Are they easy to pack and unpack? And do your clothes get wrinkled? They seem great if you're not getting into them every day, but I could be wrong.
Fiznatty May 5th 2009 4:57PM
Your clothes do get wrinkled a bit, but if you're good at folding clothes (which I am not... good thing I travel with someone who is ;) you can fit quite a bit in there.
For backpacking/adventure travel, I've never found semi-wrinkled clothes to be a big deal. Those who have some semi-formal events or perhaps a club to go to on their trip probably would not want to pack their outfits in vacuum bags.
Max