Have you ever been able to pack up your entire family for a 4-day weekend in one suitcase? I’d never been able to until our latest trip to Treasure Island, FL. Spring break was upon us and we had ZERO plans. I knew there’d be bloodshed if we were all going to be stuck in our house together for a solid week.
At the last minute we decided we wanted to do something ‘beachy’. A logical family would’ve just drove to Charleston or Myrtle Beach from Greenville. But not us! We’re insane. However, we managed to channel some of that crazy into finding some incredibly affordable flights to Tampa/St. Pete on some discount airlines.
If you’ve ever flown a discount airline you know that there’s some pretty rigid baggage restrictions. In order to really get the ‘discount’, I had to pay for our bags when booking our tickets. This wouldn’t have been a problem had I planned our trip and wardrobes in advance. But that clearly wasn’t the case.
My palms were sweating when I clicked that mouse. I bought 1 checked bag and 1 carry-on. That was it. I was COMMITTED. I had to put all our stuff in 2 bags. Aaaaaand keep it all under 40lbs. *palm to forehead*
***SPOILER ALERT*** If you’re short on time, scroll to the bottom for the winner of this fierce battle.
This may not sound like a big deal to you. But I’m a serial overpacker, so this was a HUGE challenge. My makeup bag alone is like 35 lbs. So I hit the internet to figure out the best way to cram all our stuff into one suitcase.
I was happy to see that packing cubes were all the rage in the tutorials. Fortunately for me, I owned some. Yay me – saving money already! Packing cubes are great because you can squeeze in heap of stuff while keeping it organized. I bought my kitty cat packing cubes here.
After reading tons of articles and watching videos galore on how to use the cubes, I found there’s roughly a 50/50 split on how to put your clothes in the cubes. Since the results were pretty even steven, I put both methods to the test in a packing battle royale.
Miles
The first method I chose was rolling. I started with the only clean clothes we had, which were some recently gifted hand-me-downs for Miles. I got everything rolled up nice and tight and was pleasantly surprised I could get it all into the small packing cube. I thought for sure I would’ve needed the medium cube.
So my job is done right? Nope. In the name of research I unpacked everything and tried the Kondo folding method. While I was able to fit everything in the small cube again, I had to throw the undies on top making a tight squeeze when trying to zip.
CHARLOTTE
Next was Charlotte. I thought it might get a little more complicated since her clothes were bigger. For reference, Charlotte is a size 7 and Miles is a 5T.
The results were the same as before. I was able to fit all of her clothes in a small packing cube. And with a slightly better fit. Mind. Blown.
MAMA
FINALLY it was time to pack myself. Why do I feel the need to pack a month’s worth of clothes when I’m only going somewhere for 3 days max? I can’t help it. It’s a sickness.
When it came to packing my clothes, the rolling method was king. The Kondo side was a bit of a tight squeeze.
So with all of this cutting edge research I’ve determined the ultimate champion:
And the Winner is...
ROLLING!!
(This isn’t me by the way, though I possess a similar gracefulness)
What won me over with the rolling method was that I was able to consolidate an entire outfit in one roll. Undies included. You can see in the comparison photo above that the Kondo side was literally busting at the seams. Much like my pants after a holiday weekend…
So everybody get your roll on!
If you’re apprehensive about the rolling method because you think your clothes may come unraveled, have no fear. Use either a rubber band or a hair tie to secure your roll. For my clothes I used some impulse purchase headbands from Target found here.
I also found this video to be super helpful. She’s not using cubes but she rolls clothes like a boss.
With clothes rolled and cubed for Miles, Charlotte and myself, we managed to only use half the full-sized suitcase leaving the rest for my husband. His clothes aren’t pictured because he ‘packed’ himself and threw it all in willy-nilly. *smh* Typical.
At this point our carry on bag was completely empty. We were able to put our puddle jumpers, electronics, shoes, and any miscellaneous items we probably didn’t need. We also had some space just in case we exceeded the weight limit of the full-sized bag.
So there you have it! I hope this post is helpful. Do you have a different method that you think would work better? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll put it to the test!
*None of the items linked in this post are sponsored. Everything was paid for by me and the recommendations are my own opinions.
