Packing with Mesh Bags/Clothing Organizers, Yes or No?

Packing a backpack is an art. It takes skill and practice before you figure out how you like your stuff. As it is a backpack that you’re lugging around on your back, packing light is essential. Ditch the cardigan that has been sitting in the back of your closet for a year. Bring only the essential jewelry for a night out, maybe a nice pair of earrings. And honestly, you don’t need six pairs of shoes.

Distributing the weight inside your backpack is important. A lot of people think that heavy things should be at the bottom, but that can wreak havoc on your back. For regular, every-day use of your pack, keep the heavier stuff higher up in your backpack, aiming for it to be in-between your shoulder blade area. If you plan to do some intense hiking, heavier things at the bottom can help root you to the ground.

On more than one occasion my bag has somehow exploded into a frenzy of clothes, gadgets and toiletries everywhere.

It’s like a bomb goes off inside my backpack. I found that when packing with mesh bags, the chances of this happening were much less. With mesh bags you can tightly roll up all of your tops in one bag, your pants in another, undergarments in another. You don’t have to go digging through a mess of clothes that, though you rolled them tightly in the beginning, have loosened and unraveled on the journey.

I personally love mesh bags. They are soft, which means they can be squished down by your toiletries. They are compact, so they don’t take up much space. They are very light, adding very little extra weight to your bag. Four of these little guys worked perfectly for me. I know some people who do the same thing with extra large zip-lock bags, which kind of works the same way. I like the mesh clothing organizers more because they are less disruptive for your roommates if you are staying in a hostel. The only thing I do usually keep in a large zip-lock bag is my explosive-prone toiletries like shampoo. More than once I’ve had my clothes covered in shampoo because I didn’t conceal it in a plastic bag. Check out a previous post about solid shampoos/conditioners if your liquid shampoos have exploded on you too!

These colorful mesh bags helped to keep me organized and it was quick and efficient to find what I needed each day. They can be found at most outdoors/travel stores like Camper’s Village, REI, Mountain Equipment Co-op, etc. So, what’s your verdict? Have you used mesh bags or other clothing organizers before? Are they something that you would try?