Sorry, expensive storage! Pro organisers say this bargain holiday essential is the key to a tidy and organised home

I’m incredibly guilty of buying holiday-specific items that I only use once or twice a year. Admittedly, there are very limited occasions for me to use a flamingo floatie on a regular Thursday. But it got me wondering whether there was a way to use some of my other holiday essentials when I get home, instead.

After all, I always make time to declutter before going on holiday, but nobody really talks about the post-holiday chaos where you have a suitcase full of travel toiletries, beach towels, souvenirs and packing cubes that need a home in your house. And normally, I shove them to the back of a cupboard, hide them in the spare room, and pretend they don’t exist until I next go on holiday.

But after speaking to professional organisers, I’ve discovered that one of these holiday essentials - packing cubes - can be used throughout the home to aid organisation and banish clutter. This is how they suggest using them, and how I’ll be making the most of them when I fly home.

1. Store out-of-season clothing

Holiday packing cubes like this 8-Piece Travel Packing Cubes Set (£15.99 at Amazon) are ideal for organising your outfits and even storing dirty clothes while you’re on holiday. But if their primary function is storing clothes, why aren’t we using them at home, too?

Shannon Murphy, Professional Organiser and Founder of Simpl Living Co, says we should all be making the most of packing cubes - especially if we want to store seasonal clothing and free up space in our everyday drawers and wardrobes. She says, ‘They can be placed in less accessible areas of your wardrobe or another storage space that you don’t need to access regularly.’

She also says they’re perfect for separating children’s clothes by size, so you can keep their current size in the wardrobe or drawers while still keeping the sizes they’ll eventually grow into readily accessible and ready to swap over when they have a growth spurt.

Just be careful when storing clothes made of cashmere, wool or silk, as these fabrics can attract moths during long-term storage. However, I’ve heard nothing but good things about these ecoKiwi Cedar Rings (28 Pack for £9.99 at Amazon), which you can slot into the packing cubes for moth protection.

2. DIY drawer and wardrobe organisers

I recently completely re-organised my drawers using dedicated clothes organisers from Amazon, but it turns out I could have saved my money and used the packing cubes I had left over from my last holiday instead. In fact, Ellie Fife, Founder of Holistic Life Organising, says they can turn an ‘organised dumping ground’ into a tidy and clutter-free space.

‘Packing cubes are ideal for creating contained categories in drawers, cupboards and shelves,’ explains Ellie. ‘In a wardrobe, they can be used to keep accessories together, or store items like swimwear, scarves and gloves.’

The same can be said for drawers in any room of the house, as these packing cubes can help organise clothes, tidy up a junk drawer in the kitchen, or even organise cosmetics in a bathroom vanity. The bonus is that packing cubes are typically much cheaper than plastic or wicker containers, too, and you can even zip up the lids to hide visual clutter.

This also allows you to stack them, and if you opt for compression packing cubes like these ANTLER - Compression Packing Cubes, Set of 4 (£50 at Amazon), you can fit even more in your drawers and wardrobes - without them physically taking up even more space.

3. Make grab-and-go bags

Kids and hobbies require a lot of things. But when you’re running late for your children’s swimming lessons and struggling to find their costume or goggles, you often leave a mess in your wake. The more this happens, the more chaotic your house becomes.

This is where a grab-and-go bag can help, and Ellie says that ‘creating grab-and-go bags for swimming lessons, sports clubs or weekends away’ can help to combat clutter as you always know where these items live. Popping them in your hallway or utility room means that when you’re ready to leave, you can simply grab the bag… and go!

But these grab-and-go bags don’t just have to be for when you leave the house. If you’re into your crafts, you can fill a packing cube with all your crafting materials to keep them safe and easy to grab when you need them. You could even add this Lifewit Plastic 36 Bead Grids Craft Storage Box (£16.99 at Amazon) for smaller, fiddly items.

This way, your crafting items will always have a dedicated home, and they won’t end up strewn around your home. Alternatively, you could use packing cubes for storing your kids’ artwork when you just don’t have any space left on the fridge. Then, they’re safe without taking over your entire house.

4. Store spare bedding

Most of us have spare bedding, but everyone knows how hard it is to organise bedding when it’s impossible to fold a fitted sheet and duvet sets look messy no matter how you attempt to store them. But according to pro organisers, storing spare bedding is just another way to reuse holiday packing cubes when you’re not actually on holiday.

Ellie explains, ‘They can be used for spare bedding, guest towels or blankets, helping to keep linen cupboards more organised - bonus if you label them by what’s inside and/or bed sizing.’ In fact, using labels alongside your packing cubes just seemed to come up time and time again.

Shannon agrees that labels are a no-brainer, saying, ‘Adding labels to your packing cubes is a simple but effective way of knowing what you are storing. This allows you to quickly identify the contents without having to open multiple bags and helps maintain an organised system.’

This should keep your home tidier, too, and the good news is that labels are extremely cheap. You can even pick up this 250 Pack of Double Dragon Address Labels from Amazon for just £3.94.

Who needs expensive storage when you have holiday packing cubes at your disposal?