Packing cubes can help turn a disorganized travel bag into an easy-to-use bag. I find packing cubes to be immensely helpful when traveling. I can use them to keep dress clothes separate from casual clothes, dirty clothes separate from clean clothes, or different purposed clothes separate if I'm on a multi-leg trip. Here's how you can convert an old dress shirt into a packing cube that fits your exact size needs.

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

Find an old button-front dress shirt. It can be one that's got a stain, a tear in a sleeve, or you just don't plan to wear anymore.

Other materials:

Thread

Tools:

Scissors
Sewing Machine or Needle

Step 2: Measure

Figure out how big to make the packing cube. Note: this isn't a true 'cube'.

I chose to make mine just a bit bigger than the size I fold my t-shirts so that I can stack a few of them inside. You may want to make yours different dimensions. Some ideas include the dimensions of a carry-on rolling bag or fractions thereof (eg, half the length so you can fit two side by side)

Step 3: Cut

Turn the shirt inside out so buttons fasten flat at the edge. Imagine folding a piece of paper in half and do the same thing with the shirt.

Cut the shirt while buttoned about four inches longer than your desired dimension from the buttons to the opposite end and about four inches longer than your desired dimension along the length of the buttons. This will produce a final 'cube' that is about 3-3.5 inches tall. For example if I wanted my final cube to be 12 inches long by 6 inches wide, I would cut the fabric to be 16 inches long and 10 inches wide.