JUST back and the most useful tip was...

[beebumble]

The see thru hanging shoe bag for a $1
The sink area is so small for essentials and this WORKED great.
Each one had one row of pockets. It held so much and the sink was not cluttered.
Have a Disney day:earsboy:

[jeancbpugh]

Originally posted by beebumble
The see thru hanging shoe bag for a $1
The sink area is so small for essentials and this WORKED great.
Each one had one row of pockets. It held so much and the sink was not cluttered.
Have a Disney day:earsboy:

Which resort did you stay at with small counters?

[beebumble]

And with makeup toothpaste ,toothbrushes, hair products,
shaving products, sunblocks, cleansing products.....
Believe me it held so much!!!
Have a disney nite:earsgirl: :earsboy:

[DisFam95]

Jean: If you're staying at the Poly you should have regular full size countertops. I know the Value and MOderates have pedestal style sinks, also the Villas at Wilderness Lodge have pedestal sinks. Check out wdwig.com for photos of your resort/bathrooms if you want to check your own resort for any other property before you lug another piece of 'stuff' with you..but this is a great idea for hotels w/ no countertops!!

[jense30]

Where did you get the see thru hanging shoe bag for $1? That sounds like a great idea...will be leaving in 5 days with DH, DD-2 and DD-3. Sounds like this will be ideal. Thanks!!

[Belle1962]

Not just toiletries but they're great to hang and put in small toys for the kids, crayons, cars, small stuffed animals, etc, your park maps, and other "stuff" you accumulate through the visit (or bring with you)

[Kevenswife2]

Dollar Tree has them for, what else, $1.00. Walmart and Big Lots has nicer ones for around $5.00. I've heard the dollar ones don't last very long.

[cathy59]

They're also great to use as a central location for everything -- walkie-talkies, your room keys (over night), the Flonase, band aids, etc.

It packs flat and is very handy!

[A Mickeyfan]

I like that idea... I have to remember to pick one up. I am forevery "cleaning" the area by the sinks so the maids can clean them.... that would eliminate my cleaning...:sunny:

[ellyn2000]

I'm going to try to find one for our upcoming trip. For $1 I'd be glad to just throw it away on departure day. I also save up travel size toothpaste, etc. so that we can pretty much use it up and throw away the empty containers when we pack up.

[CDoobee]

I use those, too. They are really handy! I had a blue one for the boys (DH and DS) and a pink one for us girls (DD and myself). :teeth:

I also got one for my sister and brother-in-law who went with us, to use in their room.

I like Cathy's idea of using one for the walkie-talkies, room keys, etc!! I hadn't thought of that! I'm forever trying to find where that kind of stuff got placed (not by me, of course. I ALWAYS know where I put things!) :p HAHA

Debbie:earsgirl:

[hezreck]

I found one at WalMart for 50 cents a few months ago. Snapped that up and I'll probably just leave it at the hotel when we leave.

[Muffy]

Where do you hang them??

[TNAngie]

I loved using this item too. It kept everything in sight without having to rummage through the luggage. I hung ours on the closet rod. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and Wilderness Lodge. At Wilderness Lodge we could even close the closet doors and hide it more. With five of us, we need all the help we can get. I also liked the idea of having the sink cleared off for mousekeeping. ( I think they are designed to hang over the door, but I'm not sure if they will work on the hotel doors or not)
- Angie

[SpecialK]

We stayed at the Poly and I still used a shoe bag. Hung it in the closet and kept all of our essentials in it. It was much easier to stay organized and avoid all the clutter in the bathroom. I threw it out when we packed up to go home.

ETA: I also made up tip envelopes for housekeeping before we lft home thanks to a tip I picked up here. Made it so much easier to remember and to get out of the room in the morning without having to search for the proper bills.

[Muffy]

I just picked up a shoe bag for our Feb trip. Thank you for this great suggestion!

[leebee]

Hi- when DD was young I used the shoe bag to keep her stuff organized in the car. I bought a pack of plastic suction cup hooks and used them to stick the shoe bag to the window next to her car seat. Hang it near the bottom of the window so it doesn't block your view. Voila! Keeps crayons, little resin Disney guys and princesses, and sippy cups from rolling around in the bottom of the car. It was easier for her to reach this than something hanging on the back of the front seats, and the see-thru partitions mad it easy for her to find what she was looking for. This worked really, really well for us..sent idea into a magazine contes but never heard from them, although about a year later it was mentioned in one of their articles on travelling with kids!

[threeboysmom]

We too are fans of the clear shoe holder bags!! Ours is not an over-the-door-hanger (those don't work with hotel doors we've found out). Our has a coat hanger type hanger so we hang it on the main door and keep spare change in it, sunglasses, extra film, batteries, walkie-talkies, etc. Basically, anything we are going to be needing as we are walking out the door for the day. I can't stand having the small table in the room cluttered with stuff - it bugs me :) so this keeps me happy and the rest of us organized :)

In the bathroom we've always used ziploc bags for our toiletries. I pack one for each DS with his toothbrush, small travel size toothpaste, floss, travel size deodorant, and comb. I have a gallon-sized one with my stuff :) plus a make-up bag. DH gets one too with his stuff. In the morning everyone grabs their ziploc, gets ready, puts the stuff back into the bag and drops it back into the toiletry bag on the floor usually under the sink. It works for us! :)

[insmom]

specialK- I like your idea on getting the tip envelopes ready at home. I am trying to be so organized about this trip so anything to help me with that is great:Pinkbounc

How much do you suggest to tip? Do you tip everyday or at the end of the trip? :wave:

[Kevenswife2]

I was just at Dollar Tree and picked up a 9-pocket shower organizer. It looks like a shoe holder but it has two holes at the top to hang it on the hooks in your shower. I thought it might keep my tub area clear too (I already have a shoe holder to organize my countertop). Plan to put my shower cap, razor, shampoo and conditioner, body wash, and my daughter's things it it. Now mousekeeping doesn't have a reason not to clean our tub/shower every day.

[insmom]

Okay I guess I know where I am going this week! I have to get one of those for our trip. I am assuming that the Dollar Tree that you are all talking about should be the same as what we have here-Everything for a Dollar. I will let you know!!

[Kevenswife2]

Yes, it's the one where everything's a dollar. One of my favorite stores. The other is Target.

[bumcat]

Thanks for the tip. I bought one this weekend. I also can't stand clutter everywhere.

[Jana49]

My best tips, other than the shoe bag one, would be:

1) disposable dishcloths to wash mugs, sippy cups, etc. everyday.
2) clippy clothes pins to close chip bags, curtains, etc.
3) nightlights - invaluable!!

[Kevenswife2]

Yes, nightlights! I got mine, 2 for $1.00, where else? Dollar Tree!

[CDoobee]

Originally posted by insmom
specialK- I like your idea on getting the tip envelopes ready at home. I am trying to be so organized about this trip so anything to help me with that is great:Pinkbounc

How much do you suggest to tip? Do you tip everyday or at the end of the trip? :wave:

Hi:wave:
I'm not specialK, but maybe I can help answer your questions.:D

We tip every day, as you may not always have the same housekeeper. The usual, or at least what we do since reading it here years ago, is $1/person/day.

Here is a link to some cute "mousekeeping" envelopes, that we print out and fill before we leave.

http://users.adelphia.net/~heidiw/

One less thing to think about! It's so easy each day to just pull out an envelope and place on your pillow, table, wherever.

Hope this helps! Have a fun trip!

Debbie:earsgirl:

[disneyfan551]

I agree with the nightlight post. I take the Glade Plugin Nightlight, so it can make the room smell better, too! ;)

[insmom]

Thanks CDoobee!! I have just printed enough envelopes for mousekeeping for our trip. That is such a great idea. I also like the clothes pin one. No matter how tight you shut your shade in a hotel there is always that little bit that stays open:smooth:

I like the idea of the nightlight. Not knowing where I am going at night I would probally be the one stubbing my toe:crazy: Does mousekeeping leave those alone?

[Jana49]

Mousekeeping (or any housekeeping at any hotel) has never bothered our nightlights. I buy the cheap ones, too, then if we do forget them, it's no biggee.

[insmom]

Just got back on the 30th and LOVED IT!!! Cant wait to go back :Pinkbounc The most helpful thing I can think of is not to OVERPACK. Those bags get heavy and then you end up buying so much stuff, atleast we did, and then you have to worry about bringing it home. :flower1:

[LindsayDunn228]

Hi:wave:
I'm not specialK, but maybe I can help answer your questions.:D

We tip every day, as you may not always have the same housekeeper. The usual, or at least what we do since reading it here years ago, is $1/person/day.

Here is a link to some cute "mousekeeping" envelopes, that we print out and fill before we leave.

http://users.adelphia.net/~heidiw/

One less thing to think about! It's so easy each day to just pull out an envelope and place on your pillow, table, wherever.

Hope this helps! Have a fun trip!

Debbie:earsgirl:
Thank you very much for this link! I loved it!

[Grand Canyon]

I really like the shoe bag idea. We buy one (or more) of the net bags at Walmart. I think they're really laundry bags. Anyhow - that's what we pack snacks etc in for the day at Disney. Then we can throw it up on the security table, they flip it around but don't need to paw through it. The shoe bags would make this even more organized. It sounds like a wonderful idea for a diaper bag, too.
Thanks!

[Swimnoid]

Great tip with the shoe bag! I'll be off to Dollar Tree tomorrow.

ONe tip I have for if you are driving....We have a mesh laundry hamper type thing. It has plastic tubing so it will stand up or fold flat. We stay at Fort Wilderness Cabins so I pack our clean clothes in it and then after we get there use it for our dirty clothes. So you dont have to repack dirty clothes...ugh...and it is very "squishable" for packing in the car.

Also when we stay at POR or another place without a lot of counter space I take a small plastic basket. (usually 2 for a dollar at DT! :earboy2: ) and put all the little things in it to keep them in one place and out of the way.