Best tips for hotel living?

[soccerchick]

We are doing (for us) a long hotel stay this trip - 10 days.
What tips do you have for keeping the room manageable for that long of a period?

We usually unpack our stuff and put it into drawers, onto hangers, etc. We use an empty suitcase as a dirty clothes hamper. I bring a dryer sheet or two to keep in said suitcase to keep it "fresh."

I am bringing a small plastic "box" as a catch-all to keep things like change, keys, park maps, receipts, and all the pocket junk that seems to materialize in and neat.

I've love to hear other tips you have to keep order and sanity in your hotel rooms!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I got this tip from the DIS boards. I haven't tried it out yet (leave in 20 days ) but I purchased an over the door shoe oranizer for about $8 at Wal-Mart for the bathroom door. This is to store all of our beauty and hygiene supplies. We are staying at POR and according to the pictures I have seen there doesn't seem to be much counter space. The shoe organizer has hooks that you just hang on the door.

 

[pezheadmeg]

I use a smaller sweater bag that fits over a closet rod. It holds all the toiletries without impeding the door.

The plastic box is one of the best things you can pack, empty the pockets nightly and then go through it every other night to toss whatever can be.

Bring a surge protector! Bring a surge protector! Bring a surge protector! It's much easier to plug one in with a longish cord and sit it on the table for charging cell-phones, i-pods, and cameras. I have one that holds 3 with a retractable cord that actually stays with my toiletry bag, that way it's always ready to go.

Toss a clear trash bag into the suitcase that holds the laundry, even if you're using the fabric softener sheet.

Granted, I'm only 5 years out of dorm living--I still think like I'm living in a small space.

 

[brockash]

I got this tip off the disboards, and used it last month when we were at the beach, and it worked great. It's so much easier, and everything has it's own "pouch"

 

[wdw1972]

I'm assuming you'll be doing laundry at some point during the trip. Bring a couple of big bags to hold the dirty stuff - 1 for whites, 1 for colors.

The single most important tip in my opinion though, is to spell out your expecations before the trip, and nobody leaves the room in the morning until all the crap has been tidied up and put away. When the kids can't go to the parks or the pool because they left a mess, then they'll learn pretty quickly to clean up after themselves. If you've got babies - then it's up to you & any other adults to "clean as you go" - don't let the room get to be a mess in the first place.

 

[Shelebeen]

One thing we brought on our cruise last summer was a cheap dollar store pop up laundry basket. it sits on the bottom of the suitcase flat, but it was sure nice to have a basket to throw the dirty laundry into. Then I just carried it to the laundromat onboard and dumped it in... worked great.. now I bring it wherever we go, even if we are taking home the dirty laundry...

 

[tiggerx3]

One thing we brought on our cruise last summer was a cheap dollar store pop up laundry basket. it sits on the bottom of the suitcase flat, but it was sure nice to have a basket to throw the dirty laundry into. Then I just carried it to the laundromat onboard and dumped it in... worked great.. now I bring it wherever we go, even if we are taking home the dirty laundry...

I agree! We got 2 mesh bags from the dollar store (1 for whites and 1 for colors) for our 2 wk vaca to Disney and it was great.

 

[67tink40]

I totally agree with the over the door shoe organizer!!! We stayed at Pop and counter space was very limited. It worked like a dream Even my husband was impressed with it. However, the bathroom was was too wide and it wouldn't fit so we hung in on the clothes rod to the left of the sink.

 

[JeanfromBNA]

The first thing that I do is unpack the toiletries, shoes, and hang anything that might get wrinkled. We keep a separate laundry bag. I do not put anything away in drawers. Bedbugs are becoming too common. Room keys, wallet/purse, and cellphones go on the desk or table. Basically I find a place for things and they always return to that place.

 

[hearts8701]

a shower curtain from dollar store and tacks i hang it across the door opening to make sink area a dressing room just remove one tack when done and retack when you need to change when traveling with your family really speeds things up with teenagers waiting to change in the bathroom

 

[andymattmom]

Do you all find that there are never enough hangers? I like to hang things as soon as we get there...but there are never enough hangers. We are doing a grocery run to Walmart and I am thinking of buying a couple things of the cheapie tube hangers. I always ask for extra but never seem to get enough- I hang shirts and put the rest of the shorts/stuff in drawers.

Great ideas here!

 

[MapleGirl]

I always pack our bathrobes and slippers. It helps make us comfortable after days in the parks and is great for slipping into after a shower! I also like to bring my laptop with some favorite DVDs for relaxing in the room.

 

[patches07]

Always bring my pop up laundry basket.

 

[Mousemom]

I used to bring a lot more but cut down on a lot of things, especially if they charge for extra bag on airline. Only a couple things I make sure I always have. I try to use things that we end up with while on vacation for miscelaneous stuff instead of brining with us. Popcorn bucket for receipts, plastic cup for toothbrushes/paste.

1. Small flash light - just in case
2. Laundry Bag
3. Night Light

We leave in a couple months and will start making a list so I won't forget anything.

 

[kschafer]

Always bring my pop up laundry basket.

Ditto. Also grab a couple single use laundry detergent packets at Wal-Mart and throw a few dryer sheets in a ziploc bag. Pack 3-5 days worth of clothes and anticipate doing laundry a couple times (can't speak for all resorts but the washer/dryer was next to the pool where we were hanging out anyways)

 

[Redbudlover]

pop up laundry basket! And kitchen sized garbage bags for dirty laundry when we leave - the nice smelling ones help and I sort colors that way when I leave. I agree about the surge protector, too. envelopes for housekeeping tips. I also slip all my paper disney stuff - as I accumulate it - into the outer flat zipped compartment on my suitcase. That helps keep down the mess. And I have a toiletry bag which hangs up that keeps things organized. I unpack as soon as I get to the resort - never have found any bugs... and digging through a suitcase would drive me crazy. I also keep things together - shorts with the matching tee, underwear and pjs in one drawer, etc.

I like having a clean and orderly room - and I like being able to find what I want without having to search around for it.

 

[FogliaFamily]

We travel with our 3 boys and I agree - set the tone, we pick up and organize before leaving and going to bed. I dress the boys in the same color shirt each day (they are still young enough to do it) and I stack everything in the drawers for them by the day. Pull out the red shirt pile and out comes 3 shirts and 3 shorts, it's also easier this way for them to help. Before leaving I have them all piled up, ready to go before putting them in the suitcase. We also sort the whites and darks into their own laundry bag. We haven't done laundry on vacation, but when we get home it sure is easy to throw the clothes in without any sorting.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

We travel with our 3 boys and I agree - set the tone, we pick up and organize before leaving and going to bed. I dress the boys in the same color shirt each day (they are still young enough to do it) and I stack everything in the drawers for them by the day. Pull out the red shirt pile and out comes 3 shirts and 3 shorts, it's also easier this way for them to help. Before leaving I have them all piled up, ready to go before putting them in the suitcase. We also sort the whites and darks into their own laundry bag. We haven't done laundry on vacation, but when we get home it sure is easy to throw the clothes in without any sorting.

Like this one about the matching clothes..it is simpler that way...gonna try a tip I got here..packing whole outfits into a ziploc bac..that way it's easy to unpack and easy to grab for my girls...

 

[brennicksmom]

i agree with dressing the kids alike. They are easier to find if one wanders off (luckily we haven't had to do this yet) My sons are 9 and 6 and they know when they go to Disney they wear matching clothes. I lay everything out on my bed before we go and let them have some control over which shorts and which shirts they want together, then I pack both of their outfits in 1 ziplock bag. Each morning of our trip one of them picks out one bag and, presto, both kids have outfits with no sorting and no arguing.

This year I also went to the dollar store and bought suction cups hooks. I put them on the mirror and all over in the tub. I always had a place to hang my watch for the night and to dry swim suits or wet clothes. With 4 people the clothesline in the bathtub never gives us enough room to hang everything.

I saw somewhere on this board to buy a fish scale. It was nice to know that our suitcases weren't too heavy and we could just slide it in the outside pocket of the suitcases. I got mine at bed bath and beyond.

Have a great trip, take extra memory cards for lots of pictures.

 

[MinnieLee]

We have been going every October for the past 11 years for 10 days. I agree with previous posts about separating laundry. I pack a large cloth "carpet Bag" to put either dark or whites in so when we come home I just take the bag to the washer and "dump" it in. This way I also have extra room to pack anything I have bought (that I haven't shipped home). Bring extra coffee, tea bags, sugar, coffee filters. I always bring large mugs from home - their mugs are too small. Unpack! Hide the suitcases in the closet. So much easier than rumaging through a suitcase every morning. Also, there are never enough hangers. Everyone had great ideas. Have fun!