Having the comforts of "HOME"

[rsschneck]

Getting ready to pack for our first trip to Hilton Head and our first DVC trip period!
I want to be prepared for the little things you don't think about that make it home.
I am packing extra laundry stuff (shout, oxi-clean, drier sheets). I purchased extra Dishwashing Detergent tablets. I know they give you a start, but is it enough? I am bringing Salt and pepper because we will be doing some cooking. Now what about coffee filters. Do they give you enough or should I pack extra. We will be going grocery shopping, but I like to pack the non-perishable (expensive if you need small quantity items).
What kind of items do most people bring from home that they might miss when staying in a DVC resort?
Thanks to everyone who help with suggestions!

 

[CarolynK]

We always bring a "white noise" machine. It drowns out all hallway noises, if there are any. We use this at home, also.
We also bring our own bedsheet if we have the space because ours is softer and it stays on the bed! Also a pillow for my husband, he hates foam ones.
We bring our portable DVD player and movies.
We bring the laptop.
We bring the kids' favorite toys - the ones they sleep with, plus a couple of others for down time in the room.
Books for the kids for bedtime stories.

We buy coffee filters once we get there, they are cheap and we don't feel guilty about throwing out the unused ones. We do bring salt and pepper.

 

[Granny]

For coffee, we've been buying those self-contained packets (Folger's?) that have the coffee sealed inside the filter. They work great and are easy to use. Work on any size coffee machine too!

There are tons of packing lists out there...but some things I sometimes forget are:

Baggies...sandwich and freezer size. You open things and then don't have any storage for the unused portion.

Scissors to cut those tags off of all the new things you buy.

Shampoo....those little Mickey ones don't last long.

I know there are a lot more, but these are some things that we've found are good to bring along.

 

[PamOKW]

Unless things have changed, there is no need to bring dishwasher soap. If it runs out, just ask housekeeping for more. This has always been provided. Someone please correct me if this has changed. You are correct that only a start-up of Tide is provided.

 

[Granny]

Pam...you are correct. They provide dishwasher soap and we found it to be plenty enough for us....though there were some days we weren't running the dishwasher. Mousekeeping will bring more if anyone runs out.

 

[SheriB]

Depending on how many of you are going, you may want to buy some paper plates, cups, and plastic utensils. We had 7 in a 2BR and found the service for 8 wasn't quite enough to get us through breakfast and dinner in one day.

Also, I didn't find any scissors in the unit which we could have used on more than several occasions.

Good luck and have fun!

Sheri

 

[StevieD]

I wouldn't worry about bringing too much stuff from home. You can always bring back any non-perishables at the end of your trip. There are plenty of grocery stores around the resort - we tend to use Piggly Wiggly because its so close, but you've also got several Publix's, a Bi-Lo, and a Harris Teeter within a few miles radius. We've found that it's easier to just hit the grocery store when we get there and get what we need, rather than fret over packing something and worrying that we haven't packed something.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I always bring with me a small ( 10 X 10 ) pillow with me. I put it in my carry-on luggage, and use it under my elbow on the airplane. I use it for any hotel because I don't want my face on another pillow case that's washed with harsh chemicals.
(allergies) Besides that, it's just some comfort from home.

I will bring some of my own liquid laundry detergent that's free of dyes and perfumes, (again, allergies)

I have all intention of getting a souvenir Mickey teapot while I am at WDW, so I can use it brand-new when I move from The Swan to BWV. I have seen those awful whistling tea kettles in the photos of the villas. You can't clean the minerals out of those.
I love my hot tea, and tea tastes odd when you have one of those kettles. It's a decent excuse to get a new new kettle.

 

[Marisa'sMom]

For sure you don't need to bring extra dish washer soap. We just stayed 6 days at WLV and we had more than we needed. We always bring our own coffee filters and coffee. They provide coffee in a filter, but we're coffee snobs and we like to bring our own.

I would recommend the Tide or Wisk tablets for your laundry soap. They work great and they are not messy at all. Plus the packaging doesn't take a lot of room in your suit case.

Water is a good thing to bring as well. We always bring a supply that will last through out our trip. At $2.50 a bottle at the resort it adds up. We always bring our small, rolller cooler with us to keep the water with us when we're at the pool and/or beach.

Have a great time at HH! It's one of our favorite resorts.

 

[rsschneck]

Dish detergent definately staying! Coffee need to work on. We are from the Northwest and GOOD coffee is very important to us.

Some great ideas/suggestions. I love seeing what are important "HOME" items for people to remember to bring.

I know there are stores around, but somethings you only need a little of and it is nice not to have to go to the store everytime you forget something. I would rather bring 10 coffee filters from home then buy 100 on Vacation. I also like to pack extra itmes so when we use those items I have room in my suitcase for souveniers.

Thanks and keep those ideas coming

 

[rsschneck]

Bump in case there are any other great ideas!

Thanks again everyone who has replied.

 

[CK1]

We used to take lots of groceries, then we did a price-comparison and found out most stuff could be bought within 30 minutes of "final DVC destination" just as cheaply! I did take my crock-pot on my last trip to WDW (so it could cook while I swam and park-hopped!) I have taken sweetener (a small container of sugar and also the blue packets); salt, pepper, and PAM. SOme folks advocate a nylon scrubbie -- can never seem to find anything to clean the pans with, and a dish towel just doesn't cut it. ALuminum foil is good -- works to cover any leftovers, great to cook on and then pitch. Mosquito spray... bottled water (enough to get us started 'til we make a grocery run) and a nightlight (we have kids and this helps all of us navigate if necessary through the dark!)

Lastly -- and maybe this is just our family -- Imodium. (Something about that change in the water to the unaccustomed body just does something. Ever since I started packing the Imodium, however, we've never needed it again, thank goodness! BUt it's always along for the ride!)

Cindy