Keeping resort room organized..Help!

[Jonell]

We're staying 12 nights this summer at POFQ. It will be myself, DH and 2 teenagers in 1 room!! I can only imagine the mess in our room in only a few short hours..LOL. Any tips on keeping things organized and easy to find? I'm sure there is not much storage except for the few drawers in the TV stand? I'm thinking of maybe purchasing some collapsible storage cubes to help keep things in order..Any other suggestions?? Thanks

 

[ErinsMommy]

You are a brave soul. LOL. We go for 10 days and live out of our suitcases. As far as dirty clothes go, I pack a laundry bag, place that in the closet and as the days go on, just start loading up the laundry bag.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We're staying 12 nights this summer at POFQ. It will be myself, DH and 2 teenagers in 1 room!! I can only imagine the mess in our room in only a few short hours..LOL. Any tips on keeping things organized and easy to find? I'm sure there is not much storage except for the few drawers in the TV stand? I'm thinking of maybe purchasing some collapsible storage cubes to help keep things in order..Any other suggestions?? Thanks

For long stays I like to unpack the kids clothes into the drawers under the TV and put their suitcases away in the closet. I always prefer to keep my suitcase out on the luggage rack. Under the rack becomes home to all my shoes! I always hang a majority of my clothes, if there aren't enough hangers I ask housekeeping for extras. I keep my pjs and undergarments in my suitcase, it just feels cleaner to me than the drawers in the room. I would try not to overpack too much, usually I do laundry a couple of times. I bring my own detergent pods and dryer sheets. It's pretty easy to throw in some laundry when the kids are swimming.
Storage cubes could be nice for organization, we fly so I don't usually bring things like that.

 

[mommyrosa2]

I have two DD's (20 & 16) and our room is usually C-H-A-O-T-I-C to say the least with clothes everywhere . First, they pack like they're traveling for a month and I swear they are constantly changing outfits.

As for organizing...They pack all their toiletries & makeup in a hanging organizer (Vera Bradley) and are pretty good about not leaving that stuff everywhere. I then try to get them to hang up as much of their stuff as possible, especially their summer dresses. They don't like to unpack and pack so they pretty much live out of their suitcases but we tend to find a spot in a corner somewhere and out of the way. I also pack a laundry bag so they can place their dirty laundry in it as we go along.

Our room is never perfectly organized but we do try!

 

[LisaCM614]

I bring the collapsible hanging sweater racks to put my clothes in and to organize clothes by day. We do laundry as well. My DH loves to take an afternoon to himself and hang out and do laundry. Funny guy - I think I'll keep him.

I bring sneaker balls to throw in the shoes - otherwise the shoe smell tends to permeate the room. Ew.

Lastly we use a hanging organizer for the bathroom to keep the toiletries organized.

 

[MickeyManiac]

We all have our own color of packing cubes that can go from suitcase to drawer. It makes life so much easier. I also take a collapsible laundry hamper from the dollar store to keep in the closet. They fold up to the size of a small dinner plate so they fit in our luggage no problem and we can use a couple if needed. If I can keep the clothes in check we're usually in pretty good shape. We always have a quick clean up before we leave for the day, we'll throw all the used towels in the tub and try to tame the toiletries. It's also a good way to make sure all electronics and valuables are stored in the safe. I always feel bad for the housekeepers that walk into crazy, chaotic rooms.

 

[OKW Lover]

There is no real trick to keeping your vacation room organized. Just do the same thing you do in your own home. Put things back when you are done using them.

 

[Celesdragon]

Last few group trips, we've brought one or two hanging shoe organizers, the clear ones with the deep pockets. You can often find them as jewelry organizers as well. We'd hang them up in the closet, and everyone got a row of pockets to keep their small loose stuff in. Jewelry, watches, keys, Magic Bands, brushes, trading pins, sunscreen, etc. Basically anything that could and would end up cluttering the tables went into the pockets instead. It kept our sanity and from losing things. (And anyone caught leaving clutter around the room got 'fined' with being responsible for getting ice, doing runs down to the food court, etc for that day).

 

[sunflowerblooms]

Ditto sneaker balls. That pretty much saved us on our last trip.

We have used an over the door shoe organizer to keep all the stuff organized.

Plus everyone had their dedicated counter top space, floor space and closet space. a little OCD goes along way in a hotel room. The organizer bins should help with that but I would give each person their own zone so stuff isn't getting misplaced.

Bring a charging strip and find a good spot for that so everyone's charging cords are in the same place. This is the only time sharing is a good thing.

The laundry bag with strict instructions either in the bag or your space anything on floor with be tossed. (My daughter is famous for sock piles in every room in our house hence that rule!)

 

[LvsTnk]

Everyone pretty much keeps their stuff in their suitcase and then each person gets a drawer for any incidentals they want to keep in it. Hanging makeup and toiletry bags are great.

I love the idea of the ice run fine or any other little chores. I am definitely using that one.

 

[KyGirl]

Hotel room clutter drives me crazy too. Left to his own devices my husband will live out a duffel bag while the pile around it grows bigger and bigger and it drives me nuts. I was really worried about this for our room at Pop a couple weeks ago so I went out of my way to organize our room. Our situation was a little different from yours as we were traveling with a two year old girl instead of teen boys but I had typed all this out for another post so I'm just going to paste it here. Some of these ideas wouldn't apply to older kids obviously. Oh and we were driving instead of flying so I had the luxury of bringing all this stuff in our car. I'm not sure what we would have done if I'd been limited on my luggage.

Anyway, on the side of the bathroom door facing the sink, I hung one of those shoe rack things for toiletries, sunscreen, meds, anything like that and it was a lifesaver. It kept all that junk easily accessible instead of in a bag but it was OFF the sink top. I got one of those things you hang from a closet rail to sort of make shelves and this gave us TONS of room for socks, underwear, t shirts and all of DD's clothes. There are only 3 small drawers in the dresser in the room so this totally saved us. I hung it all the way over on the end of the close by the safe. Next to that I had a pop up laundry hamper. Also AWESOME for keeping dirty clothes from being in a random pile somewhere. We used the rest of the closet for the few hanging things we had and there were plenty of hangers for us, although I had been prepared to ask for more if necessary. On the shelf above the hanging bar, we had a diaper box and three of those closet maid square bin things. In one of them, I had dishes (sippy cups, emergency nap pacis, cereal bowls, etc.). The second was kind of house keeping stuff (Lysol wipes, a Ziploc full of clothespins that came in handy, boxes of large and small ziplocs, grocery bags for poopy dipes, papertowels etc.) The third bin was for the stuff I needed to replenish our park backpack each day (gum, glow sticks, hand sanitizer, etc.). There was just enough room for those items and a few other small things to be stashed up there. On the counter next to the sink, I brought a small dollar store plastic tub with holes in the sides for dirty dishes and then I used that when I washed. I filled the sink with dish soapy water, washed, and moved everything to the tub, then emptied the sink and rinsed the dishes and tub. I had some cheapo dish towels that could hang on the edge of that tub when not in use. We also brought a small foldable stool so DD could wash her hands by herself. DH thought that was crazy but it was so worth it. Also a help was a small plug in night light for right by the sink for nighttime. In the two small cubbies in the "dresser" I used one for a diaper changing supply area (we are having some potty training issues so our doctor recommended we give her a break on the trip) and the other for swim stuff (towels, suits, floaties) after it had time to dry. One of the cubbies in one bedside table was filled with our snacks and breakfast stuff that didn't need the fridge and the other cubby was for the few toys and books that we brought along. I brought a power strip and plugged it in by the small table so our electronics tended to accumulate there but since it wasn't covered with too much other junk, this was okay. We rented a stroller from Kingdom Strollers (highly recommended!) and because of the king bed, there was plenty of room to park it in front of the window. Also, I brought a Minnie dress up magnet kit and DD could play with it on the back of the door while we were getting ready or otherwise busy. I'm not sure why but this really kept her entertained.

I had to be on the ball about everybody putting their stuff where they were supposed to but having a spot for it to actually go made our week at Pop SO much more enjoyable than it would have been in a chaotic mess! I was quite proud of it really! I regret not taking pictures.

Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

Put things back when you are done using them.

The trick in normal hotel rooms, though, is finding a space where things go. There just aren't that many drawers anymore!

Mesh popup laundry bags; perhaps one for each person, even. If you're not doing laundry, for the clothes that won't get reworn, to make things easier at the end of the trip, honestly, I FOLD the dirty clothes and stack them neatly in the mesh popup bags. That way I don't have to do it after however many days of fermentation LOL.

Hanging bags if POFQ has the closet-area rods to hang them from. Multiple, because those bags do get heavy!

Little containers for surfaces to keep clutter down and keep a space for the items. If you have an Ikea nearby they have square and rectangle containers that have a zipper on the bottom so they can unzip and fold flat, then you pop them into shape, zip it, and it's a nice solid container. Great for hair gel, a brush, toothpaste, etc.

Bring something for toothbrushes so they aren't scattered all over. I recently found toothbrush head covers that have suction cups on them, so you snap the cover over the brush then suction them onto the mirror. Off the counter, protected a bit from germs, terrific!

 

[buzznina]

We never go without 2 of these

 

[KyGirl]

We never go without 2 of these

YES! That is what I was trying to describe but didn't know what to call. Definitely a game changer in a room with hardly any drawer space!

 

[disnut8]

Use the space under the nightstand. That's where we put all of our shoes of any kind. Just chuck under there and they are off the floor and in one place.

Get everyone into the habit of making sure EVERYTHING is off the beds before you leave the room for the day. Housekeepers are there to clean, not to take things off the beds so anything left there could be rolled up and carted off.

Use the nightstand drawer for anything "valuable" that you use every day. Put your room keys/MagicBands/admission tickets, loose change, watches, rings, other jewelry in there.

Since you are staying onsite, you probably won't need your car keys or any other things from your wallet (like a Kroger card) so put those in the safe and lock it. Put that key in the nightstand drawer (use the Bible for a hiding place).

Don't take bottles of shampoo and other things for each person. We use a ditty bag. A small cosmetic bag with sample supply bottles for each person. We also have a toothbrush, contact case and solution in the bags and in one bag a small tube of toothpaste for ALL of us. You just put four bags of stuff on the counter and you are done.

 

[coolbrook]

Under the sink area at POFQ there is a long shelf. I always bring two or three plastic bins to put under the sink. I just put them stacked in the suitcase then fill them with stuff, so they don't take up much room. Each person or pair of people has a bin which they keep all their bathroom stuff in like hair straighteners and products, cosmetic/shaving kits, sun lotion, first aid kit, etc. Nothing is left on the counter top.

We also do several of the things mentioned by previous posters; the sweater hanging thing, folding fabric boxes on the shelf above the closet bar, folding clothes hamper for dirty clothes, and a designated place for each person to put shoes.

I must get some sneaker balls. Do you get them anywhere like Target or do you have to go the Dick's sporting goods or something? Daughter's sneaks stunk up the whole sink area last time!

We drive, so we unpack and then store the empty suitcases and cpap case in the car trunk. Our teenage girls refuse to unpack, so they know they have to keep their stuff contained and keep their bags between the bed and the wall. When we stayed at a deluxe resort or DVC villa we did not need to bring this extra storage and we were fine.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Collapsible laundry baskets are a must. They fit right into a carry on easy.

 

[vikster1]

I use a laundry bag for dirty clothes and keep that in the sink area.

To keep things organized on the bathroom sink I buy those collapable cubes at the dollar store for communal items. We all have little travel bags as well. I also get a cube for important things and put it by the tv or desk. Items to go in are magicbands, pin lanyards etc.

All shoes get kept in a corner by the window. No stubbed toes in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom.

I have a bag that all souviners go in, so nothing gets misplaced.

DD and I live out of suitcases. DH and DS use the dresser drawers. If they lived out of their bags it would be a disaster.

I pack an extention cord for phone chargers. They are all kept together so they don't get left behind.

 

[sarahrdh]

Unpack and use the drawers, I hate rummaging through suitcases for more than a day! Def bring collapsible laundry hampers, (that being said, next time I will also bring a small metal cart, to carry it down to laundry- this time I used the stroller we rented). Also, my little ones could only bring 1 bag of toys with them, and everything fit in the drawers too- which btw they never played with anything they brough- so there wasn't toys laying all over. We lined shoes up by the door but one of those hanging drawers would be great to keep shoes in....I'll have to do that next time! I hated having 3000 shoes lined up.

I like the idea of the hanging shelves others posted, I've seen the shoe organizer, though I didn't use it. Good ideas!

Also, I would bring extra pant hangers- I liked to hang our swim suits with these, and our towels, so they weren't all over the bathroom. I did not bring extra this time, I used what they had which wasn't quite enough, so I did use the line in the shower to hang things to dry, but then I had to move it all to get in & out of the shower. So next time, i'll just bring extra pants hangers!

 

[sarahrdh]

I use a laundry bag for dirty clothes and keep that in the sink area.

To keep things organized on the bathroom sink I buy those collapable cubes at the dollar store for communal items. We all have little travel bags as well. I also get a cube for important things and put it by the tv or desk. Items to go in are magicbands, pin lanyards etc.

All shoes get kept in a corner by the window. No stubbed toes in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom.

I have a bag that all souviners go in, so nothing gets misplaced.

DD and I live out of suitcases. DH and DS use the dresser drawers. If they lived out of their bags it would be a disaster.

I pack an extention cord for phone chargers. They are all kept together so they don't get left behind.

Good idea on the cubes....we had 2 missing magic bands that had to be replaced- later found 1 of them in my husbands pocket...grrr.....and my daughter forgot her band at the resort one day which we figured out just as we pulled up to the magic kingdom! they issued her a card instead at the gate.