Organizational Tips for the Room???

[MGV]

I am organizationally challenged so I am taking notes as I read this thread. I can attest to the pop up hamper working great. I just picked up suction hooks for swimsuits. Does anyone know if the doors at Pop are metal? The magnetic hooks for a shoe organizer would not take up precious closet room.

 

[kimis]

Here I was so proud of myself....

I was walking around a dollar store checking things out with Disney in mind when I saw the pop up hamper. Here I thought I'd had my own idea....

I already have 2 at home so didn't buy it. We like to use it for the beach - a quick gather up for sand toys and easy to shake out the sand when we get to the car.

This might be off topic, but speaking of beaches - I have a great tip:

Plastic tobaggans work great for transporting stuff from the car to the "perfect" spot. We like to go to Lake Michigan and the beach at Holland is a LONG walk on the sand. We were thinking of how to use the stroller when we saw the toboggan in the garage (yes, it was not put away in July) and realized it would work great. We load up the toys and cooler, umbrella and chairs and pull. It even pulls on the parking lot - just a bit noisier!

Which dollar store were you able to find the pop up clothes hamper? I really want some of the. Thank you

 

[cherbear]

Great tips everyone! I especially like the shoe organizer, clothes hamper, and asking for hangers ideas! I don't know if we'll be taking the time to wash clothes at the end of our vacation, so if I got the hamper I'd have to put the dirty clothes back into a suitcase in order to get them home on the plane.

Our September trip will be our first time flying to Disney. I've been 9 other times (only 3 times as an adult) and we always have driven, and have been able to load up the van with whatever we wanted. So I've been trying to think of good packing ideas. I should be able to pack my stuff in one suitcase, my husband's in one suitcase, and each have one extra which we can put snacks, etc. in---and once the snacks are gone, one suitcase can be used for souvenirs, and the other for dirty laundry (instead of using a hamper). That should work, right?

Something that many people might not think of: I always pack a travel size bottle of Downy Wrinkle Release. It doesn't work on every fabric, but most of my clothes for Disney are cotton. When I arrive, I put whatever needs to be hung in the closet and inspect for wrinkles. I spray the clothes that need it, give 'em a little tug, and it usually eliminates ironing. (I HATE ironing, especially on vacation!)

 

[ang]

Great tips everyone! I especially like the shoe organizer, clothes hamper, and asking for hangers ideas! I don't know if we'll be taking the time to wash clothes at the end of our vacation, so if I got the hamper I'd have to put the dirty clothes back into a suitcase in order to get them home on the plane.

Our September trip will be our first time flying to Disney. I've been 9 other times (only 3 times as an adult) and we always have driven, and have been able to load up the van with whatever we wanted. So I've been trying to think of good packing ideas. I should be able to pack my stuff in one suitcase, my husband's in one suitcase, and each have one extra which we can put snacks, etc. in---and once the snacks are gone, one suitcase can be used for souvenirs, and the other for dirty laundry (instead of using a hamper). That should work, right?

Something that many people might not think of: I always pack a travel size bottle of Downy Wrinkle Release. It doesn't work on every fabric, but most of my clothes for Disney are cotton. When I arrive, I put whatever needs to be hung in the closet and inspect for wrinkles. I spray the clothes that need it, give 'em a little tug, and it usually eliminates ironing. (I HATE ironing, especially on vacation!)

I am going to have to check into the downy wrinkle release. Where do you buy it?

 

[Huntava]

I also love the Downy Wrinkle Release, you can get it anywhere, large grocery stores, Walmart, etc. I also hate the ironing, always have. Will defintely be bringing that on our next trip. Thanks for all the great tips!

 

[cherbear]

I get the wrinkle release at walmart. Sometimes you can go on Downy's website and get a coupon. The last time I bought some I ONLY found the travel size---in a pack of 3. I bought those instead of the usual bottle. I have used them at home before, but use them much more often on trips.

 

[chexie]

my mom always takes an over the door shoe hanger but instead of putting our shoes in them we put all of the bathroom toiletries in the slots to make the bathroom have more space and be more organized

i use to tell her that was the weirdest thing to do but after our first trip to disney i realized that it was pretty smart

 

[tracipierce]

Hi,, maybe a little but seeing as we are talking laundry I just wanted some tips about clothing that can't go in the dryer.
I never put my T-shirts in the dryer because they always shrink, and believe me, I can't afford for my t-shirts to be any smaller and there are a few other things that I can't put in the dryer, but how the heck can I get them dry?
In Europe, most hotel rooms have a balcony and we Brits tend to take travel clothes lines with us and hang our laundry out, but I don't know whether that is possible at POP or even allowed ? :
I know that there is a place above the bath to hang wet laundry, but last year I did this, but the clothes never seemed to dry off.
So people any advice???

 

[Disney Doll]

No advice about drying your clothes...It just takes a while in a hotel room.

We bring a power strip for the chargers.

I have a plastic envelope with multiple compartments that I got at Staples. In it, I put all of our travel documents, organized in the order in which we'll need them. Parking info, airline tickets, rental car, hotel confirmation, park tickets, plus there are a couple of compartments left, which is where all receipts go.

If we are staying in a regular hotel room, we unpack totally...pretty much move into the room, and as we wear clothes, I just throw them into one of the suticases. If I end up needing to do laundry, it is easy enough to roll the suitcase to the laundry area, and when the clothes are clean, fold them, put them back in the suitcase and roll it back to the room.

If we are staying in a DVC, we still unpack totally and move in. They give you a hamper and dirty clothes go in there. I usually pack less when staying in a DVC because of having the laundry right in the room, so I may end up doing laundry once or maybe twice while we are there, depending on the length of stay. Once we are a few days away from leaving however, the dirty laundry gets taken off our bodies and packed into the suitcase.

Souvenirs I generally find a "souvenir spot" for...usually somewhere sort of out of the way, and pile the bags there. They get packed into the carry on when we are leaving. If a souvenir is fragile, I generally ship it home.

I actually have a carry-on size nylon suitcase that folds into a 6" square, so it is nothing to bring, doesn't take up a lot of room, and has come in quite handy a few times. DH & I usually bring 2 suitcases, 2 carry-ons so that each of us "handles" one suitcase and one carry-on. I try not to have to use my folding carry-on but bring it just the same.

Toiletries we just throw all over the vanity...I have a toiletry bag that we use, so I try to sort of throw everything into it in the morning before we leave the room. I'm not sure about that shoe bag idea...part of me likes it, part of me doesn't.

For those who drive...we were staying at the BC one time and saw a family get out of a minivan and they took out those Rubbermaid bins...two for everyone's clothes(family of 4), one with miscellaneous (pool swimmies, toiletries, snacks) and a cooler. It was so nice, because the bellman just piled the containers and the cooler onto the luggage trolley thing and off they went. I was talking to the lady and she said they they always travelled by car that way...the stuff stacked in the back of the minivan and everything was easy to find. It was easy to handle and stack when they got ot the hotel to transport ot the room. When she got to the room she unpacked everything, kept one container as a hamper, nested the other ones and put them back in the car. Brilliant!!!!

 

[jcc0621]

I have a small pop-up basket. I use that for all the little things (lanyards, hats, sunglasses). This way when we are ready to leave for the parks we know where all these necessities are.

Where can I find one these? It's a great idea

 

[*Emily*]

Great tips everyone!

 

[fakereadhed]

I know that there is a place above the bath to hang wet laundry, but last year I did this, but the clothes never seemed to dry off.
So people any advice???

Lay your wet clothing item on a towel, fold the sides of the towel toward the center, and roll the towel from the bottom to the top. That removes a lot of water. I do this for items that are dry clean only- it keeps them from getting stretched out after I wash them by hand. Don't see why it wouldn't work on a t-shirt as well.

 

[tracipierce]

Where can I find one these? It's a great idea

I bought a pack of 3 of these just last week from Ikea, Not sure if you have one near you, but its the only place I have ever seen them. They were really cheap too, 1.99 for a pack of 3!

 

[tracipierce]

Lay your wet clothing item on a towel, fold the sides of the towel toward the center, and roll the towel from the bottom to the top. That removes a lot of water. I do this for items that are dry clean only- it keeps them from getting stretched out after I wash them by hand. Don't see why it wouldn't work on a t-shirt as well.

Good idea, would never have thought of that, I will give it a go! :

 

[starwood]

Where can I find one these? It's a great idea

I bought mine about 5 years ago at the West Point outlet store. It was the only place I had ever seen the one that I got. It folds up and you twist it and there is a small pocket on the side it folds into. I haven't seen them since. I would love to get another one if I ever find it again.

 

[jcc0621]

I bought a pack of 3 of these just last week from Ikea, Not sure if you have one near you, but its the only place I have ever seen them. They were really cheap too, 1.99 for a pack of 3!

THanks I will have to check out Ikea this weekend

 

[pezheadmeg]

I have the tiny ikea one that's 3 compartments that hangs from a closet rod. It's a godsend for traveling in the sense that it attaches right to the room cloest rod and the daily basics fit in nice and compactly. I know last time I was in ikea it was like $1.49 for the 3 compartment and $2.99 for the one I keep in my closet at home with six compartments.

 

[grgich]

For those who drive...we were staying at the BC one time and saw a family get out of a minivan and they took out those Rubbermaid bins...two for everyone's clothes(family of 4), one with miscellaneous (pool swimmies, toiletries, snacks) and a cooler. It was so nice, because the bellman just piled the containers and the cooler onto the luggage trolley thing and off they went. I was talking to the lady and she said they they always travelled by car that way...the stuff stacked in the back of the minivan and everything was easy to find. It was easy to handle and stack when they got ot the hotel to transport ot the room. When she got to the room she unpacked everything, kept one container as a hamper, nested the other ones and put them back in the car. Brilliant!!!!

I like this idea if you are going to be staying in a deluxe resort, but what do you do if you are staying at a value???? It seems like the large bins would be heavy to carry....

 

[Julianna07]

I like this idea if you are going to be staying in a deluxe resort, but what do you do if you are staying at a value???? It seems like the large bins would be heavy to carry....

You can usually borrow a trolley at Pop Century from Luggage Assistance. I don't know about the All Stars resorts if they have Luggage Assistance. I am going to need to look into this beacuse I am thinking that Rubbermaid containers are going to excellent for our car trip in September!

 

[grgich]

Do you ask for the trolley when you check-in? I've only stayed at Deluxe before, this year is the first time at a value (Pop) and I'd really like to try the rubbermaid container tip. We all have rolling suitcases, but they won't fit as nicely as the plastic containers. I just don't want to have to lug the containers....