Over the door shoe hanger??

[GAKoch]

I am brand new here, but have been reading for awhile. We are set to go on the March 2 Wonder 4 day cruise. I was curious about the shoe hangers that seem so popular. What's the advantage to them - is there no room to put stuff in the bathroom or is it because the ship moves and things would fall?

I've read so many good tips here - thanks to all who post!

 

[disgal1]

We used the shoe hanger on our 3 day wonder. We are going on the 7day western in July, and that will be one of the first things I pack(along with a clock)

It really is nice to have all sun lotions, aloe, meds, etc in one easy to get at spot.

We did have plenty of room (I am the only female in our family, the guys really didn't bring much), but we still found the shoe rack to be a big help. We brought so much suntan lotions and after sun care, that it helped out alot.

It really is cheap at target, and takes very little room to pack.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

I have survived several cruises without the over-the-door shoe hanger. There is shelf space in the bathroom, although not a lot. We've never felt like we needed more space. I know a lot of people swear by these things, but it's not the end of the world if you don't get one.

 

[SC Minnie]

Welcome to DIS!

The over the door shoe holder was invaluable to us. If there are just 2 of you cruising you may not see the need but for the three of us it was a blessing. DD and I have a lot of 'stuff' and were able to keep everything out of the way. I don't like a lot of clutter on the shelves(and there aren't that many). The shoe holder was perfect for suntan lotion, make up, brushes/combs, other 'hair supplies', extra film, DH's shaving stuff, etc. It folds into about the size of a pair of pants so it doesn't really take up that much space in the suit case. I got ours for about $5 at WalMart. Get the plastic ones with the clear pouches.

 

[CRB#33]

I had two rows for each person. We put our contact cases, glasses, solution, hair stuff, brushes and cluttering toiletries in there. They were always on the outside of the bathroom door and anyone could just take what they needed into the bathroom that wasn't occupied.

We also put our two way radios, and the kids pagers in there when in the room. Never had to search for anything!

 

[kendall]

For a family of 4, priceless! Really reduced the clutter and everyone knew where things were. Off the top of my head, we stored:

film
cameras
walki-talkis
batteries
sunscreen
hand lotion
room keys (when in room)
pagers
highlighters, pens, paper
toiletries (hair brushes, combs, hair bands, toothbrushes, etc)
beany babies
sunglasses
paperback books
flip flops

that's all that comes to mind at the moment - I'm sure there was more!

 

[ldb1030]

We would not go again w/out one! We used it for everything the above posters mentioned and more! It was by far the best idea we received from this board!
Is it necessary? No but it takes up no space to pack and sure kept our things from being scatterd all over the room. We took a very inexpensive one and left it at the end of the cruise for our cabin steward!

 

[mcnuss]

There was PLENTY of space in the bathrooms. I believe there were three or four shelves in the potty/sink area and one long one over the sink in the shower area. There was also ample storage on top of the chest, on top of the fake trunk thing, the 2 night tables and on the desk. There were tons of drawers in the room. As a family of 3, we did not come close to filling the drawers (we were on the 7 day, btw) and we had WAY overpacked. I kept sunscreens, etc...in a large ziplock bag in my beach bag, film, camera gear, sunglasses, etc...on the desk, bathroom stuff in the bathrooms, room keys were kept on our lanyards and hung on one of the hooks when we were in the room.

These rooms are amazingly well designed. Lots of clever little hiding spots. The shoe bag hung on the back of the door with little or nothing in it all week.

Now, a really good thing to bring is an extension cord. IMHO that's what the rooms lack. There is one outlet by the desk and another behind the TV. We wished we had brought one of those extension cord/power strip things to plug in from behind the TV. We needed more outlets for charging electronic gizmos and were constantly swapping things out.

 

[jds]

Here's another vote for taking one... while there IS plenty of storage/shelf room in the bathrooms, having one hanging on the outside of the bathroom door definitely helped keep down the clutter in the main part of the cabin! Whenever somebody couldn't find something, I just said "look in the shoe holder" and that's usually where it was!

 

[ennazus]

I must say that was one of the best tips I got here!! I won't ever (hopefully) travel for more than a weekend without it. I'll even bring it to regular hotels (which may have a huge counter in the bathroom) I particularly liked it because you can access items if someone is in the bathroom if you hang it so that it is on the outside of the door. Need a band aid? Sunscreen, medicine? It's all so easy to see!!
I feel we would have been constantly digging around if we hadn't brought it.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Haven't cruised (yet! ) but I did get the tip from the DIS to bring an over the door shoe rack to WDW and we did that this past December. Loved it! We stayed in a 2 bedroom at the Boardwalk Villa...obviously large, and with two bathrooms...but what we used it for mostly was the walkie-talkies, GoH pins, etc...anything that we wanted to make sure we knew where it was in the morning when we were in a rush to get out.

I noticed at my DD's school that the school nurse uses one for supplies...she probably has enough cabinet space, but this is so convenient and easy to see. I've got ours hanging on the porch now with mittens, hats, scarves, and walkie talkies (for the mall) and I'm considering other ways to use them throughout the house too!

 

[hydster]

and it turned out to be really handy for the kids to find stuff in and to have a "throw all" area for that small stuff! There are shelves in the bathroom but the front of them doesnt go all the way to the glass shelf itself so there is a chance that small stuff could fall out. The only thing I didnt like about the shoe holder was that when we hung it on the outside of the door the door would NOT shut all the way tightly! I didnt like that idea and maybe it was just our poor luck but it wasnt exactly ideal! Would I take on again? Probably! I also have bought from qvc a bag called a freedom bag and it was nice to have as well. Same concept as the over the door shoe holder but much more compact and it can hang from almost anywhere!!

Heidi

 

[pal2pluto]

My DH thought I was an absolute nut when I told him why I was taking a shoe holder! However, when he could find his meds., razors, deodor., shampoo, retainer, without having to search through a bag past my daughters brushes, hair thingies, retainer, my perfume, deodor, make-up, pepto, q-tips, heartburn meds, aleve, unmentionables.....you get the idea.....he thought I was a genius!!! It was so nice to have everyone have a row with their things in it.....I've never been so organized. No one needed me to search for things for them (a small miracle!) I keep it in the suitcase all the time now. It has truely made being in a hotel/cruiseship room much less messy and disorganized.

 

[jgalecpa]

You can tell by our counter we have a while to go.

We bought our Shoe holder last week. it was the first thing we bought sepcifcally for the cruise.

It felt good just to think about having something put away.

We bought two (we have adjopinging rooms for two dd's). First one we saw at target was $15. Turned around found another just fine one (with see through pockets) for $7 each.

 

[DISNEYGATOR]

I got this clever travel bag that folds up and has all kinds of cool compartments, you can fit a TON of stuff in it.. and when it's all folded up, it's 6'' x 6'' x 9''! It's the size of a purse!

Also, it hangs up on a hook or over a door. It was less then $20 bucks, and it's a great investment. The reason I like it rather then the shoe holder is everything is already packed in it, and nicely contained. All I have to do is unzip and hang! It's also got a removeable cosmetic case to take on excursions or on shore.. i keep the sunscreen and lotion in that.

I love this bag, it's the best!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I will definately be bringing one.

I just hate the clutter!!!

 

[kajohn]

My husband thought I was insane when I unpacked it and hung it up (can you tell he doesn't help me pack). But as I unpacked the 7 suitcases for the 5 of us (believe it or not we used almost every piece of clothes I brought), he would ask where something was and I would say shoe organizer. The kids knew where to put all the little stuff, gameboys, batteries, chargers, their lanyards etc. Kept the clutter way down! I wouldn't go without one again!

However, when my husband and I sail alone, it is not necessary.

 

[DisneyDarwin]

OK, I can't let this one go. I'm an avid board fan and have seen the shoeholder recommendation forever. I always thought this was one of those things for people who were a little over the edge. Too organized, too fastidious, too compulsive. But, I'm not that stubborn and figured all those people can't be wrong, so I took one on our last 7 day cruise, and I am here to testify to anyone who will listen that it's the best $7 I ever spent. Toiletries, batteries, walkie-talkies, bubbles, everything....even shoes! Unless it was bigger than a breadbox, we stowed everything in the shoeholder. Our holder was made of clear plastic so we could find ANYTHING we needed in seconds. I'm a shoeholder convert, and apologize for ever doubting those of you who knew what you were talking about.

In fact, I take it on all our vacations now. You know how much junk I have to keep up with on a ski trip? Trail maps, batteries, films, socks, gloves, hats, carmex, CAR KEYS (never lock them in the trunk!). My motto is "dump it in the shoeholder, so we can find it later!" If there's a shoeholder fan club, then sign me up for a position on the board.

 

[Poohbr618]

I love mine so much that I use it in my bathroon linen closet! I keep everything from DD's hairbows to deoderant to bandaids...you name it! I keep things for the dd in her reach and meds and such in the top pockets. Take one you won't regret it!