Organized Cabin Tips/Hacks

Hubby and I travel frequently. Cruises and land/flight trips. I have learned what we can each deal with and clutter and/or a messy/stinky cabin/room is not one of those things. However, I also refuse to be one of those people who opts to wear the same clothes repeatedly. When I am on vacation, I need to be comfortable and happy. Fresh, clean clothes make me happy and comfortable.

I unpack for both of us as soon as luggage is at the cabin. I have tried packing cubes and just cannot get the hang of them. ;p

I do bring a collapsible hamper from Dollar Tree. It folds up to smaller than a paperback book, and accords me peace. It gets popped in the closet where dirty clothes are tossed out of the way. I refuse to put dirty stinky clothes into a suitcase under the bed and have it sit for the week.

I have a bag of "cruise necessities" that is always packed and I always make room in my luggage for. It contains: the pop up hamper, at least 2 heavy duty magnetic clips (WalMart $1.88) to hold any paperwork, invitations, flyers that I wish to revisit, etc., clothes pins (to hold beach towels on loungers, swimsuits on a hanger in the shower or on the balcony), an outlet extender (not a surge suppressor), and a lanyard with a plastic pocket for each of us, to hold our seapass card, some cash, and anything else we may need or want while wandering the ship..

I make a spread sheet itemizing exactly what each of us will wear for each activity, including underclothes and shoes. That list hangs on one of the clips, on the wall.

I ascertain, in advance, the nature of the toiletries that are provided. Some cruise lines provide nice shampoo and conditioner, while others provide a 2 in 1, which I do not care for on my hair. Depending on what is provided, I bring bottles of product which I like, from hotels.

I bring a travel sized can of Lysol, and prior to unpacking anything, I spray the closet, shelves, drawers, shower head, shower knobs, bathroom spigot and knobs, door knobs, safe, balcony door handle, remote, toilet seat, bedding and towels (which I repeat daily), and anything else which we will come into contact with. I know that this sounds paranoid, however, my husband is on the road at least 3 weeks out of the month, and we travel together at least half of that time, and neither of us has EVER gotten sick during or after traveling. :D

While unpacking, I ensure that everything has a place. I bring a plug extender as I wear rechargeable hearing aids that need to be plugged in overnight, and often, a camera or other item is also charging.

I don't bring a blow dryer, even though the one provided is small and low powered and takes forever to dry my hair, because bringing my professional size one is too heavy. As a previous poster mentioned, messy buns are cute! ;p

We like to order coffee delivered in the morning, as it is a nice way to start our day, and it prompts us to get up!

Regardless of the cruise, we no longer bring evening gowns and suits. We find that nice black evening slacks with a pretty top and a cocktail dress for me, and nice slacks and a Tommy Bahama or dress shirt and tie for hubby are fine.

Even with all of this, we are not overpacked. We each bring a medium size checked bag and one roller bag between us, which holds our medicines, electronics, my hearing aid charger, and one light change of clothes for each of us (in the event our luggage is lost). Hubby corrals the roller, while I carry a large purse/tote which holds all of our relevant paperwork (passports, boarding passes, additional travel information, light reading material for each of us and our tablets.

Unpack asap! Hang and put things in drawers. I hang each days' outfit on one hangar. Makes it easy to find things.

We set one drawer as the junk drawer. Keeps the counters clear.

I put all receipts into a manila envelope in the junk drawer.

I use hairbands to bundle the charging cords for the iPad, Kindle, phones, camera, etc. No tangling pile of cords. I use different colored bands for each today​ mark them.

Before going to dinner we spend five minutes dealing with dirty clothes, shoes, etc.

If we have anything we won't use the rest of the trip, we pack it.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

It was sad to see that suit case cloth across the bed the last sea day.

Isn't that the most depressing thing, when you walk into your cabin and see that laying on the bed. I feel like they're kicking us off the ship :loudcry:

"bring some that you will wear once and then toss in the garbage.

!

This is what I do.

But as for decluttering, you have to trash the item after you are done wearing it, not saving it until the last day "just in case".

The few months leading up to a cruise, I start stockpiling clothes that have "one more wear" in them and generally try to pack them for the cruise. I figure about 60% of the clothes I pack never make it back home. And it is not limited to tee shirts. Everything is in play. I especially want to bring 1-2 pairs of shoes to trash. One pair gets trashed after our last port day, and the other on the last sea day. The leaves room in the suitcase for any cruise purchases and/or just makes for less laundry upon our return home.

The key to an organized cabin is to not overpack. Even on a two week trip, we only take 2 carry on sized rolling luggage and two airline approved personal sized items. Cruises for most people are a week or less. You really don't need that much stuff for one week (in the Caribbean at least).

The less you bring, the less you have to carry around, unpack, organize, repack, unpack again, wash, etc.

I try to pack lightweight clothes that take up minimal space...and also take things that can be used more than once. A simple shirt or blouse for elegant night can be worn another day. Gym type shorts can be rinsed in the sink, etc.

That being said, I am a simple person and clutter stresses me out. I go on vacation to relax and enjoy myself. I am not interested in bringing a bunch of outfits to impress strangers who won't even notice.

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

I am a kind of women who doesn't like to go messy. I felt like the most difficult thing to pack and organize is the shower products. It is pretty difficult to organize it. I use toiletry bags for packing the accessories. It helps to keep the things organized. The toiletry bag has a hook that can be hung in the bathroom. It will help in adding space to your bathroom.

Likewise, there are many bath and shower accessories available in the market which will help in organizing the bathroom. I take shower pocket organizer and wave toilet caddies wherever I go. They are easy to carry and can keep the shower products in it without any mess.

Carnival gave out a very similar toiletry case as a platinum gift some time back.

Thanks to whoever used the search engine to revive this thread. Basic theme is not to overpack!

Although my DH insists that I pack too much, when I read what others pack, I realize that I am a light packer.

I always take black (and sometimes white for the Caribbean) pants and shorts. Black goes with everything and doesn't show dirt. If the white gets dirty I can wash them or just wear the black. I take tee shirts (the LL Bean kind - I'm keeping them in business!) and a couple of 3/4 sleeve knit tops in case it's colder than I anticipate in the MDR. I wear a tee shirt with a scarf, light vest and/or nice necklace to dinner with the pants. I wear it again during the day with the shorts. I try not to be a slob and dinner and get it dirty.

I wear jeans and sneakers to board with knit top (all the tops are knit) and usually have a cardi of some sort as well. If it's too hot it goes in a jacket strap I have on my backpack. I take one or 2 pair of dressy flip flops or one pair flip flops and one pair of sandals. And yes, I wear the flip flops on "Elegant Night." A) they are dressier than some sandals I've seen, and B) I wear a long black skirt so you can't see them anyway. This long black skirt is really pants with a panel so it looks like a skirt. It's black chiffon, has an elastic waist so it's comfy, and I've had it for years. I just bring a blingy top and I can pass for Elegant.

Also underwear and night clothes!

I'm actually messier at home than I am on a cruise. I realize that mess can get out of hand quickly in a small space, so I tend to keep up with it.

I unpack and put stuff away on the first day, then stow the suitcases under the bed. I also use the suitcase as a hamper. I bring one or 2 of those giant turkey sized zip lock bags and we put dirty clothes in them. Zip the top and your suitcase isn't smelling of dirty clothes for a week or more. I have never brought a hamper.

I don't do the over the door shoe thing either. My shoes go in the bottom of the closet and my other stuff goes in the shelves in the bathroom.

This was taken on the Pride in 2015

There were shelves on the other side. DH had his razor and some stuff - I don't remember what - not much. This looks like more than is there because of the mirror. The black bag is a great bag for makeup because it opens up and lies flat, but I had all sorts of things in it besides makeup.

The bag that used to hold the stuff on the bottom 2 shelves recently died, so I got one of those hanging bags from LL Bean

This is the bag (not a Carnival ship!). It also has a removable piece that's mesh that you can hang in the shower

I take magnetic clips to keep paperwork tidy and they are also good for the shower curtain. Clip the curtain and stick it to the wall on either side, then put one or 2 on the bottom. They are heavy and will weigh it down.

This is not a suite, BTW - it's a premium balcony and they are great!

We use the bedside tables for bathing suits, and things like my nook and other items I want close to the bed. We put most clothes in the drawers and make good use of the shelves. We throw all the unnecessary paperwork away. I save the Fun Times as souvenirs and to remember the trip. I put each days in a plastic folder in the closet or in a drawer under clothes.

The best advice in this thread is "Know thyself"! I don't think I'm an over packer, but I don't pack light either. I do use almost everything I take.

I have a friend that cruises who talks about how her kids leave clothes etc everywhere, and how neat it is once the cabin steward cleans. I would DIE if they had to pick up my stuff like that. With all the hype about getting your cabin cleaned once or twice a day, I am confident it won't be hard to clean mine twice.

I use an over the door organizer, mostly to keep counter-top clutter contained. We put sign and sails, sun screen, cameras, sunglasses in ours. I like the pop up hamper for the closet, rather than constantly going to the suitcase under the bed. We budget to send at least one bag of laundry with shorts/tshirts/underwear type stuff each cruise.

Paperwork goes into an accordion file I bring daily. Cash is brought in envelopes labeled for their purpose (e.g. Room Service $14 (with 14 ones), Grand Turk Excursion Tip $20 (two tens)) which all go in the safe -- I can simply grab the envelope needed for the moment rather than constantly counting out the funds.

I usually bring 3-5 pairs of shoes. Athletic, closed toe shoes. Birkenstock sandals. One pair of nicer sandals for formal nights. An extra pair of birks and crocs. Again, I wear them all.

I have never brought a highlighter. I use clothespins every time. I need to add magnetic hooks/clips to my "gear".

Other than my suitcase under the bed, maybe an item or two on hooks in the room, all of my stuff stays put away in the closets and drawers. Bring what makes you happy!

My cruise last week was the first time that I felt it necessary to bring extra organization with me on a cruise. I shared a cabin with 4 women total. Although the ship has lots of storage space a couple of things concerned me. I was right and the items I brought along helped SO much. I brought some heavy duty magnetic hooks for on the wall. We used these mostly for swimsuits which was nice because they dried faster than the ones hung in the shower. We also brought 2 folding cubes from dollar tree which held misc items on the desk. They took no space in our luggage and were very helpful. They are around 10x10x4 in size. The magnetic hooks came from Amazon.