Cabin Clutter

I dislike clutter. I hate it actually. I am worried that with 4 ppl in an interior, 2 of which are kids, that the room is going to be cluttered and messy. Last cruise it was just dh and me...i used the over the door organizer and loved it. I am curious...those of you that like it clutter free....what are your organizing cabin tips? In addition to the over the door organizer I have a pop up mesh hamper and little baskets. There are 2 baskets, one for us and one for the kids. They are small...and i will just place them on the desk to hold s&s card, camera, highlighters, pens, etc. How do you organize your cabin?

I also hate clutter and anything out of place. So I tend to not pack alot and everything has a place in the drawer. The pop up hamper is wonderfull and I also bring black garbage bags and transfer the dirty clothes in them and pack in an empty suitcase.

How would a few collapsible, nylon containers work. I think they may be sold as hampers/toy containers? They would fit flat in the bottom of your luggage. Get a different color for each person for miscellaneous items. Put shoes under the desk, clothes folded at the foot of each person's sleeping spot.

I used an over the door hanger, put away all our clothes in the drawers and hanger space provided (bring some extra hangers), and the nightstands have additional storage as well. I layered our luggage and put it under the bed. Any dirty clothes we had, I put them in our luggage under the bed. The bathroom has some shelves that is a perfect size for toiletries. We also had an interior and were shocked at how much room we felt like we had with our 4 suitcases of stuff :)

Thank you for the great ideals. It reminded me that I have some small cloth foldable bins from the Dollar Store that will work for my two DS.

Items no longer needed during the cruise get put away in carry-on or other piece of luggage under bed. This would include old Capers, souvenirs purchased, receipts, port maps, etc. Also, I keep items in this bag I hope not to use very much, if at all, during cruise, such as OTC meds, clothes for trip home, cell phone, house keys, travel purse, etc.

all the suitcases will fit right under the bed, and we put our dirty laundry in the suitcases then roll them back right under. try and hang up as much as you can...ask for extra hangers. that will give you more drawer space.

Yup, I hate clutter as well. While not having anything new to add concerning tips on how to organize belongings in a minimal amount of space, I will offer that when I have to share cramped, airless quarters with others, it feels less crowded when the room smells fresh. My preference is a nightlight/plug-in with a light scent over spray freshener.

organization is the key- once that clutter takes over that cabin will close in on you- with 4 people you will have to be deligent.

I used two over the door shoe holders when we sailed with 5 of us.

one on either side of the bathroom. NOTHING was left on the vanity EVERYthing stayed in the shoeholder.

Most everything got hung up. (spring clothes pins to hang shorts/tee shirts together.)

store luggage under the bed and use one to store dirty laundry.

How would a few collapsible, nylon containers work. I think they may be sold as hampers/toy containers? They would fit flat in the bottom of your luggage. Get a different color for each person for miscellaneous items. .

wuld work very well on the floor of each closet- to hold kids underwear/socks. (small stuff like that)

I used an over the door hanger, put away all our clothes in the drawers and hanger space provided (bring some extra hangers), and the nightstands have additional storage as well. I layered our luggage and put it under the bed. Any dirty clothes we had, I put them in our luggage under the bed. The bathroom has some shelves that is a perfect size for toiletries. We also had an interior and were shocked at how much room we felt like we had with our 4 suitcases of stuff :)

Very good advice.

OP - I know what you are going through. You don't know me. I think I may even be worst than you. It was DH and I and than DD decided to come. But I am not worried about her as she is worst than me about being clutter free and I don't know how anyone can be worst than me. Now if my other daughter would be in my cabin, I don't think I could handle it. Nothing and I mean nothing bothers her. So I feel like no mater what you do, if the other parties are not organized, then you are wasting your vacation even worrying about it. Just forget it, LEAVE YOUR CABIN, and enjoy your vacation. Just jump over the stuff :eek:.

I used an over the door hanger, put away all our clothes in the drawers and hanger space provided (bring some extra hangers), and the nightstands have additional storage as well. I layered our luggage and put it under the bed. Any dirty clothes we had, I put them in our luggage under the bed. The bathroom has some shelves that is a perfect size for toiletries. We also had an interior and were shocked at how much room we felt like we had with our 4 suitcases of stuff :)

Very good advice.

OP - I know what you are going through. You don't know me. I think I may even be worst than you. It was DH and I and than DD decided to come. But I am not worried about her as she is worst than me about being clutter free, and I don't know how anyone can be worst than me. Now if my other daughter would be in my cabin, I don't think I could handle it. Nothing and I mean nothing bothers her. So I feel like no mater what you do, if the other parties are not organized, then you are wasting your vacation even worrying about it. Just forget it, LEAVE YOUR CABIN, and enjoy your vacation. Just jump over the stuff :eek:.

Pop up hampers are AWESOME! I like to use the tall ones for dirties and then transfer the dirties to a garbage bag before putting into the luggage to head home (i figure it keeps the cases fresher), one for shoes (as I always bring too many) and one of the short ones for my daughter's junk/stuff/treasure.

I am thinking that using the suitcase for shoe storage and just pulling it in/out from under the bed sounds great and will do that this next cruise.

I also bring 3M hooks to use to hang various things (low for the kiddo to reach her sweater, cover up, lanyard, etc., and extra hook or two in the bathroom helps too. They pop right off when done and can go home to be used again and again!

Pack light!

The less you bring with you.. the less clutter there will be! Simple as that. On our cruises we always use a full length over the door shoe holder to hold everything. Sometimes i will pack my clothes on the hangers so all i have to do is take them out and hang them up! those really thin fuzzy hangers work great cause you can fit so many in a tight space.

Pop up hampers are a must! Also... Clothes pins that are on hooks are really good to have for hanging up wet bathing suits so they don't end up on the floor.

Bring a power strip.. or two to organize all your electronic devices.

I even try to arrange my suitcase from items on the bottom that i will not wear often to item on top like swimwear/ daytime wear so that im not digging in my suitecase for something to wear... or as the case may be, throwing things around looking for something to wear.

Keeping everything labeled in separate plastic gallon sized bags can help.. like shower stuff.. or pool suntan lotion, or hair accessories.. or pantyhose/stockings, ... or whatever.. I am terrible at organization so every little thing helps.

I feel better even if clutter, if it can smell fresh

choice 1 - leave balcony door open when appropriate

choice 2 - always bring miniature febreeze bottle for the bathroom

choice 3 - use my vanilla body spray to spray the room and sheets to keep it homey

choice 4 - use bounce sheets in my luggage, shoes, dirty clothing bags, everywhere - so things don't smell so icky

plus if you rub these on you - dryer sheets -- keeps bugs off!

I cannot stand clutter either. Several great ideas here. I even take all those pamplets & books the cruiselines have in the cabin & stow them away. The newer ships have closets that can either be shelves or hanging rods. We have 1 section of the closet be shelves & use that for folded clothing like shorts/ t shirts. I also try to pack wrinkle free type clothes, so they can go on a shelf too. I don't even like having the beach towels out- I put them on a shelf in the closet too. I am a bit of a neat freak. Thank goodness hubby is too. I do as others have said- mid week I pack all our dirty stuff & stuff I don't need any more into a suitcase & stow it under the bed. Less work for me later.

choice 4 - use bounce sheets in my luggage, shoes, dirty clothing bags, everywhere - so things don't smell so icky

plus if you rub these on you - dryer sheets -- keeps bugs off!

Really? keeps bugs off? never heard of that one!:):confused:

We took the over the door shoe holder and it worked wonders. We had our teenage daughter with us and it kept her from loosing stuff everytime she walked in/out of the cabin. Also, I took a 3m sunction hook and hung our make-up bag on the wall right beside the vanity mirror. It had 3 clear compartments and was large enough to hold all our hair clips, jewellry and costume jewellry while keeping it all in sight and easy to use.

Pop up hampers are AWESOME! I like to use the tall ones for dirties and then transfer the dirties to a garbage bag before putting into the luggage to head home (i figure it keeps the cases fresher), one for shoes (as I always bring too many) and one of the short ones for my daughter's junk/stuff/treasure.

 

I am thinking that using the suitcase for shoe storage and just pulling it in/out from under the bed sounds great and will do that this next cruise.

 

I also bring 3M hooks to use to hang various things (low for the kiddo to reach her sweater, cover up, lanyard, etc., and extra hook or two in the bathroom helps too. They pop right off when done and can go home to be used again and again!

How much weight can they hold?

Absolutely NO extras to begin with. One toothpaste, one lotion, one saline solution.

First thing I do is put all of the sodas into the closet back by the safe. Amazing how much counter space they take up.

Use vertical space - bring a tall open-topped cylandrical container or two that go where the sodas were and put anything and everything loose in those all day. Nothing gets lost that way, too.

I bring a small toothbrush holder that is narrow with 4 places and it lives on the shelf of the bathroom.

If you want to keep towel animals, line them up on the window shelf. Otherwise, and I know it's cold, but take them apart so your steward knows to clear the towels away.

Unless you can't get anything like them at home, limit souvenirs.

Finally, with my kids anyway, I've made the trashcan my friend. If it isn't pur away, it gets tossed...papers, junky things and such.

I totally feel your pain on this. Clean cabins are happy cabins!

ThaNks for the tips everyone!

We keep everything in the closet and drawers, and we place dirty laundry in the luggage under the bed. After using the unlimited laundry earlier this month on HAL, I will never cruise without it again. Nice to bring home 99% clean clothes.

DW thinks I'm nuts. I pack one pair of socks, one pair of underwear and one t-shirt in a gallon ziplock bag for each day. Squeeze all of the air out of it. Takes up very little room. If TSA is digging through my luggage, they aren't unrolling or unfolding everything. They can see inside the bags so they don't open them. In the morning when I get up, I just grab a bag and head for the shower. I fold my dirty clothes and put them in the bag I just emptied and put them in a suitcase under the bed. The night before the cruise ends, I'm all packed already. For my tux, I put buttons, tie, vest and suspenders, and cuff links in a bag. Keeps everything together and I don't have to hunt for stuff.

I too am a clutter-free freak! We also sail with our two kids and have found these things to help control the room chaos:

- Completely unpack as soon as luggage arrives

- Roll suitcases under the bed and use for dirty clothes and souvenirs throughout the trip

- Utilize every inch of the storage provided! The less items that are sitting out the cleaner the cabin feels.

- The two small night tables that sit beside the bed: we assign one to each child to keep all of their miscellaneous items in (books, stuffed animals, drawing supplies, Legos, etc.). They only bring enough stuff that can be housed in these units and are expected to keep their items in them when they are not in use.

Hope this helps!

Its a little extra money but if clutter bothers you, one idea is to book 2 rooms and have your kids stay in their own room. That's what my DW and I do so we don't have to live in the inevitable mess all week.

As small as the cabins are they are nicely designed with lots of storage places. With all the suitcases fitting under the bed that frees up the floorspace so it doesn't look as cluttered. The rest of the suggestions will probably work well for you.