Post your best organizational, space saving and trip making secrets here!!

[CTDisneyFan]

These are great ideas! Hopefully they will save us some space and money.

Counting the days.

Me , DW , DS(7) , DS(6)

 

[new_mommy]

Wow! These tips are great! I've made a list and now have to get busy! 36 days and counting!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Maybe this has been mentioned -- but FIRST THING every day, every morning, as we are leaving the room, we take a picture of our kids on our digital camera. That way, we know WHAT they were wearing that day and have a picture handy in case they get lost.

We've always done it...........as the hotel room door clikcs, the kids stand in front of the door and we take their picture.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I throw in a pcak of dixie cups (little ones) handy for cereal snacks and m&m's etc. for the kids. And then you can throw them away.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I always pack two extra brand, never been opened, new toothbrushes in my bag somewhere. It never fails that someone either left theirs at home or drops it in the hotel bathroom.

I have been the best mom/wife EVER when I can produce a new toothbrush out of thin air at 11:00 at night.

 

[SCQ86]

My kids enjoy pin trading...so I go to ebay and buy the bulk pins so they can use to trade. Then I print out the CM pins that are out for them to view. It comes out much cheaper (about $2 a pin) and they get excited for their trip.

Bought the Pirates of the Carribean lanyard for $1 at the Target Spot. I think they are set.

Sue

 

[poohbear229654]

I use the ziplock also.

We are going in June and both DD's (5 & 8) needed summer clothes. I made sure all the clothes were in colors that could be washed together. That way if I end up having to do laundry it would only be one load.

Also (I know I am a little nuts on this one) I am so afraid of DD (5) wandering off that I bought DDs matching outfits. That way if she gets lost I don't have to remember what she was wearing -- I just look at her DS!!

lol i do the same thing when we go on trips

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Will I sound crazy? I hope not -- I am serious.

Well in advance of traveling, I spread single bawny papertowels all along my kitchen counter. Then I use dawn dish soap , pour a quarter size amount in one hand, rub my hands together and then blot my hands onto one side of the paper towel. I do this to all the towels. I hang them up by clothespins and let them dry. REALLY DRY -- that's important.

When dry, I fold them up and put them in a zip loc.

PRESTO! When it's time to "wash" a sippy cup or our refillable mugs, I have instant dishsoap and a dishrag that I can toss when done.

This is good for camping or anywhere. ;-) Just make sure you don't have a glob of soap in one spot on your brany or it will never dry. When it's blotted all over....it dries quickly.

 

[!HereWeCome!]

Subscribing!

 

[want2bamommy]

I just spent about 2 hours reading the entire thread (with my email page on a separate window so I could email myself a list of great tips)!

THANKS everyone for their great ideas! My trip is 9 months and 11 days away but it feels like tomorrow!

Missie

 

[JJBEAN]

Subscribing...what a great thread...planning to read more later!

 

[Disney Ron]

A nightlight, disposable bibs and changing pads, and purell!!!!

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[Ladyw/theTramp]

Will I sound crazy? I hope not -- I am serious.

Well in advance of traveling, I spread single bawny papertowels all along my kitchen counter. Then I use dawn dish soap , pour a quarter size amount in one hand, rub my hands together and then blot my hands onto one side of the paper towel. I do this to all the towels. I hang them up by clothespins and let them dry. REALLY DRY -- that's important.

When dry, I fold them up and put them in a zip loc.

PRESTO! When it's time to "wash" a sippy cup or our refillable mugs, I have instant dishsoap and a dishrag that I can toss when done.

This is good for camping or anywhere. ;-) Just make sure you don't have a glob of soap in one spot on your brany or it will never dry. When it's blotted all over....it dries quickly.

I was just getting ready to add this one! It works so well! I used flushable wipes and just squirted them each with a little dish soap when I did it last year, but it was great to be able to wipe out the refillable mugs each night without bringing a bottle of dish soap and worrying about it spilling!!!

 

[barbmouse]

subscribing...lots of great ideas!!

 

[radev104]

I love this thread. I am usually the one that plans and tells my parents and sister what to bring, do to get ready (I am 18 and I love Disney and planning it and all that stuff). But this year I am at college and I can't help get ready to go until May and we are going in June so the parents have to do all the getting ready by themselves with my 13 yo sister. I have been reading the boards and emailing my sister stuff to tell the parents to go get. And this thread has given me lots of ideas. We are definately using the ideas I found on here too.

Thanks for all of them and keep them up.

 

[couch007]

Great tips! Where can I buy the Baggallni Messenger bag?

 

[mhm]

I am making my first trip back to WDW since moving away from Orlando 20 years ago! It has changed so much since then--when planning a Disney trip consisted of deciding what time to get there in the morning.

Here are a few things I plan to do that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

Cheap "shower shoe" type flip flops. I need good arch support and cushioning, so I plan to wear running shoes (although not the ones I run in). On wet rides, I'll switch to flip flops & keep my sneakers dry.

Rain cover from our jogging stroller to fit over rental stroller, as well as the one for the Maclaren we are bringing.

Preportioned packets of All Free & Clear sealed with the Foodsaver. Color Catcher sheets & fabric softener sheets in a ziploc.

Preportioned packets of baby formula (from One Step Ahead).

LED on keychain to read maps, plans, etc. after dark.

Clip-on stroller fans for each stroller.

I plan to make neck coolers sized for both kids (dd turning 5 on the trip & dd who will be 8 months old). I'll also make them for each adult, since my California born-&-raised dh will no doubt complain endlessly about the humidity.

Toothbrush/toothpaste "pen" (toothpaste contained in handle of toothbrush)

Sunscreen lotion & sticks on carabiners to attach to the strollers (we do this all the time, actually).

My sister is going to make a princess dress for my dd's birthday, so it will be out of natural fiber fabric & hopefully be cooler for her.

I bought one of those pop-up cabanas to use at Typhoon Lagoon to keep my infant dd semi-contained and out of the sun.

I will probably use our GPS receiver (haven't bought yet, but expect to in the next couple of weeks) to record where we park.

Dry Bag (used for rafting, etc.) that I can put my whole backpack in if it rains.

Earplugs for the kids for use during the fireworks (I'll see how they handle 4th of July--this might not be needed.)

I only plan to bring about 3 days worth of clothing for our 7 day trip, and just do laundry a couple of times since we'll have a washer & dryer.

Bed Bath & Beyond has small vials in a quart-size ziploc meant for carry-on. I will fill them and try using them for 7 days before our trip to make sure I'm bringing the right amounts.

Medications will go in snack-sized ziplocs.


And my favorite: my adult niece to help contain my kids (and allow dh & I to have a "date night" during EMH at MK!!!)

 

[Disney Ron]

Great tips! Where can I buy the Baggallni Messenger bag?

Shoebuy.com has them.

 

[write2caro]

Don't hate me for saying this...but my #1 best organizing, space saving, trip making secret that I can not live without is my Blackberry!

It holds all my ADR conf numbers, as well as phone numbers to my hotel, and car rental company. It holds my flight reservation number, my flight numbers, my frequent flyer number. It hold directions from mapquest. It has an internet browser so I can look something up real quick if I need to (like directions while I'm on the road)

It's a cell phone, and I can use it with my daughters cell phone to text or call while in the parks, but at different locations.

It has email, so I can check in with friends, family and the dog kennel back home without having to find a computer.

It can hold my TGM touring plans, so there is no need to carry a bulky book, or even loose papers with a plan on them.

I think I could probably get away with my blackberry, debit card, and room card and not need anything else while in the parks. It's my best kept secret

I'm with you!! I have a Treo650 that I don't leave home without! In addition to the things you mentioned, I have a "MASTER EXCEL SPREADSHEET" with everything from park hours to ADR's to my packing list that I sync up with my Treo using a pgm called "Documents to Go". I even have things like pdf's of our id's in there just in case. It has a camera feature, so I take that photo of the family each morning and could even email or text it out if I needed to. I just love it!! I keep hard copies of everything in my suitcase (instead of having to carry it all around) just in case the absolute worst happens and my Treo is lost. I don't even want to think about it!!

 

[write2caro]

One other use for Ziplocs that I don't think I saw on here, for those with little ones still eating baby food from jars. On our last trip I packed a ziploc bag for each meal in the park: jar of meat/meal (like "Apples & Chicken" or "Turkey & Sweet Potatoes"), jar of veggies, jar of fruit, disposable bib, disposable spoon (from "First Years"), 8oz can of formula, and handi wipes. Easy to pull out of the diaper bag for a meal anywhere, whether in a restaurant or sitting on a bench. After the meal, all the jars and disposable stuff goes back in the ziploc and in the next trash can we see. Made things easy for us!