Leaving your stuff behind in resort laundry rooms? Is this a new thing?

[DisLiss]

Seems like it’d be easier to leave unopened food, strollers, etc just outside your door with a note saying please take me or something similar and post it on social media/here. I see posts on a Universal fb group saying I left xyz outside this room and often someone replies saying either they got it or its already gone.

I personally think the halls should be kept free of anything simply because they are a narrow space that's widely traveled, therefore stuff might create an issue. But I love the idea of groups where you could post that something is available right now if you want it. That's why I like the laundry room as a location--it's centrally located and out of the way of housekeeping, people going in and out of rooms, people hauling luggage around, etc. And by posting it like that, I would think it would greatly increase the chances of someone actually taking the item(s).

I love the idea of not wasting things. But I also appreciate the need to try to keep the practice from becoming a possible obstacle to work around or danger to people going about their day--whether it be guests or mouse keeping. My guess is that if the laundry room situation gets to be too much, Disney will put an end to it. They have no qualms about other changes and gosh knows every change has its own pile of people who hate it, so I am sure they'd have no issue forcing this change if they deemed it necessary.

 

[gwynne]

I personally think the halls should be kept free of anything simply because they are a narrow space that's widely traveled, therefore stuff might create an issue. But I love the idea of groups where you could post that something is available right now if you want it. That's why I like the laundry room as a location--it's centrally located and out of the way of housekeeping, people going in and out of rooms, people hauling luggage around, etc. And by posting it like that, I would think it would greatly increase the chances of someone actually taking the item(s).

I love the idea of not wasting things. But I also appreciate the need to try to keep the practice from becoming a possible obstacle to work around or danger to people going about their day--whether it be guests or mouse keeping. My guess is that if the laundry room situation gets to be too much, Disney will put an end to it. They have no qualms about other changes and gosh knows every change has its own pile of people who hate it, so I am sure they'd have no issue forcing this change if they deemed it necessary.

Maybe it's time to consider not bringing, ordering and wasting so much stuff. It seems pretty reasonable for guests to leave the public areas of any hotel (including Disney) clean and neat for the next guest.

 

[TJA]

Have you heard anything about your shoes ? Disney (if things haven't changed since 2000.) will bring item to the lost and found and wait a while (was 6 months) and then all lost and found will go to a place called Property Control. Property Control is for cast members. It carries stuff that may have some damage to the item. (snow globes were placed here for air bubbles, I got a huge Eeyore stuffed animal that was missing an eye. All that stuff is 75 percent off the original price. You will also find lost and found that no one claims placed there. Cast members line up to wait for Property Control to open on the days when new items are delivered. I actually saw a cast member take stuff out of another cast members basket when I was at Property Control.

Interesting info! I did receive another follow-up phone call, which I greatly appreciate, and the CM asked me to text a picture of the shoes (which I did). I have not heard back yet. All I can think is maybe the shoes went directly to the laundry room(?) and someone grabbed them right away.

 

[bumbershoot]

In reading this thread, I'm just wondering if it's possible my shoes that I left in my closet at Poly ended up being donated to charity. I did contact Poly the next day (we had switched resorts and were at YC when I realized my Keens got left at Poly) and they said they could not be found. But it seems like they'd hang around a bit before being donated? Just in case they were claimed by the owner. I filed one of those online lost and found reports and also followed up with 2 different CM's via phone calls. Everyone was very nice and easy to work with, but it's such a mystery as to what happened. Hopefully someone is happily wearing them who really needed them. Both of my DDs outgrew theirs, so I now have 2 "new" pairs and I'm fine with that. Just wish I could know for sure what happened to mine....

They could have been entirely overlooked by housekeepers and therefore never made it to lost and found.

They could have been noticed by a guest who decided “free shoes!” and never helped them move on to lost and found.

I think this is a sign of a throw-away society

Leaving things for others is not the sign of a throwaway society.

Didn’t see the picture, but just curious how people know the clothes are “up for grabs” versus something someone accidentally left in the dryer or fell on the floor and will be coming back to find? If I saw clothing in the laundry room I would assume the owner will be back. And actually if not for this post I would assume the owner would be back for their stroller, fan or whatever. Some of the things listed I would find strange to be sitting in the laundry room, but I would still feel hesitant to take them.

I wouldn’t be hesitant; I’d be absolute on not taking things that don’t have a clearly written note stating that the items are up for grabs.

I’ve been visiting since 2010 and frequently do laundry, and I have never seen anything in a laundry room that looked like anything but a forgotten sock or a pile of still wet clothes that had obviously been taking up space in the washer for too long. I’ve never seen anything like what’s being described. And if I did I wouldn’t assume it’s up for grabs.

 

[Farro]

They could have been entirely overlooked by housekeepers and therefore never made it to lost and found.

They could have been noticed by a guest who decided “free shoes!” and never helped them move on to lost and found.




Leaving things for others is not the sign of a throwaway society.



I wouldn’t be hesitant; I’d be absolute on not taking things that don’t have a clearly written note stating that the items are up for grabs.

I’ve been visiting since 2010 and frequently do laundry, and I have never seen anything in a laundry room that looked like anything but a forgotten sock or a pile of still wet clothes that had obviously been taking up space in the washer for too long. I’ve never seen anything like what’s being described. And if I did I wouldn’t assume it’s up for grabs.

On Facebook there are resort groups where people specifically alert those in groups of items they left in the laundry room and post a picture. The picture that started this thread had clothing, bathing suits and shoes that were left in the laundry room specifically for people to take.

 

[All Tangled Up]

I throw all food away but I do ask bell services if they want my water. They always seem happy and appreciative. If not I’ll just throw it away.

I also don’t think people are self centered or inconsiderate when leaving things in the laundry room. They could easily trash it but they think it could help someone else. And from what others have stated, people do grab the stuff and make use of it.

I’ve never left things in the laundry room. It never occurred to me and if it did I’m probably too lazy on check out day to make an extra trip down there. But I would have never thought about it being left to CM to clean it up.

Yeah so many people just leave garage sale type stuff in the laundry room, that is not okay and just a big inconvenience to staff imo. But cases of waters, unopened items, etc are usually appreciated I would guess. I'm also on your team of too lazy to make the laundry room trip, so I just post in WDW FB groups and ask if anyone wants to pick it up at my room or in the hotel lobby.

 

[angelmav]

This was left today at SOG, they posted about it on the resort group, and it was quickly claimed (except the book, lol).

 

[DisLiss]

Leaving things for others is not the sign of a throwaway society.

"Throwaway society" doesn't just mean people literally throwing things into the trash, though. It's the behavior behind why we have so much stuff that we can consistently, and in increased quantity, leave our belongings behind, give them away, literally throw them away, and then simply buy more, more, more.

From an article on the site theartof. com:
"“The throw-away society is a human society strongly influenced by consumerism. The term describes a critical view of over-consumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items."

So people buying inexpensive items just for a trip and then leaving them behind does tie in to that definition. We view many of our purchases as short-lived and/or as disposable in some way. I can dispose of an item without actually placing it into a trash can.

Although I did and do still agree that in terms of the non-consumable goods especially, luggage fees have a lot to do with it, too. I just think they go hand & hand. If $15 stroller didn't exist, and I had to bring a $115.00 stroller with me, then luggage fees or no luggage fees, I'd be more likely to bring my stroller home with me.

TSA regulations probably play into the food and drinks and soaps and such being left behind. They've simply made it more effort than it's worth to pack those things up and take them home.

And as I also said, there was no judgement intended in my reply (despite the article saying it is a critical term). They were merely a suggestions as to why this is happening more in the last decade or two than it did previously. The internet is another huge part of that, of course, because some people are posting about these items to try to increase the chance that they are actually found and taken by someone who will really appreciate them.

 

[Lewisc]

I think some posters are making too much of a little issue. I've never bothered to bring any extras to the laundry room. A 24 pack of Dasani water was $4.99 from Amazon Prime Now. My math says I can dispose of 22 full bottles and still come out ahead. I don't think this has anything to do with "throw away" society. Once I gave the extra bottles to a guest. Typically I'll discard opened bottles but leave the sealed bottles in the room. I don't know if housekeeping keeps them, leaves them for the next guest or throws them out. I wouldn't leave them in the hall, maybe I should take them to the laundry room.

I'll admit a couple of times I took shoes, water shoes and even clothing that was on it's last legs. I put the items in the trash basket in the room. If it didn't fit I put it on top, or next to the pail. I would never have brought them to the laundry room. BUT either way a CM either takes the garbage from my room or from a table in the laundry room. I don't think guests are making any real, measurable extra work for CMs. One CM does a little less work one a little more. I wonder why some people think other guests want your garbage.

I've left an opened bottle of sun tan lotion by a pool. I always hoped some guest would use it. I probably should have either thrown it out or asked if any guest wanted it. Not really a big deal either way.

I agree current product pricing, quality and consumer attitude can sometimes result in a throw away attitude. I have shirts that are 10 years old. Still in almost new condition. Sometimes newer shirts are lucky to last a season. A half dozen washings and they're faded and have worn spots on the collar and sleeves. Some of those shirts wind up on a one way vacation trip. I throw them out. I might dump them in a goodwill bin if Disney had one. No way I'd put that out in a laundry room. A $15 umbrella stroller is unlikely to hold up very long at home. Good example of a throw away item. Small, and sometimes major, appliances are throw away. Once they're out of warranty a repair might cost half the price of replacement. Something is out of warranty I'll try to fix it myself. Google and Youtube are great. If I can't fix it it's probably not worth fixing. Real old TV sets had tubes. Fix the set by replace the blown tube. Before my time. My old DLP rear projection set had a projection bulb.. Every few years I'd replace it. Current sets are throwawy. Once the warranty is over there isn't anything to fix. Replace the mother board and you're pay what it would cost for a new set, if not more. Same with the LCD screen.

Years ago guests at Disney were buying fridges and coffee pots. They weren't taking them home. Buying a fridge at Walmart was cheaper then renting a fridge for a week.

This thread gave me some thought. I'll try to remember, if I have enough time, to leave items like extra water and sealled food in a laundry room. Maybe even an aerosol can of sun tan lotion.

Not sure about opened container of health and beauty aids including sun tan lotion. The distinction between leaving something useful and garbage isn't always clear.

You could leave your rapid fill mug with a post it indicating the good till date. Nothing I'd leave, or take, just thinking.

 

[Pooh2]

As stated up thread, my thoughts were that the leftovers table looked trashy at the Beach Club room on our recent trip and took up room from the half a dozen people trying doing laundry in close quarters.

A facebook page that I follow brought up an issue that had not occurred to me. A woman left her bag in the laundry room while her clothes were in the machine. Her bag disappeared and she posted about it immediately on facebook.
The posters all piled on the person who took the bag, "What kind of horrible person would do that??"
Amazingly, the person who took the bag also followed the page and immediately returned it.
She had assumed it was another left behind item.

So beware, don't leave your laundry bags or laundry soap while your clothes wash!
People will assume it is a regift!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

On one group it sounds like someone accidentally took a person's bag of laundry thinking it was the free stuff. Sounds like person got stuff back BUT seeing pictures today of all the stuff people are leaving in the laundry room of CSR it's amazing it didn't happen more often. Someone was going to put beer in a laundry room.

 

[manicstreet]

I’ve gifted strollers twice. When our kids aged out I didn’t want to bring them home so I left notes saying “free, please take” near captain cooks at the poly.

 

[AngelaVa]

Looking to see if there is a forum here at the Disboards for left items....Could we start one?

 

[LuthienDragon]

Well, seems better to leave stuff at the laundry room for some stuff. I married at Disney and used 10 Mickey balloons for my photoshoot at the parks. Before leaving for home, we were handing them out at the lobby to kids. It felt awkward for sure, but tried to make eye contact with all the parents before giving them to the children, lmao. We kind of felt like the IT clown.

 

[unrequited23]

Before leaving for home, we were handing them out at the lobby to kids.

We were checking in for our first disney trip. I was in line, my kids and DH were sitting, when I see someone with a balloon walk up to them and start talking. They give my kids the balloon, my eyes immediately welled up with tears at how nice and awesome people can be. This was back in 2017 at POR. I want to assure you there were no creepy vibes felt just, pardon the cheesiness, Disney magic.

 

[megs1313]

I have been taking part in this gifting economy at WDW for several years. There are many FB groups dedicated to Disney "free cycling." After our last trip I left misting fans, popcorn buckets, refillable mugs and ponchos. I always end up leaving something, but I post about it before I do and usually have someone lined up to take it all. I wouldn't leave food that has been opened or clothes that have been worn.

I have noticed an uptick in items like ear headbands and swim stuff lately in the groups. I think a lot of those types of items are coming from overseas guests who simply cannot fit things into their luggage and probably won't be back to WDW/beaches for some time if ever.

I expect some savvy locals will figure this out soon enough and start regularly checking laundry rooms. I'm surprised that's not commonplace already, TBH. The sheer amount of strollers that get left around might make it worth it to just troll resorts for a day. IDK.

 

[Tallis]

This has been a thing for at least a decade. It used to be that people left stuff outside the doors of their rooms and it was Disney's UNOFFICIAL answer to leave things in laundry rooms. Mousekeeping and others would tell you the same if you asked - at least they used to. The only rule was no alcohol, for obvious reasons. I posted on this same thread three years ago. Nothing has changed except for maybe people getting ridiculous with it.

It was originally for unopened non-perishable foods, laundry and dish washing soaps, etc. And, of course the usual fans and such that were just purchased for the parks. Prior to now, I had never heard of anyone leaving clothing. That's just weird and they need to dispose of those properly, especially in this day and age, with bedbugs and all.

 

[hmansionlover]

I totally agree with you. If someone has items to donate, they should drop them by a donation center. Don't leave them in places like a laundry room for the resort to have to dispose of.

If someone has a half used bottle of laundry detergent or other incidental they can't take with them they have 2 choices. Leave it in the room when they leave so house cleaning has to dispose of it. Or take the chance that they can help someone save a little money (a precious commodity at Disney). If no one uses it guess what, house cleaning disposes of it. There is little chance that Disney won't ultimately have to dispose of it. It's people trying to help the next guy. Why flame?

 

[WEDWDW]

Not a big deal,but I just prefer that the Laundries be neat and tidy with not any extra stuff laying around.

Let the Laundry be the Laundry.

I guess leftover Detergent and Dryer Sheets would be the exception.

I would not want the Laundries used for an "Unused article drop off" anymore than I would want a corner of the Arcade or corner of the Food Court or corner of the Lobby,etc. used as such.

Again not a big deal,just personal preference.

 

[Pyxie]

I see this all the time in various resort FB groups. It seems to happen at every resort and usually appears to be people who overbought on grocery deliveries leaving their leftovers behind. If I've learned anything from these posts, it's to keep any grocery orders to a bare minimum lol.