Travel Tips

Several years ago our family went on a cruise.

And as it turns out, we're not big cruisers.  (Nothing against them, it's just not our thing.)

While we didn't come away from the experience with a love of cruising, we did acquire one thing that would forever change the way we travel:  the over-the-door shoe holder .

Prior to the cruise I consulted with an experienced cruiser who recommended this as a way to keep the cabin organized.  As it turns out, there aren't many suitable surfaces for storing things on a cruise ship.  This is especially true in the bathroom.  She suggested that we use the over-the-door shoe holder as a way to keep track of toiletries, room keys, cell phones (& chargers), and pretty much anything else you can think of.

The next year, as we packed for a trip to Hawaii, it occurred to me that the over-the-door shoe holder needn't be reserved for cruises alone, so I threw it in our bag.  (It folds up flat and packs like a dream.)  It has come with us on every trip since.

Here it is on a recent trip to a Mexican resort.  The bathroom there had plenty of uncluttered surface space and this little beauty guaranteed that stayed that way.

When my sister-in-law saw our hotel set-up on a recent family trip, she wanted to know why I hadn't shared it with her sooner.  It was at that point that I decided to share it with all of you.    

And as long as I'm sharing, here's a happy little accident that I'm so glad I made: While perusing the travel toiletries at Target (how's that for alliteration?) I picked up a package of these:

To be honest, I thought I was buying wipes.  (The type you'd use if you spilled something on your clothes.)  Imagine my surprise when I reached for one and discovered that what I had actually purchased was a three-pack of "sink packets".  These are individual portions of detergent that one can use to wash clothes in a hotel sink.  If I hadn't brought them along I'm pretty sure I would have spent a small fortune sending clothes out to be laundered.  These will definitely join the shoe holder on my list of traveling must-haves.

So what about you?  Do you have any travel tips that you'd like to share?