Tips for an Organized Hotel Room at Walt Disney World

It's no secret that some of the rooms at the Walt Disney World Resort are a little on the small side. On one hand, depending on the type of Disney vacation you are doing, you most likely won't be in the rooms that much anyway...on the other hand, it will be where you are living for your whole stay and keeping organized is very important to a successful WDW experience.

For the big C family vacay that is coming up, we are staying in the Little Mermaid rooms at the Art of Animation resort. This is considered one of their value level rooms and is heavily themed (#WatchOutInsta). The Mister, Cy and I have a really easy time hunkering down in a small room..mostly due to my organization and planning skills.

Since I have been gathering all of my hotel room organization supplies for our trip, I thought I would write a post about it to share the wealth and hopefully help you on your next vacation where space is limited.

Plastic/Ziploc bags -

I can not tell you how important it is to have a plethora of different types of plastic bags (#BagLady) with you on your trip to Disney. For our trip, we are bringing -

1. Big and small Ziploc bags - For things like - outfits, cut up fruit & snacks, toiletries, cell phones and other electronics, sunscreen etc... I will be taking one box of each with us.
2. Garbage bags - We still have a little one in diapers...those tiny hotel garbage bags never work well for us. 
3. Regular old plastic shopping bags - For anything and everything else. Seriously, you never know when you will need one..there are a lot of water rides in the World!

Over-the-door shoe organizer -

This is a pretty common organization tip on most Disney planning blogs but it's such a genius idea. There are so many compartments for anything and everything. When I travel, I hate there being a lot of *things* on the bathroom counter/dresser space because those are usually your only "working surfaces" (#MommyProblems) The more things have a home, the more organized you will be.

Dollar Tree Hamper & Organizers -

Dollar Tree pop up laundry hampers are great for traveling and keeping laundry all in one place which can sometimes be tough in a hotel room when you are busy and there are a lot of costume changes (Or is that only me?). These hampers travel flat - the perfect luggage staple!

Organizers - Dollar Tree also has collapsible storage organizers. These are going to be perfect for us as we will be doing a small shopping trip at the beginning of the week. The organizers will give us a spot for all the things that aren't going in the fridge. Again, they travel flat and are perfect for getting things off your surfaces.

Fall Organization/Decidedly Delightful Headquarters

Every year as the end of August approaches I always get this urge to start redecorating/rearranging/cleaning for the upcoming holiday season. Here at the C household, we celebrate (and are decorated for) holidays from Labor Day(when the Halloween decor comes up) to New Years Day. Which of course means that every year, before and after said holiday season, I like to overhaul our tiny, yet cozy digs.

What's even better about this year is that we are selling a lot of stuff. I am figuring out eBay more everyday and will be getting a lot of our decor (related) things out of here for a fresh start. Since we don't have a ton of storage here (and due to my lack of emotional attachment to things) I like to have a high turnover rate of "things" around the house...this includes everything from clothes to toys & decor. So stay tuned for that!

In the mean time, this place has been on an organizational overhaul. I was starting to find corners of my house looking like this....

My (very black and white) brain could not handle such a colorful mess any longer. And since we just had Cy's birthday party it was the perfect time to go through toys/clothes and see what we were keeping and what was headed towards storage/Salvation Army.

Without further ado, this is what our floor to ceiling shelves looked like before - 

And after my organizational overhaul, this is what they look like now - 

I wanted to clear a few shelves for the upcoming decorations bomb that is going to hit this apartment. I also created more storage for toys (as those cardboard boxes pictured in the first picture were toast a few months after the picture was taken). We are trying to teach Cy to put away one activity before starting the next and I think the separate bins will help with that.

During my organizational overhaul, I decided I wanted to (yet again) redo my craft room and really turn it into a blogging/eBay headquarters. Also, I know I am going to need the space for the holidays and I was feeling rather uninspired in my work space so I knew a change was in order. This is what the Decidedly Delightful headquarters looked like before -

And here is what is looks like now --

#DecorDepot

#GlitterPumpkinLife

I think it is so much more open now and really offers a space that I can work in. I was also determined to devote a shelf to housing all of my decor that I am keeping but isn't in rotation at the moment. I added a small section for beauty prep too. In a tiny apartment I have to be smart with my space and if that means devoting a small corner and storage to getting ready in my craft room/blogging headquarters, then so be it. After all, a girl needs her space in a house full of boys.

Deets - Floor to ceiling shelves - Ikea | Clear bins - Ikea (Samla) | White Shelves - Home Depot | Desk & Chair - Ikea | Pumpkins - Dollar Tree

Musings {Organization Edition}

Command Strips - 

IMO, 3M removable Command Strips are the greatest invention pretty much ever. I always have a hefty supply on hand because I use them at least once a week. They are so convenient when we travel..for decorating the hotel room or making a sheet nook for Cy Guy to sleep. They are also great for party planning and holiday decorating to hang temporary decorative fixtures. And of course they are great for renters. Every time we are at a place like Home Depot, I make sure I pick up a pack for my collection you can never have to many!

Organization - 

The C household has been getting a major organization overhaul lately. Closets are getting cleaned out, new shelves are getting filled up, and we are planning to revamp our bar for more efficient storage and organizational needs. Here are some of the happenings - 

On top of all the shoes on display in my craft/dressing room, I still have a good amount of shoes in our bedroom closet. I used a huge basket in the back for all of my winter shoes and then filled clear Ikea "Samla" boxes for flats. Although it's not the prettiest thing ever, it definitely does the job.

#SpikesForDays

My craft/dressing room has also gotten an added organizational tool...a set of white plastic shelves! I can't be the only one that gets this excited about organization, right?

These shelves now house hair tools and products, jewelry, nail polish, a sensory bin for Cy, a party planning bin, and upcoming holiday bin, and a travel bin for things like hotel child proofing and toiletries in travel sized containers. The shelves were purchased at Home Depot, the clear bins (Samla) and baskets are all from Ikea.

Entertainment Center Organization

Every time I photograph my entertainment center, I always avoid including the lower half of the structure in the picture. All the pictures I have taken of it are just how I have decorated the top row of boxes for various holidays. So today, I am finally willing to bare all in regards to this entertainment center. Now, don't get me wrong, this thing has provided copious amounts of organization for us. Not to mention that clean up at the end of the night is always a cinch because of how many drawers it houses. It's just that it does NOT photograph well....



The problem is, is that the drawers that provide the great organization have not only faded considerably (they were jet black, the same color as the entertainment center originally) but they also collect so much dust and lint that every few days I am lint rolling them to get them back to an acceptable state.

Now, we could of course just get all new drawers, but the fading will only happen again and the lint will still be there. So, I think I may cover them with fabric squares adhered with Velcro. I am just having the hardest time decided on WHAT fabric it should be. Patterned? Textured? Black? Color? (haha, yeah..right)

In the mean time, they are doing their job. I like when people can walk into my house and not immediately tell that I have a child running a muck in here most of the time.

I allow the Mike Wazowski chair because it's a little pop of color and it is well made. I hate that chintzy plastic crap that people essentially decorate with sometimes when they have kids and not enough storage. And Mike goes in Cy's bedroom if we have company over.

So, there is it in all of it's entertainment center glory. I suppose it's not THAT bad. But I am always looking for another DIY project and it definitely bothers me at least once a day. So, if you need me, I will be scouring all the fabric sections of every craft store I can find!

Oh and if you are wondering, the entertainment center and drawers were all purchased at Ikea. Because virtually every piece of furniture in our apartment was purchased at the best/worse place on earth.

xoxo

Closet Essentials

One of my friends had a blog request last weekend. She requested that I offer some tips on closet organization, what to keep/what to throw out, wardrobe staples etc..

So, I got right to work figuring out how to convey what my technique is...and then I realized..I don't really have one! To be honest, I look at myself like a drag queen...meaning, I only get dressed up when I get paid to...meaning, I really only wear cute outfits when there is a meal and drinks involved!(#StayAtHomeMomProblems) When I know I have an event coming up, I usually start thinking about my outfit close to a month in advance. I usually start with shoes and work my way up. Once I wear said outfit, it doesn't really get worn again. This is why I shop so cheaply. There is no way I can spend over $50 on a dress that I will only wear once.

I hate to admit this, but my wardrobe organization is less than stellar. Because The Mister and I share a closet, things are kind of chaotic. Once we get a house and I can permanently put up some organization structures, I am sure things will be better.

#WardrobeWishes

With all of that being said, I still managed to gather some key wardrobe tips and essentials that I still follow among the chaos...

1. I always switch my winter and summer wardrobes at the beginning and end of seasons. I can not concentrate on putting outfits together in the summer if I have sweaters in my drawers still.

2. Speaking of seasonal wardrobes, I am always sure to leave some summer sundresses in my winter wardrobe to take advantage to pairing them with tights and a blazer.

3. Invest in good blazers. A blazer is the only article of clothing that I will spend over $30 on (besides shoes). I have a navy one, a black one, two white ones (summer and winter) and a zebra printed one.

4. BLACK FLEECE LINED TIGHTS. Enough said.

5. I am the opposite of a hoarder, I have absolutely no problem getting rid of things, clothes included. So, my rule of thumb is that if I haven't worn something (usually a dress) in 3 months, to the Salvation Army it goes.

 

6. Winter shoe essentials - Suede lace up black wedges, black combat boots, black pumps and a pair of oxfords (nude or black). The two pairs of shoes that I wore the most this winter were my black wedges and combat boots. I can not stress the importance of a good pair of combat boots to get you through the winter in a chic way.

So, I hope this helps. I think once summer rolls around I will be a bit more motivated to really overhaul my wardrobe and get some sort of organization situation happening. Until then, Happy Shopping!!