Nine amazing hotel room hacks
Do you find it hard to settle into a hotel room, even though you love to travel? I’ve stayed in many hotels over the years, and I have some tips and tricks to make you feel more at home. Even if you are one of those people that lives out of a suitcase, I think you’ll find something interesting here. Stay tuned to the end when I’ll give you my best hack for making your hotel room feel like home – a warning though, it’s controversial! I love my home and I love spending time there, where I have everything the way I like it. But I also love to travel and when I first started, I always felt a bit unsettled and on edge. So how do I now travel without that anxiety? One thing I’ve realised is that I need to hack my hotel room to make it more like home. I’m not talking scented candles or photos of my pets; this is about how I live in that room as if it is my home. Set up I feel best when there’s a place for everything, and everything is in its place. When I first arrive in my hotel room, before I even start unpacking, I look for places to set up stations. The stations I set up are: Having these makes me feel organised, in control, and I don’t have to hunt around for a well-lit spot for makeup, or to find my phone or rings. Organisation I like to keep small items sorted out and kept together. I bring small foldable trays to keep things together. I have two travel trays that are flat but use press studs to form trays. I always take the small one no matter how short the trip – its flat and smaller than my makeup mirror so I keep it slipped inside the protective bag for the mirror (along with the mirror’s charging cable!) I use this either for things on my bedside table or my jewellery when I take it off, depending on which needs it most. The other tray is larger, and I only take it on longer trips – say a week or more. I either use it in the bathroom to hold all those little bottles I’ve decanted skincare products into, or perhaps snacks that we have in our room. Snacks and drinks Make it a priority to buy some snacks and drinks. Having something in the room to nibble on when you return from a busy day out makes you feel more at home. Michael and I love to drink sparkling water and I always have a bottle by my bed to drink during the night. Depending on the length of our stay we also buy some packets of chips or chocolate. Just don’t overdo your purchasing so you end up having to take it all home with you! Suction hooks Some things need to be hung up in the bathroom! I have my shampoo bar, which I keep in a mesh bag that needs to hang up in the shower. I use suction hooks for this. I bought my hooks from Muji years ago, but you can get them in hardware shops or Amazon. Travelling pharmacy I wasn’t a boy scout (well obviously) but I like to be prepared, so I always have a range of medication and other health or comfort items. There’re painkillers – paracetamol and ibuprofen – antacid tablets, hay fever tablets, decongestant spray, diarrhea medication, hydrolyte, motion sickness pills, band aids, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, you name it, if you can buy it over the counter in a chemist shop, I pack it. I used to stuff it all in a toiletry bag, but I’d have to dig through when I needed something and of course, that’s always in the middle of the night when I don’t want to turn the light on and wake Michael! So now I have a hanging jewellery organiser and I put each product in different pockets. I hang it in the wardrobe, or on a suction hook, or even behind the bathroom door. Get ready to go out I always designate a spot for anything that might be needed to leave the room for the day. My handbag, sunglasses, umbrellas, keys, hand sanitiser, folding shopping bag – I don’t want to be running around as we are trying to leave gathering my stuff. Bedtime routine I replicate my going to bed routine. I don’t know about you but sleeping in a strange place can be tough. When I’m at home I have a certain routine – clean my teeth, wash my face if I haven’t done it earlier, take my medication, use a pillow spray, put on lip balm and hand cream, read for a little while then put on some going to sleep sounds. When I am travelling, I bring the products that I need to replicate this. Now, I’m going to have my toothbrush and skincare with me but I also bring a small pillow spray, and an extra lip balm and some hand cream I can leave by the bed so I don’t have to go and dig them out from somewhere else. For the sleep sounds I use an app on my iPad called Pzizz. I use this at home and since my bedtime reading is always done on my iPad, I can use it while travelling too. Small luxuries We like to travel light, but if I’m going to be away from home for more than, say, ten days I make sure I have some room to pack a couple of extra things that bring me home comfort. I like my tea HOT but I drink it slowly. At home I have an Ember mug, which I love, and I have been known to pack it for long trips where we won’t be staying in more than one hotel. For other trips I have an insulated mug.
