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Things you bring to your timeshare?

amyhwang

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Maybe it’s my way of dreaming of my next trip (since i have barely left our house in over a year), but I’d love to start a new fun thread of what useful things you bring to your timeshare stays. I appreciated Dioxide’s list in his bin! Here is mine:

I own at Ko Olina, and most times I do check baggage (although one trip years ago I was meeting with my hubby there so flying from the East Coast with my kids while they were little and had just gotten them their own pulling carry on bags, and although luckily had found first class with miles just did carry on bags, and others around me were shocked that we did two weeks in only a carry on bag each, it’s Hawaii and I did a Target run first day for essentials). My kids traveled well, as they have been flying since infancy, but normally I do check bags.

Me: Spike (spice that is amazing on burgers, fish, added to pasta salad, basically a do all for seasoning salt), my own tongs (I don’t care for the ones in the villas), other spices, back in the day when I was a big coupon shopper I’d bring a tiny thing of syrup for pancakes (for the kiddos), dryer sheets and maybe laundry pods, my own trash bags (the ones there kinda suck, and if it looks like rain it’s good to use them to line my luggage as I’ve seen soaked bags), small amounts of seasonings. One trip to Orlando I wasn’t keen on the pillows, so in a Target run we bought cheap $3 ones to use and just left them (15 night trip so worth it for just me and the kids). I often bring a small nonstick pan for eggs, as there is usually a bigger one that may be or not be so great. One trip to Ko Olina my youngest (18 at the time) and I were in the studio for 2 weeks before we moved to the one bedroom for 2 weeks, and I shipped a cheap ($20?) Vacuum from Amazon (along with a shower seat as he has mobility issues). I also brought a single burner and left it ($15?). Housekeeping didn’t mind (left it out but I’m anal about cleaning so the room was always spotless and I know they aren’t technically allowed, but we made eggs, pasta, etc that time). Not condoning it but I never used it much. My own sponge maybe, definitely my gloves for doing dishes (I wash in hot water so bring some gloves and just leave them).

On driving one trip with a friend, her timeshare only had charcoal grills. I had bought some grill things that light up and work for a few hours (forget the name but they were discontinued, but i still have a few). Worked for grilling brats. Of course driving we brought a ton of stuff in bins!

Love to hear suggestions on what to bring!
 

alexadeparis

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I have a mini spice bag I still bring if we are staying a long time, and I used to bring a Ton of stuff, such as laundry pods, mini first aid kit, sewing kit, individual condiments, assorted teas, microwave popcorn, crystal light, snack bars and other items, etc. But lately I bring less and less each time. I have found I don’t use a lot of it, so I don’t want to drag it there and back anymore . Same with beach gear, I have been paring that down too. Down to just a tarp and some chairs, used to bring a tent, towels, the whole nine yards.
 

Lv2Trvl

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Yep, less and less. Bare essentials if flying. Driving, maybe too much. Hawaii as often as possible. Whatever I need I can get there.

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zentraveler

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This extremely handy implement. It is wonderful for cooking fish and it is the only thing we use at home for seafood (would undoubtedly grill meat too). My husband even figured out how to scramble eggs in it while we have been in Hawaii (in a hotel conversion with no stovetop). Worth the bit of weight.

light weight salad tongs

One really sharp kitchen knife and a pair of scissors (although more and more resort kitchens have scissors these days).
 

RunCat

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This extremely handy implement. It is wonderful for cooking fish and it is the only thing we use at home for seafood (would undoubtedly grill meat too). My husband even figured out how to scramble eggs in it while we have been in Hawaii (in a hotel conversion with no stovetop). Worth the bit of weight.

light weight salad tongs

One really sharp kitchen knife and a pair of scissors (although more and more resort kitchens have scissors these days).

Agree on the knives. Good to have a decent , albeit not too expensive one.
 

Limace

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A small Penzeys spice box with four spices-usually a Mexican blend, Italian blend, Fox Point and cinnamon.

Ziploc bags-great for leftovers, wet swimsuits, whatever.

My bag of my remaining precious stash of 3 in one laundry sheets.

If I check bags, a sharp knife and sometimes good wine or gin.


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10spro

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Depends if we are driving or flying, and how long we're staying. We never brought anything from home until we wanted cinnamon and the Safeway in Lahaina had only a $11 jar, so now I always bring spices, generally in little packets or small ziplocks. Also bring multiple sizes of extra ziplocks, laundry pods, laundry sheets, lingerie bag, favorite bowl for cereal, favorite non-stick fry pan, Pam so it doesn't stick, coffee or chocolate powder, snack bars for flight and the next week. These days we also bring several zip lock bags with 3-4 Lysol wipes in each and a couple small bottles of hand sanitizer. All that is only if we're checking bags and staying 2+ weeks. If we only bring carry-on or for short trips then we buy everything there.
 

tiel

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We always take a small electric (alarm) clock, since there is usually no clock easily viewable in the main living area. We also take an extension cord or two, various sizes of baggies, a couple sheets of aluminum foil, small plastic cups for the bathroom, and dryer sheets. And insulated cups for around the pool.
 

Limace

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Oh, and some coffee filters. And our Roku.


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zentraveler

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Ziploc bags-great for leftovers, wet swimsuits, whatever.

My bag of my remaining precious stash of 3 in one laundry sheets.
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I also travel with a small collection of different sizes of zip lock bags and wrap a few rubber bands around them. They can come in very handy and weigh nothing. (Funny how it is the simple things like a rubber band that you just need sometimes and for which nothing else will really do!)

I also have a very small laundry cube with a few laundry pods and a small zip lock with dryer sheets. Indispensable as well and also weighs almost nothing.
 

zentraveler

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And to get a bit fancier, but also almost weightless, an HDMI connector to use our computer to connect to the TV screen for various online content. Requires a small bit of knowledge and the correct ports or adapters for one's computer. (Apple computers usually need the adapters and the non-Apple ones often have that port on laptops.)
 

jmmoultn

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Vitamix for smoothies and margaritas (driving down to FL). The villa blenders barely work and burn out in a day...
 

Tkhalaska

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The special blend of coffee that I like, nothing starts the day off right like a cup of good java. Also pack an assortment of spices, small salt and pepper grinders, large and small ziplocks, first aid kit, HDMI cable.
 

amyhwang

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I just remembered one other handy thing: those plastic containers that carry out Chinese food comes in now. I have a stack of them (dishwasher safe), and bring several for leftovers (there is often just 3 Rubbermaid ones in the villa). I just recycle them when I leave rather than bring back home.
 

dougp26364

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I take a few things.
salt, pepper, garlic salt.
Artificial sweetener
Detergent pods
Dishwasher pods, although these often aren’t needed anymore as TS’s have been putting an adequate supply in the units.
Ziplock bags
Plastic storage containers. These are the cheap ones from the sliced meat we use for our work lunches at home. I find they make decent left over containers and, because we don’t pay extra for them, we throw them away at the end of the trip.

The list seems long, but this stuff really doesn’t take a lot of room. As far as clothes I take two changes of daily clothes, a pair of slacks and a polo shirt (in case we want to go to a “nice” restaurant). The washer /dryer makes it easy to keep our clothes clean and, who cares if I’m wearing the same clothes all week so long as they’re clean. It’s also soooooo much easier to unpack when I get home if I don’t bring a lot of stuff.
 

geist1223

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It depends if we are flying or driving. If we are driving Patti has 2 plastic totes stuffed with household and kitchen items to include small soap dishes. When we fly Ziplocks, bag clips, laundry soap pods, and dish washer soap pods. We are on our first trip (San Jose del Cabo) in a year. The only thing we remembered was Ziplock bags. Also our own Snorkeling gear. We both use Vision corrected Masks.
 

amycurl

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We have a whole timeshare box that lives, filled, in our attic...
It includes the HDMI cable, and takeout containers, and Ziplocs and foil for leftovers. Spices and a sharp knife are also musts. I also tend to bring staples (oil, eggs, flour, sugar, pasta, potatoes, canned soup, condiments,) because I resent purchasing those. but only for drive-to locations, of course!

I like the idea of the Roku...this March will be our first trip since we’ve owned it.


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jmhpsu93

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For driving we basically fill the car until we have to jump up and down on the tailgate to get it closed. :)

Mostly it's workout equipment, especially now with the gyms being not as user-friendly. So...our bikes, my bike trainer, a step, some weights. We also bring kitchen stuff we know we'll need like good knives and scissors, a good egg/omelette pan, spices like Old Bay. Cleaning supplies and some good paper towels, plus some laundry pods, etc. Enough clothes to never wash anything, it seems.
 

geist1223

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Our former DIL brought a Hot Pot to the BI once when they were joining us. To certain locations we have brought our Bikes and Kayaks. It is great to have a Crew Cab Pickup.
 

KProuty

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I like the idea of takeout containers and just recycling after. We have a lot of them.

We always bring a night light for the bathrooms so we can keep the room dark and not turn on the overhead.

We also have been using Alexa every night to talk to my mom. We still do it when we go on vacation. We bring an Echo Show so we can connect to the wifi no problem without using a hot spot. You need a screen to do that.

I need a blanket and a pillow for the car ride, but I also need it for the couch!

I keep my list in Microsoft To Do. Here it is.

Packing

❏ Alcohol
❏ Alexa
❏ Bathing suit
❏ Blanket
❏ Bluetooth headphones
❏ Boxed wine
❏ Bug spray
❏ Butt pillows
❏ Cash
❏ Cbd cream
❏ Chris phone cord
❏ Chris phone plug for phone cord
❏ Clean out cat box
❏ Clippers
❏ Coffee
❏ Coffee cup
❏ Coffee filters
❏ Computer
❏ Computer power cord
❏ Eggs and bacon butter yoghurt
❏ Ethernet cord
❏ First aid
❏ Food
❏ Gift cards
❏ Glasses
❏ Hats
❏ Ice pack
❏ Kindle
❏ Laundry detergent
❏ Lollipops
❏ Makeup
❏ Market basket bag
❏ Masks
❏ Mct oil
❏ Medicine
❏ Night light
❏ Noise making machine
❏ Old Bay Seasoning
❏ Olives
❏ Paper towels
❏ Phone
❏ Phone battery pack
❏ Phone stand up charger
❏ Pillow
❏ Power strip
❏ Rain ponchos
❏ Regular bottle of listerene
❏ Shoes
❏ Sunscreen
❏ Tea
❏ Tickets and maps
❏ Toothbrush
❏ Towels
❏ Trash bags
❏ Tumi bag
❏ Tweezers
❏ Watch
❏ Waters
 

marriottdude

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We take plenty of kitchen stuff as others have stated, but we also bring power strips to make sure there's plenty of charging capacity for all of the electronics that get hauled along.
 

Dean

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In part it depends on whether we're flying, driving, W/D in room, length of trip and type of trip.
ziplock bags
power strip
Phone chargers with dual outlet plugs
Travel Router (easier to connect and some places limit the number of connections)
collapsible funnel
clothes washing (what we bring depends on flying, driving, W/D in room, etc).
streaming device
disposable ponchos
mid size soft cooler
backpack cooler
foil
spices
creamer
straws
pastic cups for bathroom
 

Snazzylass

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My T/S is super well stocked, so it's just groceries for the most part. Before I lived local, I'd stop on the way there to pickup a styrofoam cooler, water, coffee, etc. Now I can grab my own cooler and unload the fridge.

I do prefer fresh ground pepper & Redmond's Real Salt. And my kids gifted me with a Rumpl blanket that stays in my trunk. I find extra blankets a necessity when I live the Valley of the Surface of the Sun. And, it's nice to wrap up in one that you know is clean.

Since I'm an owner, I can split up my use into short trips which works out well. This past year, I focused on supporting local shops. So, I thought I buy a bottle of wine locally. I picked up something from Merkin Vineyards. Loved it so much I searched high and low for a bottle to ship to my kids who are Napa drinkers. Son1 got the biggest laugh out of the name of the winery. Naw, not a word I was familiar with ;)
 
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