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Things you bring to your timeshare?

Here's my list for drive-to locations (the only place we ever fly to is Hawaii, which is infrequent):

Nylon coolers (lunchbox size) with cold packs from the freezer
Chip clips for coffee and chip bags
Coffee and filters, pour-thru plastic cone
Handful of Ziploc bags, quart and gallon size
Plastic sealable takeout containers for leftovers
Rx and OTC meds
The usual toiletries, plus shaver, Q tips and sunblock
Sun hat
Travel CPAP
Electronics and chargers (laptops, phones, iPads and Kindles)
Headphones
Reading glasses
Sunglasses
Floating pool chairs

As soon as we get to the TS and drop off our stuff, we head to a nearby grocery store to stock up on goodies for the week. We eat dinners out, and then simple store-bought breakfast and lunch (such as bagels, sandwiches and chips, or reheated dinner leftovers from the night before) in the villa. We don't cook much while we're there. I might bust out one of the pans for frying an egg or two, but other than that it's mostly the microwave. The coolers are mainly to bring partly used/unused cold grocery items (such as cream or sticks of butter) for the drive back home.
 
1/2 of what you think you need to pack. With the washer and dryer in unit we never overload clothes, plus you never end up wearing everything. The only items we bring from home are plastic bags, a fold up cooler for beachside beverages, sun tan lotion, water shoes are a must along with a good supply of small condiment packets (outside of normal items - chargers, a book & shades). Saves money and if you don't have any places are stocked due to covid and a better alternative. There's plenty of coffee, filters and laundry detergent in the room. If you need more all you need to do is ask the they'll provide it to you, something alot of people forget about.

Like most folks we hit the grocery store day 1, buy breakfast for 4 days (we usually hit a local breakfast dive), something light for lunch as we eat out every night and of course a selection of alcohol. We are on holiday!

I don't think I'm adding anything that hasn't already been said except we've been checking in mid-week to avoid that weekend craziness with all the properties.
 
I haven't seen this on any list. I have a small roll-up shower mat, which I bought after nearly falling in a beautiful marble shower. Also, nightlights, a multi-plug/charger, cutting board, clips for snack bags, 16 ounce coffee mugs, and rubber gloves for washing dishes.
 
I order meal kits from companies like Hello Fresh, SunBasket or Every Plate to be delivered to the front desk. Don't have to deal with buying more than I need of ingredients at the local store. All I need is a small bottle of cooking oil and salt & pepper and dinners are easy.
 
When we travel by car we always bring a small fan. It helps deflect the smoke from inconsiderate neighbor's balconies.
 
amyhwang said:
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!
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shorts, Tommy Bahama Shirts, sunscreen , underwear, Swim gear and ME
 
We need to fly to get to our home timeshare. We pack rubberbanded Ziploc bags, aluminum foil, a few laundry pods and dishwasher tabs (fewer and fewer, since our report will typically give us more than the starter pack), salt and pepper, spices to throw on grilled steak or chicken (including a fajita mix for steak that I mix up in a Ziploc before we leave home), coffee, filters, Splenda packets, and an assortment of teas. Although I still get some (free) magazine subscriptions, so I tend to put them in my backpack and binge read. I also bring a minimum of 5-8 books to read at the pool and fill in the rest of my time with books on my Kindle and the wonderful world of blog reading. I get to mail things for free from work and bring along prestamped mailing envelopes to mail to other Paperback Swap users when I am done with them. My bag is a lot lighter on the way home. We drove up to Maine for a non-timeshare trip in September of 2020 (after we had quarantined at home for 2 weeks and stayed in areas where case rates were low). We brought our own pillows-something about sleeping on shared pillows during our current times bothered me.
 
Forgot to mention-be careful of not leaving electronics behind. We plugged in our Apple TV device while we are away and went back home without it....
 
Those are some detailed lists! I used to bring more than I do now. We rarely check bags so there's not a lot of room for extras. I always bring my pillow (memory foam that gets stuffed inside of a compression bag) salt & pepper, ziplock bags, and coffee filters a (if they're not provided). I buy half and half but stopped bringing sugar because I use what's in the unit and just ask for more from the front desk. I don't use much. Although we prepare food at the unit we usually buy meals that are already seasoned - Costco is good for that and Trader Joe's if we are here in CA and make use of bagged salads. I bring my kindle and my phone - that handles most of my entertainment and communication needs, my husband only brings his phone. Sometimes we remember a Bluetooth speaker but not always. Our hiking boots are almost always packed (those take up so much room!) but I've upgraded to low quarter boots for travel and I'll wear them on a plane if necessary. Otherwise just clothes. I used to bring trip paperwork and guidebooks but those have been replaced by apps. I like having less to deal with, to be honest. Fewer things to leave behind.
 
In addition to my clothes, bathing suits and toiletries, I pack thermal cups, crystal lite, bug spray, baggies in various sizes, rubber bands, clothes pins for chip clips, beach towel clips, microwave popcorn, coffee and scoop, small cooler bag, tea bags, laundry pods and dryer sheets, snack/protein bars, night light, brims, ear plugs, Kindle, chargers, Amazon Fire stick and a small container of basic meds that might be needed. I usually fly to my destinations and stay 1 or 2 weeks. I do not usually cook dinner on vacation.
 
We still have some of the old Purex 3 in 1 sheets that they discontinued years ago. Now that we can drive to timeshare, we just put a jug of detergent and softener in our timeshare box.
 
dioxide45 said:
We still have some of the old Purex 3 in 1 sheets that they discontinued years ago. Now that we can drive to timeshare, we just put a jug of detergent and softener in our timeshare box.
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Us too, about 80 sheets. We cut them into halves and thirds because the loads in a timeshare tend to be some to much smaller than a full load at home. We only use them when we fly but even then we often put in dryer sheets, a small container of pods and a couple of powder packets as we've accumulated quite a stash over the years.
 
Dean said:
Almost $1 per load seems fairly expensive to me.
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I cut them into 4, they work fine that way. And I only use them for travel, they are great because they don't count as a liquid.
 
Since we have always driven, only lightweight items go in the carry-on & we hit the dollar store for other things.
 
BJRSanDiego said:
That is one of the most complete lists that I've seen.
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A little too complete IMO. Crock pot, rice cooker, electric griddle, George Forman grill, kitchen timer and one of my favorites light bulbs . . .
 
controller1 said:
A little too complete IMO. Crock pot, rice cooker, electric griddle, George Forman grill, kitchen timer and one of my favorites light bulbs . . .
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Plus in unit heating element type options are contraband at many resorts.
 
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