Hotel stays: Whether yours was booked for an important business trip, a romantic night on the town, or a fun-filled family adventure, even five-star resorts don’t provide you with every detail needed for a comfortable trip. After all, staying in a hotel means you are missing out on all of the small features you’ve assembled at home to make your day-to-day life easier!
Because delivering on-the-go, economical tips and tricks to you is kind of our forte, we have a bunch of awesome ones for you today that will ensure your next stay away from home will be just that much more pleasant. Here are 13 surprising ways you can hack your hotel room…
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Turn your sink into a laundry basin
All out of clean clothes? Don’t fret! Place a few coins in a plastic bag and drop the bag down the drain. This little device will act as a water-stopper for your make-shift laundry basin. From there, just rub the stains away with one of those complimentary bars of soap.
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Cover icky remote controls with plastic bags
News alert: Hotel maids don’t take time out of their busy schedules to sanitize remote controls. To ensure that you aren’t catching what the last guest had, simply encase the remotes in Ziploc bags before turning on the tube. Smart!
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Secure your curtains with a hanger
Most hotel rooms come equipped with at least a few pants/skirt hangers, which makes keeping out the AM sunlight just THAT much easier.
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Turn your sink into a refrigerator
Take a trip to the ice machine with your trashcan and fill your sink to the brim with cubes. Once finished, you’ll be able to safely chill yogurt, milk, or even a 12-pack of beer.
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Put your heating tools to good use
Did you know that you can make soup in a coffee maker, and even fry an egg on an iron? Just pack along some foil, utensils, and ingredients, and you’ll be feasting in no time!
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Babyproof your hotel room with painter’s tape
This blue tape can be used to gather errant cables, cover electrical outlets, and even secure drawers. No parent should travel without a roll of this tape!
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Use plastic shower caps as luggage dividers
Don’t want to pack muddy shoes in with your clothes? No problem—just place the pair inside a complimentary shower cap. How smart is that?!
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Create a DIY humidifier
Just because you are vacationing in a dry climate doesn’t mean you have to wake up to burning sinuses and dry skin! Instead, make your very own ‘humidifier’ by placing a wet towel near the room’s A/C or fan unit. This simple act will instantly add moisture to the air.
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Use a trash can as a stepstool
Hotel bathrooms weren’t exactly designed with little ones in mind, were they? Instead of lifting your child up to reach the sink, just lay a towel on the floor and place an upside down trash can on top of it. Pro tip: Make sure the bin is sturdy before use!
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Pack a clothespin in your toiletry bag
Hate the idea of your toothbrush touching that questionable bathroom sink? Instead of throwing your bristles to the wolves, so to speak, prop it up far away from the dirt with a small clothespin!
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Heat up your pizza with a hair dryer and iron
The best way to re-heat pizza in a hotel room? With a foil covered iron and a hair dryer, of course. The results are so impressive, you may just bring this hack home with you!
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De-wrinkle your clothing without touching an iron
Place your wrinkled item on a hanger near your hot morning shower and—voila! —you’ll be met with a perfectly smooth, wrinkle-free piece of clothing. Score!
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Turn up your music without the help of a speaker
Did you know that simply placing your phone in a ceramic mug or glass cup will instantly increase your phone speaker’s volume?
Pretty smart stuff, huh? We’d love to hear your take on these nifty tricks! Have you tried any of these hotel hacks before? If so, how did they go? Do you have any special tips of your own that you would like to share?