Essential Items for living in a hotel room

Disclaimer: I wrote this post about a week ago and never got around to posting it because of a shared internet connection in our hotel room, with Charlie getting priority!

Cravings: a kitchen, still!

We are in a hotel room for the next two months. Oh joy.

No seriously though, it's great that the military allows us to come and stay w/our spouses!

Military lodging is just like a hotel minus the room service etc.

What's in our room besides the basic bed, table, drawers, closet and bathroom:
-mini fridge
-microwave
-tv
-coffee maker
-ironing board and leaking iron

That's all folks!

Here are items I have found are essential for surviving when you are living in a hotel room for longer than a vacation. I did not include the basic packing list materials.

-Scissors and tape - let's say you buy something at target that needs cutting open. Tape is to put things on your mini fridge, such as schedules, reminders etc.
  
-batteries (my toothbrush died in the plane! Can you imagine what someone must have thought was vibrating in my bag?). I don't prefer a brand so I posted both big ones, I'm all for equal opportunity:
 
-hangers (there are never enough provided)

-your own lotion, shampoo, body wash, loofa, etc. Your own blow drier as well if you're particular. Here are my preferences:

-any meds you may need - advil, vitamins, melatonin, etc

Sidenote - I google imaged advil, and it showed up with Hebrew letter on the side, how freaking weird!?!?

(gotta keep my hair long while I'm in a hotel room)



(I never travel w/o this stuff, I'll write a post on melatonin later on)
-can opener

-corkscrew if you are a wine drinker (Charlie and I did not bring one and have not needed on yet, but our neighbor has one if we need it. I still felt it was important to put on the list, though!)

-hand towels for the gym

-stamps - you may want to send a greeting card, etc




Here are things to buy once you get there:
-paper towels

-clorox wipes - yes I know there is room service every day, but it's still nice to have the option to clean something in case you need to!

-dish-soap and a sponge - if there is a rental closet where you're going you can usually get a few bowls, silverware etc. You will want to clean it, even if it's in your dinky little sink.

-paper goods (plates, bowls, cups, cutlery). You can also buy one set of these at a dollar store

Just for fun:
-white board for your door. Yes, me and a few other spouses bought these to use just like in college. Judge us!

-grilling items - our base has grills outside of the lodging buildings. I have tinfoil, ziplock bags to marinade, charcoal, lighter fluid, matches. I need a spatula! Maybe the rental closet?


-Totally optional but if you want it to feel homey, a tablecloth and candle really does the trick

(I love yankee candles. I have told Charlie that if we ever get in a fight, he can go buy me floral scented yankee candle instead of flowers).

-Again, totally optional, but helpful, see if any rental closets have laundry baskets - you can use one to toss your shoes in and one for your dirty clothes of course

-check to see if your hotel has wifi. Ours does not. We do not have hot spot on our phones, and so we are sharing an ethernet chord (hence why I haven't posted in 8 days). A cable splitter would solve the trick!

Hot spot would be a very viable option as well.

I hope this helps any future military wives having to stay on base lodging, or anybody that needs to live out of a hotel for an extended period of time!

I will try to post microwave meals as they happen, but I've been really bad. I cooked a bunch at Charlie's parents house over the weekend and brought back chicken breasts and enchiladas for us to re-heat. Brown rice packets have been my friend too, as well as refrigerator oats.

Updates and recipes coming soon!