Ways I Make a Hotel Room feel like Home

For the past 15 years we have been on a journey to visit all 50 states. We have visited a lot of places and stayed in a lot of different places. While we do camp and have been known to stay in a teepee or even a covered wagon, hotels are by far where we most often stay.

Whether we are staying just a couple nights or for weeks at a time, I like to make a little bit of extra effort to make our hotel room feel a little bit more like home. I like to feel organized and in control of my whereabouts, even if I am staying somewhere not familiar.

These simple steps make things easier to find, put me at ease, and make me not so homesick.

Unpack Your Suitcase

I know a lot of people just live out of their suitcase. My husband does. You can see the difference between our sides of the dresser. Nothing says you have to unpack your suitcase but for me, it really makes me feel settled to have everything in a place.

I put my clothes in a dresser, even though, to be completely honest I don’t fold them. I just organize them by drawer and place them in to be easy to find and grab. I also hang up things and put my shoes in the closet. In short I just try to make a place for everything and get it out of the way and out of sight. Visual clutter drives me crazy so I like things out of sight.

Set Up an Ironing Station

I find when traveling that most clothing gets super wrinkly. Now, when we are camping, I don’t really care. But if we are going out to dinner or I’m sending Nick off to work, then I need to be able to iron clothes, or touch up some unkempt items. The easiest way to do this is with an ironing station.

I try to keep the ironing board up and ready to go. One because even if I iron everything all at once, often times I don’t have any room to store it where it will stay ironed. The hotel only gives us about 5 hangers so then things get wrinkly again. Two I hate that creeeeeeaky noise of the ironing board in the morning. Three, if I am traveling with the kids, often times I use an ironing board as extra storage. We have used an ironing board as a buffet style station for pizza, a bookshelf, a craft table, the possibilities are endless!

Drink/Snack Station

Putting everything together that I brought to eat or drink helps me to keep an eye on inventory, to know where everything is, and it helps making drinks a breeze!

I love sipping something all day long so having a drink station with mix-ins and plenty of ice makes it easy.

Treat Yourself to Flowers

If you are going to be in a hotel for a few days I love purchasing a bouquet of flowers to brighten up the room. Not only do they make things look cheery, they also help filter the air and they leave a lovely aroma.

The furniture and decor in hotels can often feel stale and cold so having flowers will make things feel a bit more homey and inviting.

Work Station

When I create a place for everything I make sure to make myself a work station at the desk or a table in each hotel room. This doesn’t have to be for actual work but it does hold all of my electronics, journals, books, planners, and anything else I may need. I like this system because I know where all of my books are so if I want to pack a bag to go out to a beach or something I can easily grab things and go. If I am working I like that it keeps everything together and away from the bedroom so I’m not stressed by looking at things I have to do or work on for my job. I also like this because it keeps everything together to charge. I don’t have to search for my phone and then try to remember where I put the charger because they always stay in the same place. Easy!

Take Along Things That Bring Comfort

Nothing makes you feel more at home than the very things that bring the comfort of hearth and home to you. Whatever makes you happy you should try to bring it. When Nick travels on his own we send him away with an easel backed photo of the kids and myself…something he can put on his nightstand and remember that we love him.

When I travel I like to take my pillow and my essential oils. I enjoy oils because they can be used medicinally but then also bring a nice aroma and can help ease anxiety and worry. New situations and stressful work situations can often bring anxiety and oils can help. They can also help me sleep when I have a hard time. Anyway, those things make me feel not so far from home when I start to get homesick.

Lastly but perhaps the most helpful…

Set up Your Nightstand

When you stay in a hotel room by yourself you get the whole place to yourself. But when you are traveling with your family it can often be hard to find a place all your own in a hotel room. To solve this problem I like to set up the bedside table with all of my things.

I like to keep my jewelry here. It assures I have a landing spot for all of my pieces and it keeps everything safely away from any drains in the bathroom. I keep my water there so I have it for any nighttime drinks I may need. I charge my apple watch on the table. I’ll keep my oils at the table so I can keep them all together and easily find them. I also know I use them every night before bed to sleep so they’re right at arms reach. Lastly I like to keep flowers on my nightstand if it’s a particularly long stay. Waking up to something cheery makes me feel happy and calm.

Well, now you know what I do to make hotel stays more bearable…Keeping things tidy, organized, and homey make me feel more at peace and comfortable. Now it’s your turn…what do you do to make yourself more comfy when staying in a hotel? Comment below with your hacks. I’d love to try them out!