Doing laundry on vacation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are these activities requiring multiple changes of clothes? At a resort? Are you skydiving, trail riding, ballroom dancing, sailing, playing tennis, and having a formal dinner every day?

I’m curious too! I’m having trouble imagining the limitations—especially in summer when packing clothes is smaller (tank tops, not sweaters)

sports activities plus daily swimming in extremely humid/sweaty weather

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about C, take the smaller bag, pack less stuff, and just rewear clothes or rinse in sink?

If you’re going to a resort with a pool, you will likely spend much of the day in a bathing suit. If you bring athletic wear, bring two outfits, not 5-6. Wash one in sink after yoga/tennis/hike and hang to dry. Wear the second one the next day. One to two outfits for dinner, 1-2 for touring around. One comfy outfit to wear for travel there and back. Done.

the activities require multiple changes of clothes. scrubbing clothes in the sink every night and putting on damp not really clean undies seems like the worst of both worlds.

undies are small you can bring enough for a five day vacation

[Anonymous]

Check a bag. Treat yourself to no chores while on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry, but for a quick 5 day trip with lots of activities, i'd much rather check a bag. Why? The challenge with laundry is you have to be fairly certain you can get a machine. If a lot of guests are using like one machine, it can be annoying to wait around while your clean clothing supplies dwindle down to nothing.

This. I find that I don't want to do laundry other than swimsuits because the point of a vacation is to have a break from the mundane tasks of life and spend time with family and friends.

[Anonymous]

We usually do laundry on longer travel, but for 5 days, I’d just pack enough and not worry about spending limited time on planning laundry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry, but for a quick 5 day trip with lots of activities, i'd much rather check a bag. Why? The challenge with laundry is you have to be fairly certain you can get a machine. If a lot of guests are using like one machine, it can be annoying to wait around while your clean clothing supplies dwindle down to nothing.

This. I find that I don't want to do laundry other than swimsuits because the point of a vacation is to have a break from the mundane tasks of life and spend time with family and friends.

how often do you wash swim suits? Don’t you just rinse them in regular water to get out chlorine or salt water?

[Anonymous]

Flying domestic? From where? It’s so easy for me to check a bag at DCA, BWI, Dulles, etc. What’s the big deal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok please help me decide this! We are headed on a 5 day vacation that requires a lot of clothes/shoes because of the activities and other stuff we need to bring for activities.

I can’t decide if I should just go the carry-on route and do laundry half way through, or say f it and pack the big check-on? We will have some planned downtime when I can do laundry but it’s not that convenient (other hotel in a resort complex, although we could just sit by the pool while it’s going). But I kind of hate the idea of having to plan a chore like that? But also hate the idea of paying $100 to check the bag and having to get to the airport earlier and linger at baggage claim particularly since I want to spend less time in crowds to avoid covid. (Not a covid phobe; just don’t want to be sick on vacation!)

I know I’m overthinking this …

Personally, I always pack the big bag *and* do laundry. But I find it enjoyable to take the time away from everyone to sit in a warm laundromat while the machines are running. I bring my iPad and snacks, and I zone out.

For instance, I'm heading to Ireland next week. I'll pack a bag, do laundry after a week, and then keep going for the next week, rinse and repeat (literally).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry, but for a quick 5 day trip with lots of activities, i'd much rather check a bag. Why? The challenge with laundry is you have to be fairly certain you can get a machine. If a lot of guests are using like one machine, it can be annoying to wait around while your clean clothing supplies dwindle down to nothing.

This. I find that I don't want to do laundry other than swimsuits because the point of a vacation is to have a break from the mundane tasks of life and spend time with family and friends.

how often do you wash swim suits? Don’t you just rinse them in regular water to get out chlorine or salt water?

I put a little body wash or shampoo in the sink and fill it with cold water. Squeeze the suds through and let it soak for about ten mins then rinse. Squeeze out the water then roll each item in a clean towel to get more moisture out. Hang dry. If you need it to dry sooner, use the blow dryer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry, but for a quick 5 day trip with lots of activities, i'd much rather check a bag. Why? The challenge with laundry is you have to be fairly certain you can get a machine. If a lot of guests are using like one machine, it can be annoying to wait around while your clean clothing supplies dwindle down to nothing.

This. I find that I don't want to do laundry other than swimsuits because the point of a vacation is to have a break from the mundane tasks of life and spend time with family and friends.

how often do you wash swim suits? Don’t you just rinse them in regular water to get out chlorine or salt water?

I put a little body wash or shampoo in the sink and fill it with cold water. Squeeze the suds through and let it soak for about ten mins then rinse. Squeeze out the water then roll each item in a clean towel to get more moisture out. Hang dry. If you need it to dry sooner, use the blow dryer.

^^I use this technique for anything that we need that is washable.

[Anonymous]

Umm carry on bag, do laundry if need be. But seriously pool and athletic activities you really only need athletic wear. Don’t take formal clothing. Maybe one hoodie you can tie around your waist.

[Anonymous]

I’m a big fan of sink laundry and I also don’t usually mind doing laundry at a hotel. I just use a timer on my phone and go read in a lobby or on a porch or something. I hate having lots of sweaty, dirty clothes in my suitcase honestly, and I always prefer not to check a bag if I can avoid it.

[Anonymous]

I prefer Airbnb so I can do my own laundry

[Anonymous]

Update: I’m packing a massive suitcase to check in I think the deciding factor was that the laundry isn’t in a convenient location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about C, take the smaller bag, pack less stuff, and just rewear clothes or rinse in sink?

If you’re going to a resort with a pool, you will likely spend much of the day in a bathing suit. If you bring athletic wear, bring two outfits, not 5-6. Wash one in sink after yoga/tennis/hike and hang to dry. Wear the second one the next day. One to two outfits for dinner, 1-2 for touring around. One comfy outfit to wear for travel there and back. Done.

the activities require multiple changes of clothes. scrubbing clothes in the sink every night and putting on damp not really clean undies seems like the worst of both worlds.

You can hand wash undies just fine in a sink, and unless they are some super freaking heavy cotton, they will completely dry overnight.

But also, you are not saving much space in your luggage by washing your undies, so it really depends on what other clothing OP must bring - can that be hand washed effectively.