If you had to manage without doing laundry for two weeks - could you?

[clary]

Inspired by a thread (but not a TAAT) that touched on washing clothes on holiday.

We used to go on SC holidays in the UK for a fortnight, and for various reasons took few clothes, so we needed a washing machine in our cottage. Clearly some people take enough clothes with them for the holiday. My midnight question is simply - could you do this for a two-week break?

I (obviously) literally couldn't. I don't own 14 pairs of knickers (or anything like it). I own about eight pairs of socks (and I need socks daily for walking and running). I own two pairs of shorts and about five casual T shirts. I own two hoodies and one pair of jeans. I don't own anything like enough running kit for 14 days.

Am I weird or is this relatively normal? I do own other clothes but they are smart work tops, smart tailored trousers, smartish dresses, none of which I would take on a UK beach holiday.

Anyway my relatively lighthearted challenge to you is - pack for a fortnight without laundry tablets. Possible?

Easily. I've done this every time I've been on holiday for my entire life (my mum never did laundry on our holidays)

Yes, never washed clothes whilst on holiday. I only wash laundry weekly though so we have plenty of clothes. I dislike the waste of energy and water in washing often so wait until I have a full load and do in one go.

I always wait until I have a full load before washing clothes, so I don't understand the comments about having more clothes as being wasteful.

Yes, I can and do.

I take things that I can mix and match and usually plan on about 3 wears per item with airing between (not undies, obviously, I will take 1 per day and 1 spare for those). I take a cotton laundry bag with me to put things in when I am done wearing them, so when I get home this can just be lifted out of my case and put by the washing machine, making unpacking very quick.

I have to. Because of my allergies I cannot use washing machines away from home - the residues trigger a reaction when I wear the clothes again. So either I travel with a full set of whatever I will need, or I handwash, or I buy more clothes on holiday.

That 4 pairs of knickers wearing/washing/drying/spare a PP mentioned up thread is like a revelation to me! Definitely doing that next time we go away, hate loads of luggage.

In answer to your question I could go a month easily. Those with fewer clothes, you must be washing them a lot? I like having a choice so have more than I need - I realise I'm lucky enough to have that, but it's mostly supermarket clothes .

Yes for myself easily

Yes easily, I could do a month. I have a lot of clothes, especially casual outdoors/gym gear as that's pretty much what I live in outside of work.

Hell No. Incontinent toilet training teen. Only 2 loads is a good day.

@RavingAnnie

You definitely own very few clothes. I find that bizarre.

I have probably 20-30 pairs of knickers. Loads of socks. Tons of tights.

A whole drawer full of tops and t shirts

2 pairs of dungarees, plus about 8 pairs of jeans.

Not many shorts because my legs don't warrant them!

Many many hoodies, jumpers and cardigans.

God I could go on. And I'm not at all
Fashion conscious. They just accumulate over time. I don't understand why you'd have so few.

So if pushed I could probably go for a month with no washing.

But I tend to have overpack and take washing stuff then wash clothes that I am enjoying wearing so I can wear them again.

Surely that doesn't all fit in a suitcase. And you really couldn't replicate that for a family of 4 or more.

I have enough individual items to last me, yes. Whether I'd want to take that much is a different matter.

I easily could at home.

I wouldn't go away for two weeks holiday at a time in the UK.

Abroad, I'd happily rinse through my bikini an you aren't needing jumpers and socks

I don't do anything rash like running, let alone when on holiday

All my dcs independently realised, a very short time into University life, that it would be a darn site cheaper for them to buy an extra 7 pairs of pants and socks and do laundry (which of course they have to pay what seems to them, quite a lot of their budget for) once a fortnight, than to do laundry every week.

@Gwenhwyfar

Yes. I regularly go 3 to 4 weeks because I don't like going to the laundrette. The only thing I don't really have enough for is exercise clothes.

Just realised this is for going away. I wouldn't want to carry 2 weeks' worth of clothes with me is the issue. I'd need to wash things in between. It does also depend on the weather. Could go much longer without washing in winter and just hand wash undies.

"I (obviously) literally couldn't. I don't own 14 pairs of knickers (or anything like it). I own about eight pairs of socks (and I need socks daily for walking and running). I own two pairs of shorts and about five casual T shirts. I own two hoodies and one pair of jeans. I don't own anything like enough running kit for 14 days."

That is very little I think. I presume you've bought more than this over the last five or ten years and that you're just very good at getting rid of old things?

Nah I travel light.
7kg for everything for a 3 week multi-destination South East Asian trip.

Don’t even dry my hair. Tinted moisturiser, deodorant and a razor. Use what’s there or buying some cheap enough when it comes to shower products.

I don’t get taking everything with you.

I have a toddler and pre covid, I would take plenty and we would still go through all of it. I use local laundrettes as hotels charge per piece and prices are ridiculous. For 2 weeks, spending 2 hours at the laundrette one evening is doable. I've tried the hand wash and it just gets more creased and dries funny. So last time I went to Spain for 2 weeks, I went to the laundrette instead and cost me something like 20€ and I gave extra 10€ to the lady who folded the clothes as well even though she said it was part of the service. The hotel quoted us something like 180€. Now I don't pack too much and will visit the laundrette once or twice.

Easily, even at the moment and I could probably go 4 or 5 weeks in the summer, when socks are not required.

OK thanks to this thread and all of you, I have gone and counted; I have 10 pairs of knickers.

Thing is, they are all the same (black cotton high leg) so if I had 40 pairs, what would be the point? Those who do, do you rotate them to ensure even wear (so I guess they then last longer than mine!)?

It might be about storage space - if I had 40 pairs of knickers and 20 pairs of socks and 15 pairs of tights and 20 bras like some of you then I don't know where they would go!

My weight fluctuates as well so 40 pairs of size 10 (me three years ago) would be no use at all now.

I counted my short-sleeve and sleeveless tops too and I have 13, but that includes a couple of dressy one and 3-4 smart work ones, so for the beach holiday it would be down to about seven.

I mean, I do have more than 14 outfits but not 14 outfits with the same purpose.

I am ruthless about chucking out tho - will not keep anything grotty or holey just in case (in case of what?) and also stuff I don't wear has to go.

LOL-ing at the PP who suggested that I would have to wash after two days and would only have two pairs of knickers and two pairs of socks - there are five people here and in normal times some of them are sporty! I wash about eight times a week. No problems getting my underwear clean.

Still this has been interesting - maybe I will go and buy a new five pack of knickers as a big treat :D

Not that either knickers nor socks take up a lot of storage space, but that is quite a leap, from "having enough to go away for 2 weeks" - which, by my calculation is 14, plus possibly the pair you wore on the day before you went and the pair you wear on the first day back, whilst doing your washing, so let's say 16 pairs, and 40. Why would you want 40 ??

Then, as a pp said, holidays tend to be in the Summer, so I probably wouldn't be wearing any socks most days.

Bras - I would wear one and take one or possibly two spares.

However, I have LOADS more 'tops' than you do, and, again, I would most likely wear a top for more than one day anyway. But then, I don't chuck clothes out that readily. I have many, many items of clothing that are well over 10 years old. I find things 'come back round' even if you don't wear them for a while.

Yes, no problem for any of us. No way would I want to take it all on holiday though because

• too much to carry
• need clothes to suit a range of weather so unlikely I'd get it right
• we all have favourite items we want to wear more than once on hol, rather than be forced to wear whatever is left

Yes I could if I knew in advance this was the case. Even managed it in the south of France in 2003 when it was very warm.

Not that either knickers nor socks take up a lot of storage space, but that is quite a leap, from "having enough to go away for 2 weeks" - which, by my calculation is 14, plus possibly the pair you wore on the day before you went and the pair you wear on the first day back, whilst doing your washing, so let's say 16 pairs, and 40. Why would you want 40 ??

Well I wouldn't as I said, but at least one pp says they have that many pairs, and others say they could easily do a month, which is certainly more than 30 pairs (allowing for changes if going elsewhere after a run, for instance). 😀😀

Not a hope, but I have Ulcerative Colitis which causes continence problems!

PS, I have forty pairs of knickers; see above!

I’m shocked at how little you have in the way of clothes!