Going away for two weeks and cannot do laundry

[Dilbertian]

I'm going away for two weeks and will not be able to do any machine laundry. Most of my clothes are natural fibres so are not easy to hand wash and will not dry quickly.

Short of taking 14 shirts etc, any tips for packing or for reusing worn clothes?

We're staying in 3 different places, the last one being a youth hostel with a drying room, so if I have to do any hand washing I'll probably do it the day before we go to the YH and transport it wet.

Oh, and I'm a Sweaty Betty - I cannot re-wear a shirt without washing it.

We go to Greece for 2 weeks. We spend all day walking round the countryside. We always hand wash some clothes and hang them to dry on the balcony. As it’s between 28 - 39 degrees, clothes are dry in 12 hours.

Our hotel this year had a line, fixed across the balcony with a few pegs. We bought more pegs and washed every day. We only had to take home dirty our clothes, worn on the last day! Mind you I wash them again in the machine at home, just to make sure they are clean!

Doing laundry on holiday!? - a contradiction in terms.

Just ask your relatives to use their machine and do a rinse cycle first if you must.

Well you either take enough clothes, or handwash.

Natural fibres Will handwash ok, if you organise your timings so you can soak for a few hours, and avoid light colours.

Personally I am lazy and would take enough clothes. T shirts roll up small, you will get it all in big rucksack or average suitcase. You can probably buy a job lot in the sale right now. Plus take some delicate handwash for emergencies.

When I travelled like that I wore a lot of Rohan quick dry stuff. My friend once took only 2 rohan shirts one to wear and one to wash. They do fast dry knickers also I think.

Do you have any wicking hiking tshirts or similar? They dry very quickly.

Use vinegar in the final rinse instead of fabric conditioner. It will remove every trace of soap from the fibres so there’s no allergens. Clothes stay cleaner because there’s no residue for dirt to cling to. Keeps dark clothes dark and whites sparkling white and material is easier to iron because it softens the fibres. It’s also cheaper than conditioner and keeps your machine clean too. What’s not to love! I’ve used it for years.

Also,
Hand wash
Wrap in a towel to squeeze out water
Hang up

If I sound awkward, it's because I am. Not because I want to be.

I am sweaty and I have allergies. I cannot rewear shirts because I will reek of BO. Most of my clothes are natural fibres, which are heavy to wash and take ages to dry. TBH it's not the washing that's the issue, but the wringing and drying.

We're driving in the UK, so I think my only option really is to take loads of clothes and maybe do some hand washing just before we leave for the youth hostel.

I hoped MN might come up with some ignored ideas or gadget that hadn't occurred to me.

Ignored? It's genius ideas I'm after!

Either take enough stuff for two weeks or cancel your holiday.

There really are no other options!

Op, What about something like this

I'm away for a month and spent an afternoon washing 3 peoples clothes in a bath. Mostly natural fibres (cotton/linen) - things were dry in about 24 hours

You’re looking for the impossible solution OP! I’ve always just taken enough clothes on longer holidays where I don’t want to be washing.

Maybe you should invest in a few cheap vest tops so that you can wear them without armpit sweat directly on your clothes, and take a shawl to cover your shoulders if the sun is too strong. And maybe a couple of big floaty dresses.

Or how about placing your washed items in a towel and you twist the towel at both ends to ring the items out.

if you’re driving you should be able to bake things dry by laying them out across the parcel shelf.

are you all over sweaty or is it mainly armpits? If the latter then spot clean under the arms; much quicker to dry.

you can get portable folding washing devices for campers but they don’t actually spin so won’t get your clothes any dryer than you would otherwise.

Genius idea: Trigger warning - it’s not climate friendly - get yourself to Primark and buy cheap Tshirts, underwear etc., wear and throw away. Your luggage gets lighter by the day.

Could you just use the drier somewhere?

In extremis I have part dried pants in a microwave oven.

If you are driving and your relative is in the middle of the stay do a wash there. And work out which is the longest stint between machines and take enough clothes for those days.

You only need a couple of long-sleeved shirts; even if you don’t want to re-wear T-shirts (which I’m also not keen on doing), you can surely wear the same long-sleeved shirt as an overshirt more than once.

Given that you’ve ruled out doing laundry, wearing things twice or taking more clothes, I’m not sure what else you expect people to suggest.

Please ignore this brainless advice…

That's what I'll be doing, but it does mean that we have to bring more towels as well.

I tell you allergies are pains in the bum!

I understand.

If you hAve a hair dryer it can be used to speed up the drying process? Not very eco but quite effective, especially if you just do a spot scrub on the armpits!