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.

If you are driving I would have thought you could take enough for a fortnight. @Sarahcoggles everyone I know has enough clothes for a fortnight.

OP, google ‘sweat shields for armpits’ and you’ll see there are quite a few ways you can prevent your clothes needing to be washed after every use.

Hand wash your items, iron them a few times and hang them overnight.

I take 14 lots of underwear, swimwear, cover ups and a selection of dresses to a beach holiday. For a more adventurous holiday I take 14 outfits but often will change for dinner so will rewear the daytime outfit then rewear the evening outfit.

If you are visiting relatives, @Dilbertian is there a way they could do a load for you if you took your own wash liquid. Maybe do a fast wash on empty first to rid any residue?

If I were you I’d take more dresses and vests to go under them so you can get a few wears out of each. Then denim shorts you can wear a few times each too. Take one of those octopus lingerie hangers and hand wash underwear and a couple of t shirts then hang this up high in a cupboard if you can as this will help them dry super fast.

Buy some clothes that don’t take ages to dry?

We travel light and wash clothes too OP. It depends on the space you have, but I hang all the damp clothes in the wardrobe, with the door open of course. They seem to dry quickly that way. I don't generally hand wash apart from bras, though.

op, for eg

www.bestproductsreviews.co.uk/underarm-armpit-sweat-pads

I would buy those bags you squeeze the air out of (some are done by a vacuum but some can be done by hand due to the return journey) and take 14 shirts…

I wouldn’t be doing laundry for a two week trip either, I agree with pp that for such a short trip it’s normal to just take enough clothes! But you seem to be an overpacker. You don’t need 2 pairs of pjs a week.

How about getting one of these if you're going in the car?

Get yourself to Tesco and buy some multi packs 5 shirts , sorted 😉

So you'll have a car? How many people are going in your car?

Do you really not have 14 t shirts?

I have 30 easy.

Anyway quick trip to Prinark or HandM and you can get t shorts for about £8 each I think, possibly less.

Well I wrote it mostly in jest and it’s not somewhere I shop but I thought I’d check out the website and see how brainless it is… 5 pack knickers £2.50 so 3 of those would be enough for the holiday and costs less than buying a pint in London. 5 pack socks £2.50, bras from £2.50, T-shirts from £1.80. So it would cost less to dispose of than to pay for a launderette wash.

I keep my older undies (and some tshirts) for going on holiday and dispose of them along the way after giving them a wee rinse out.

I have never in my life done laundry on holiday and my parents never did either. It honestly didn't occur to me that people would. I know everyone is different it's just one of those things you assume everyone is the same as you. I also rarely cook on holiday - even in self catered accommodation I only use the facilities for breakfast and then get lunch and dinner out.

I always find a way to wash clothes on a two week holiday. I'd pack / decant travel wash at the very least.

If I knew there was no chance of being able to wash I was going abroad I'd still only take 10 days worth. I have 4 kids so I'd need to do 6-7 loads of washing on my return at the very least.

However I was taking my car I'd fill my boots. Everyone of us even the kids have at least 14 outfits and over 20 sets of underwear ( except bras, I only have around 7-10).

I have mastered the art of hand washing and drying anywhere, at a festive two weeks ago i dried it on my bed. Wash one or two things at a time it will dry

Hill walking days - those long trousers that zip off to shorts, vest top, long sleeved shirt
Wild swimming days - cozzie, maxi dress, cardigan
Museums / boat - trousers and top / dress / short and top
Family days - whatever is comfy

How many nights will you be going out somewhere for dinner?

Two pairs of knickers per day but these can easily be handwashed. Four bras, also handwash. 7 socks, to be handwashed.

PJ's - presumably you're showering before bed so unless you sweat tons overnight two pairs.

You have a car. It won't matter if you over pack

If you're travelling on a train in the UK it simply isn't feasible to pack fourteen days worth of outfits plus spares for two adults and three kids, two of whom are toddler's.

Please tell me 4 pairs of pjs is a typo for 14 op? Or that is really gross.

I get you can't use a laundrette to wash clothes. But surely you can hand wash and tumble dry at the laundrette?

Please tell me 4 pairs of pjs is a typo for 14 op? Or that is really gross.

There are people who wear a fresh pair of pyjamas every single night? Now I really have heard it all.

Like the OP, we have always gone on 2 week holidays. Very often involving a flight. As a family of 4 we just don't own enough summer clothes to last us 2 weeks unless we had somehow magically got ALL the laundry done in advance and also had enough baggage allowance to pack it all. Even on Eurocamps holidays we've had to use the laundry half way through.

We have been away for 2 weeks before without a washing machine in the accom. but took 2 giant bags to the local launderette about 10 days in and got back a load of beautifully washed, dried and fragrant clothes. That was well worth the 20 or 30 euro it cost us and meant we weren't slaves to the washing machine the instant we got back.

Who goes 2 weeks without washing their beach towel??