Laundry power in luggage?

No, except that you will have no need for it. One if raising clothes in a sink, it is the wrong soap. And, two, if using a laundry in Europe it is most likely the wrong soap. Three, if accidently spilled in your luggage, it is difficult to clean. It is a false economy, leave it at home.

We bought the very best soap in London. Much nicer and safer than ours. Leave it home as Frank advised.

Powdered laundry detergent only costs about 1 Euro at a self-service laundromat (generally enough in one box to do two separate loads of wash).

I definitely agree about not bringing Tide, and the other "must have" food items from home.

I have a lot of allergy problems with various soaps so I did take my own laundry detergent. I bought a travel size at home and reinforced the box with sturdy tape to be sure none spilled out of the corners of the box. It turned out well for me doing laundry in Spain.

So I'm new to packing light. I'm planning a trip at the end of May. What IS the best type of soap to buy or take along for "sink laundry"?

Regular powder laundry detergent that is intended for a washing machine is definitely not the way to go...if you need to convince yourself, try hand-washing a sink full of stuff with it at home, and you will see why!

I like Woolite. I buy it in the individual single-use size and take a few of those with me. Perfect amount for a sink full of laundry, gentle enough for all of my clothes and rinses out easily.

Also, do a search on this topic (in the upper right-hand box) and you will find a lot of different ideas from previous posts.

You want to carry a white powder loose in an unmarked ziplock bag? Gee, that shouldn't set off any alarms with TSA.

I hope we don't travel on the same day.

For the other question on best soap for handwashing....RS sells a concentrated liquid for that. Tide also makes individual packets specifically made for sink washing. I've seen them at Wal Mart.

We use a very few drops of CampSuds from REI. Biodegradable and designed for the backpacking crowd. And that is exactly what you are doing when washing with limited water in a sink.

The shampoo or body wash supplied in many hotels also works very well.

I second Jeff's suggestion. We bring a bottle of shampoo anyways as we're staying in appartments that don't supply this. One bottle for a family of 4 in our luggage is not a problem, especially if it can double as laundry soap.

If I have access to a washer I buy laundry detergent locally. It is most likely a front loader so regular detergent from Northamerica doesn't work and HE detergent is actually cheaper in Europe.

I always like it when the hotel toiletries include Woolite packets! And if you're nice to the HSKPers they'll give you extra!:-)
I also like the "Forever New" powder soap. It's kind of like a talc. I have sensitive skin just as Marilyn described. This stuff is pretty mild.

Even though it is just soap...It's probably best to keep it in it's container. It could be mistaken for something else as others have indicated...

I have a 3 oz. bottle from Wal-Mart ($.50) that I fill with super concentrated ALL Free and Clear. It only takes about 2 drops per sinkful of clothes. I usually have quite a bit left over at the end of my trip. It's allergy free and fits in my quart ziplock bag in my carry on.

Walmart and Target has Tide and woolite in a packet.. just for sink use. They look like shout wipes. I brought a 3 pack and they take up no room in the carry on zip lock 3 qt bag