Washing clothes along way

I pack a silicone travel bottle with some laundry detergent when I travel with my family, along with a light-weight clothes line. We wash our things in the bathroom or kitchenette sink in the morning and everything is dry by the evening or next morning. When I travel solo, I carry Woolight soap packets. Going to a laundromat is expensive and time consuming.

wash them when you take a shower

I take a reinforced 2 gal ziplock bag and use that for my washing machine. I use the hotel's shampoo or body wash and wash as I go. I know many think this is yucky but I've gone up to 8 weeks doing this and it works for me. I do wear my jeans/capris/pants for 3 or 4 or 5 days before I wash and generally don't wash pants the night before I am scheduled to move to a new location. I also only take clothes that have some polyester (including jeans) so they dry overnight.

There are also launderettes in Dublin. If you put your hotel into google you can probably find one nearby. They may have drop off service (more expensive) where you can take your clothes in around 8A and pick them up in the afternoon.

I often wash and dry in my lodging especially if staying some where 2-3 nights. I pack a sink plug/ detergent in zip lock bag or container/ a compact drying line and some Japanese style clothes pins that easily attach to anything and keep your clothes from flying off your balcony. Also, on line you can order plastic hangars that fold small but help speed up the drying process. Recently in budget rooms in Greece, I had a drying rack on the balcony. In Europe I also have used do it yourself laundry mats- you need LOTS of coins!
In ASIA I have used the inexpensive laundry services. Often there is a tiny colored thread sewn into the garment to identify which clothes came from which customer- VERY cheap and presented in a few hours with ironed underwear.

I used a travel clothes line and rinsed things as needed. Of course, I don't do heavy duty down and dirty traveling so I never had to scrub anything clean.
Some hotels offer laundry service, some tour travelers find a launderette and make a group outing of it, and some, like me, hand wash in room. Then again, you could buy a new exciting wardrobe and toss the old one.
I left an outfit in Rome because I needed room in my suitcase for the trip home. haha

Thank you all for the great suggestions.

The Rick Steves velcro-equipped stretchable clothesline is the greatest travel invention of our time, IMO. It has made it possible to wash & dry in the room without high levels of guilt for getting water all over the place.

The powdered detergent called Forever New works great; I learned of it through this website.

I usually do a wash as soon as we check into lodgings in the afternoon/evening, provided we're staying there for at least 2 nights. Oh, and watch out for leaky showers! Obviously your clothes won't dry if they're getting dripped on all night!

Everyone has their own comfort/cost levels. I don't mind a little sink laundry, but if I was wanting everything fresh and ready to go for my next destination I would either
1) Just send it out through the hotel, usually pretty reasonable and definitely convenient
2) Find a nearby Launderette.

My favorite things for in-room laundry are 1. a pack of dry laundry detergent sheets from REI 2. A two-gallon zip lock bag and 3. a synthetic chamois.

The laundry detergent is enough for a dozen full washes. It's about the same size as a box of matches, costs about $3, weighs nothing and doesn't need to be part of your liquids for TSA.

The zip lock bag is my portable washing machine. I can put the clothes and soap in there and agitate without getting water everywhere. I wash, drain, then rinse and drain. Repeat the rinsing until the water coming out is clear.

The chamois is ideal for wringing out the clothes before I hang dry them. When it's wet, wring it out and keep using it. When you're done with your laundry, wring the chamois and hang-dry that too.

I do this for socks and underwear (plus maybe a tee shirt) daily. Every ten days to two weeks, I stop at a laundromat and wash everything.

Personally I don't waste much time washing anything other than underwear and that gets done in the sink and hung. I use quick drying stuff from ExOfficio and only pack three changes. everything else gets cleaned by the hotel service, or packed away and shipped home. I buy socks at the Euro Stores and throw them away. Other clothes I pick up as I wander. I'll go 2-3 weeks with just an overnight bag. Clothes are cheap; time spent cleaning them is expensive.

Appreciate all the suggestions.

In Dublin, we found Mr. Tubs laundry. http://www.paxad.ie/mrtubs. We took two bags of clothes in, paid 10Euro and came back in 3 hours. Washed and folded.

Rent an apartment on Airbnb with a washing machine. I just stayed 3 1/2 weeks in Scotland/Ireland/Northern Ireland, and we only rented apartments/homes with a washing machine in every one.

Make sure you take note of Pam's advice to NOT wash pants (or any slow-drying clothes) the night before a travel day. And beware of dryers that seem to only have settings for "hot" and "really hot"

Sometimes comfort and convenience outweigh the minimal cost savings of trying to do things on the cheap.
Do it the easy way and follow John's advice above - pay a few Euros to have it done while you're out and about enjoying your day, then pick it up clean, folded, and ready to go on your return in the afternoon.

The one thing I’d especially like to sink wash along the way is cotton socks. But they always seem to dry “crunchy”...rough and scratchy. Any tips? Thanks
Our hotel in Eger, Hungary sent out laundry for us. It was returned beautifully folded and perfectly clean, but the scent of the detergent was almost overwhelming and lingered for quite some time. At home I purchase scent free everything so I know I’m sensitive in that department.

To Denny:
One should never buy cotton socks. It is "rough and scratchy" by the nature of the material. It does not wick away moisture nor dries quickly. Everyone's feet sweat on average 1/4 cup daily.
Buy wool or synthetic material that wicks moisture and dry quickly (like at REI or LL Bean). I usually rinse out the socks in the hotel sink in the evening, roll them up in a bath towel to absorb more water, hang them up overnight. They are always dry the next morning.
To Barb:
Another alternative is to buy disposable underwear and socks. Magellan has them.
Or pack older underwear, socks, tee-shirts, etc that you were about to be thrown out anyway. Wear on your trip then toss.

I don't pack detergent, but use the hotel shampoo which I learned on one of the RS travel videos.

One advice (and I didn't see it above - sorry if someone already said this): After rinsing and pressing out as much water as possible, roll it in a towel and wring it, then unroll it and hang it to dry. See https://www.onebag.com/travel-laundry.html for a better explanation.

Thank you for the tips. I did buy some $$$ wool socks after reading this forum, and each pair cost more than my dozen Target crew socks. I didn’t like them at first, but have come to see the value. The answer I guess is to invest in more for our trips. We walk several miles daily when we travel, and sometimes my cotton socks could literally become drenched. I’ll also try the shampoo (I always just grabbed the bar of soap) and towel rolling. As I grow older, my feet have overtaken my brainstem in terms of temperature regulation and energy distribution. It will pay to keep them happy. Thanks again!