Family trip, travelling light, laundry...

The fact that you have four times as much laundry as some travelers makes you a perfect candidate to use local laundromats. They're pretty widely available and some change only a few coins more to do it for you. That's different from the high rates a fancy hotel might charge. Rick's guidebooks usually list one in almost every location as well as hotels can tell you what's closest. I don't skimp on skivvies - e.g., I'd rather carry 7 than 3.

We travelled with our 2 boys for 2 weeks last year. We each had a carry on bag. We did laundry one time mid trip. We were in Italy and found a laundromat near out hotel in Sienna. We let the kids sleep in one morning threw the wash in had coffee on the plaza, threw the wash in the dryer walked around a bit and then grabbed it folded it and began our day. We did similar in Bruges this year. Just used a self Laundry wasn't too expensive, and any cost is worth more than dragging big bags onto trains or over cobblestones to the hotel. It helps to have a plastic bag for each person packed in case you have to walk a bit to the laundry. We did a bit of light sink washing in between when we were in a room for a few days to allow drying.

Thanks.

I admit I'm not used to travelling with the small bag--after years of tons of kid-stuff, which masked my "let's throw it in just in case packing philosophy". But it seems like a "full size" carry one pp is enough for several days, with good planning.

You can fit a decent amount of lightweight clothing in a carry on so it's not like you have to do laundry every day. I can usually go a week. Example, if you pack 6 pairs underwear, 5 shirts and 3 pants plus what you are wearing - that gets you about a week of clean clothes, then find a laundromat or other solution.

One solution is book an apartment or airbnb with a washing machine for at least 2 nights in the middle of the trip. 2 nights because these don't always have a good dryer - the clothes are clean but have to hang to dry. Another is just to find a laundromat. A final one is to have each person do their own laundry every 3-4 days.

Quick dry underwear and shirts are immensely helpful. My sons are not yet teens but they have quick dry underwear from target (my husband has the pricier ex-officio brand) and athletic type shirts that are quick dry. Toss a two shirts and two underwear in a big ziplock with some soap, wash, squeeze dry in a towel, hang over the shower and it's dry the next day.

Four people, each doing their own laundry management should be no more burden than one or two people - unless they're expecting mom to do it all.
Take a empty soft duffle bag (in your carryon) and use that as a dirty laundry bag until you have time to do laundry. You can check it on the way home with clothes and things to make room for souvenirs in your carryons.

It sounds like they are worried about space with all that hand-washed laundry drip-drying in a hotel room. That can indeed be a problem. Maybe do underwear, etc. in shifts---two peeps one night, theother two the next.

And then after 6-7 days you will need a laundromat for larger items. This is one of the areas where Rick's books shine----they almost always mention laundromats, even in the small towns, if the town is in the book.

I recommend investing in quick drying underwear for the entire family....check Amazon...that way everyone can wear one pack two....and creates space for at least 2-3 more T-shirts etc same goes for socks wear 1 pack 2.

Yes, you will find laundry places along the way...but think of this...not everyone will wash and dry at the hotel each day...one person can do two days of clothing, t-shirts socks each night and rotate nights so you never have more than 4-6 garments drying...you should be able to pack lightly and really just need to do laundry every 5-7 days or so.

Small to medium microfiber gym towels are geat for absorbing moisture when you roll clothing up in them to dry a bit, then hang dry...

Have fun!

Thanks for all the great ideas. I will certainly check the England and Ireland books for laudromats at our destinations. We have a place in the Cotswolds for four nights, so that will help a lot, but even if we leave there with everything clean, it only gets dirty again!

Here is our system (we're a family of 4 with 2 teens): everyone has a small suitcase. We do laundry every week or so. In England, we have been quite successful in finding someone to wash our laundry for us while we sightsee. It has not been expensive. RS guidebook suggestions have been quite helpful.

For washing in the room, I prefer doing it the night we arrive so there is time for things to dry. After it's done dripping, I stretch laundry out on top of suitcases. If the bathroom has one of those warm towel bars, clothes dry well on that. Otherwise, clothes dry better out of the bathroom.

We have used laundromats as well, and if you go early, you can finish while the kids sleep in.

Travel light. It is so much easier to get around!

JoAnne, we're only two of us but we hit a laundromat at least once if not twice on our 3-week trips. Yep, we sink wash to an extent too but drying can be a challenge in climates that are humid/damp to begin with, and in hotels with no AC to take the moisture out of the air. Quick-drying fabrics help a lot but there's nothing like re-loading the bags with clean, completely DRY (!!!) clothes. We both refuse to give up our denims for the sake of laundry so access to a dryer is very nice when they need a spiff-up.

LOL, we've met some interesting travelers and locals while washing clothes so we look at it as part of the adventure!

This is a great opportunity to teach your kids how to travel. That includes managing their own stuff, and keeping their own clothes clean.

Don't just shove a worn item in the dirty clothes bag. Hang it up and let it air out. What seems dirty now will look a lot cleaner when you drop ice cream down a different shirt.

Take a large 2 or 3 gallon zip bag for sink laundry. Sometimes a sink stopper won't work, or the sink won't drain well.

It's one thing to wash everyone's underwear together in a machine. Completely different when you're swishing it around with your hands. Everyone should do their own undies. I mean, jeez.

If the kids aren't yet using deodorant/anti-perspirant, now's the time to start.

If anyone balks at taking a small bag, have them pack a full bag and walk a mile with it. Up and down stairs and hills. Emphasize that if they pack it, they carry it.

They should each have their own daybag, backpack, whatever. Mom should not be the pack mule. Snacks, water, entertainment, sweater, spending money, etc. should all be theirs to manage.

I took my girls to Europe when they were 12 and 15. They learned how to plan, read maps, figure out transportation, and pack. They got a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that they could do it. Invaluable.

If kids had own hotel room, they can wash and hang dry their own stuff. If four in a single room, that would be too much to sink wash and hang dry.

What i have done is do laundry while eating dinner with my family of four. We find a laundromat and a nice restaurant nearby. We pop in the wash and we go to the restaurant. About 20 minutes into dinner, i duck out of the meal and transfer the wash into the dryer and set for about an hour. After dinner, we pick up the clean laundry and go back to our hotel.

It is still adviseable to pack only 3-4 days of clothes instead of 5-7 days and do smaller load more frequently. If you pack more, you obviously carry more and may exceed carry on limits. Also, with more clothes, you have to do more loads at any one time. It can sometimes be difficult to find more than one available machine at busy laundromats.

Pack strategically. Pants (that is, trousers/jeans) really don't get dirty. Wear one pair and bring a spare. Shirts? Two plus a spare. Have everyone bring one sweater, fleece, or hoodie that goes with everything else they bring. Ladies (heck, guys, too) bring a "pashmina" or other large, lightweight scarf. However--bring lots of socks and plenty of underpants.

Bring a bottle of Febreze. They sell travel size, you could each carry one. And yeah, get some laundry pods, the kind that are good for any kind of washer, throw them in a ziploc back with a few dryer sheets, and make a plan to drop everything at a laundromat mid-trip. So what if it costs a bit? It's worth it to not waste part of your vacation doing laundry.

I routinely do a week in Europe with a carryon--and that's winter, with bulkier clothes.

Pants don't get dirty??? Where do you travel, I want to live there! I am always surprised at what I apparently spilled or stepped in.

I like the alternating method for sink laundry. I also drape wet but not dripping clothing over a giant baggie on top of my carryon.

Perhaps bring 2 of those chamois/ micro fibre tiny towels that swimmers seem to wear. Use these to wring most of the water out of your clothing after washing. As mentioned, bathroom isn't the best place to dry things. I may hang them up on a hanger in the bathroom overnight, but during the day, I move them where they can get some air flow. I also thought the 2 people washing per day option might help with too much dampness in a room. Also bring several extra, extra large double ziptop plastic bags (like from the Dollar Store) and some concentrated laundry liquid. Add warm water and the soap to a bag and the clothes, zip, squelch around and place in the tub or shower during dinner. When back in the room, one at a time, squelch the bag some more, then carefully drain things into the sink for the rinsing part. It's kind of like the Scrubba, but $60.00 cheaper. https://thescrubba.com/pages/using-your-scrubba I bet your kids can find a 'home made' Scrubba on YouTube.
Wringing out a lot of moisture before hanging up will go a long way to reducing the dripping while drying, and letting things soak in a bag means less sink dripping (hopefully). But, also give yourself permission to get someone else to do a big load at least once - particularly if jeans are involved.

We are a family of 4 and travel 35 days in Europe mainly by train. We had 1 carry on each. I washed cloths at a laundromat once a week. I loved it. I've had the best conversations with locals and other travelers at laundromats. I know hand washing cloths in hotel sinks is a really popular method. I mean I love my husband and kids but I have no desire to hand wash their socks & undies in a hotel sink at night after a day of sightseeing.

I agree with jehb2 that laundromats can be enjoyable. Most all my experiences in laundromats I either met nice, friendly locals or other English-speaking travelers and had fun conversations. One time we took group photos of us all. Can be fun.

If you will have a rental car, I've found that the back window of the rental car can be a great place to dry clothes. (Remember, you won't ever see the people in the other cars again, so who cares if someone sees your underwear.)

I've taken one of those stain remover pens, in case someone spills food in a restaurant and you want to get it out right away.

I would feel that it's rude to dry clothes in a hotel room - it would be bad for the flooring to have wet clothes dripping on it. Start off in the bathroom, then move clothes elsewhere when they aren't dripping.

Mostly, we just try to not get clothes dirty (we've been lucky enough not to have to travel when it's really hot), then wash only what we have to.

jehb2, unless the child is too young to reach the sink, hubby and kid(s) should be sinkwashing their own "delicates". Good survival skill.

Zoe, I've watched my kids learn to navagate foreign laundromats. Definitely a learning experience. But more importantly I've watched them have in depth extended conversations with people who have traveled to all other parts of the world and people who who live right there in the neighborhood. As much as we travel, this kind of opportunity doesn't always present itself. I love watching my kids talk and interact with people who don't necessarily share their language. That's a life experience for them that I wouldn't change for anything.

In my earlier traveling days I had a lot of 5-day stints in London. Getting clothing to dry there was a problem because of the
humidity and often cool temperatures. If I were traveling with a family, I'd definitely be looking for an outside-the-room option that included a dryer. I don't bother carrying a laundry line with me anymore, but I'd make room for one if traveling with a family, as a form of insurance.

jehb2, you are right. I was only addressing the idea that you were responsible for all the sinkwashing.

Hello, I good planning is necessary.

I pack two plastic tubular hangers and one clip-top pants hanger for drying clothes overnight as needed in between weekly laundromat stops (or in apartments with washer but no dryer.) And I do no one else's sink wash. Ever.

I've traveled with 3 kids, 2 kids, 1 kid, just my husband and I and by myself. When it's just my husband and I we do mostly sink wash, but make it to a laundry mat every couple of weeks. When traveling with kids I plan to go to a laundromat weekly. It's always an adventure. Before our trip I see if I can locate which towns have easily accessible laundry.

You have been given a lot of great advice. One thing I would add is to make certain everyone brings pants and shirts that do not need to be laundered with every wearing. I wear my jeans 3 days when we travel, for example. I take only black pants as a relief from the jeans and for "dress-up." I never take white, pink, or other light-colored tops as I usually plan on wearing each twice before washing, if I can. That way, I can go without doing laundry as long as a week. I do wash undies & socks every few days (maybe every 4th night if we do not have a washer) so that we do not run short.

I agree: the laundromat experience is a good one. Watch for the machines that add soap for you so you don't double up. Also, the folks who do it for you are not expensive. We had a 20" suitcase full done in Assisi last month -- wash, dry, fold -- for €15.00. Well worth it as we had the day to explore. And she did it according to my instructions: all cold, hang my jeans to dry, etc. OTOH, I washed my skivvies in the sink.

I'm not a particularly light packer but will admit to 'sniff testing' many clothes on a trip and if they did not offend my sensitive nose, putting them in the pile to be just worn again. Underpants and socks are single use before washing, but everything else is negotiable.