What is your laundry philosophy?

If renting an apt, it would have a washing machine. Probably no dryer.
Staying in hotels, I look around the area for a dry, fold service laundry. If there are none, I cringe and then pay the hotel to do the laundry. In Asia it was very cheap.
In Buenos Aires those wash, dry, fold places were omnipresent. You see them frequently in Italy too.
I have only gone to a laundromat once in many years of traveling and we had lunch nearby while doing that.
I always carry supplies for doing hand laundry too, blow up hangars, concentrated camping liquid soap, little hooks.

The longest trip I take is 10 days. I can roll blouses so tightly w/o wrinkles that I bring enough for one per day. Underwear & socks can be packed tightly. I have the hotel launder my slacks 1/2 way through the trip. I don’t do laundry while in Europe.

I stay in Air BnBs way more often than hotels and I like to find Air BnBs with a washing machine at least in the building. I try to pack very light and I tend to wear the same things over and over, so if I can do one load even during a five or six day trip, I'm good. I don't wear socks ever unless I am hiking or it is bitterly cold, so often I don't take any socks at all on a trip. If I do take socks, I will usually wear them more than once. Europe is also where I learned to love the drying rack and I now own one that i use in warm, dry weather. I don't mind doing a load in early in the morning and leaving it to dry all day while I'm out.
I also usually carry a tiny bottle of laundry detergent and a couple of plastic hanging clips for hand washing quick dry things like leggings, t-shirts, underwear etc. if I don't have access to laundry.

And do you know about Laundry Detergent Sheets?. They are a truly genius invention.

Search the forum for "Scrubba" and you'll see where I've sung the praises of this wash bag several times. 😉

I take enough clothes that I only need to do laundry every 2 weeks or less frequently. I am on holiday and don’t want to be doing washing every few days or even weekly. We check one large bag (20 kgs) between the two of us - not a problem to lift this and we always hire a car.

I always stay in cottages with a washing machine, not hotels.

I don’t check luggage and pack four outfits and wear the fifth. I bring enough powder pods and Shout Color Catcher so I can wash both whites and darks together and have never had a problem. Stuff I handwash goes in the shower with me where I soap it up then stomp on it.

I stay where I want and if I’m at an AirBnB I request a washer and hangers. If I’m at a hotel I check to see if there’s a washer which there usually isn’t so I find a laundromat in the neighborhood. Sometimes I do it myself or drop it off.

What is your laundry philosophy?

I am a devoted Stoic.

After several long trips (6 to 10 weeks) we have found we are able to do laundry every 5 or 6 days so we have reduced the number of socks and undies accordingly, as well as shirts that can be worn multiple times (wool tees). I wear jeans for many days as I often have them on only for dinners out or the occasional sightseeing day as I wear hiking pants most of the time as we are, um, hiking.

Our preference is to stay in apartments for longish stays (from a week to a month) and rarely have more then 3 to 5 sequential nights in hotels, so we can pack light but not run out of clothes before we have access to laundry.

BTW, I love laundry sheets and get mine from EarthBreeze. Game changer both at home and traveling due to reduced weight and wasteful packaging.

I'm not a minimalist, almost always check a bag (24/25"), and am usually away a month or more, and stay in hotels or B&Bs. So yes, I do laundry. I've been using laundry detergent sheets for several years, and 1/4 sheet is just right for a sink load of lingerie and socks. I rarely wash out anything else, myself unless I have to. Otherwise I use a laundromat or wash/dry/fold service.

Oh my, we have taken carry-on luggage only for 25 years. I take 4 tops (wear the 5th), 4 undies, quick dry pjs, wear one pair of washable Columbia long pants or capris, depending on weather, take another pair of Columbia capris (or wear/take jeans if traveling in chilly weather). I take khaki & black bottoms and everything goes. I have never, ever, had a washer in a place of lodging, nor have I ever, ever, went to a laudromat or left laundry to be washed & folded. We generally travel 3 full weeks.

That being said, we are planning a 6-weeker, and I expect I will take laundry to a drop off place and pick it up at the end of the day or next day for the very first time! Sometimes washing out in the sink or tub gets old---but I would never check a large bag. Having carry-on is just too free-ing. Now we do often check the carry on for the return flight home, as I usually don't care if it's late arriving, we can go back to the airport and get it.

@cerastez. I did not know about detergent sheets. Brilliant! I will get some of these for my next trip (I am leaving for Denmark Wednesday and already have my empty little Dr. Bronner's bottle filled with laundry detergent).

We have always just washed our laundry in the hotel sink unless we happen to be at an apartment for a few days during the trip. In that case, we run a couple of loads and wash everything. Those trips were 17-23 days.

When I travel solo (21-26 days), I don’t stay in apartments, so the entire trip is just sink washing. I pack the lightest weight, fastest drying outfits that still look good on me. Sleeveless dresses can usually be worn 2-3 times, pants or capris 2-3 times, everything else is washed after one wearing. For solo travel, there’s plenty of space in bathrooms for that night’s wash on the towel bar and/or over the shower door, and since I do five minutes of wash each night, it’s no big deal. If a place doesn’t have a sink stopper, I just scrub it with my hands and rinse it, knowing it will be washed better after the next wearing. I roll each item in a towel and holding a tight squeeze for 15 seconds takes out most of the water. If an item for some reason isn’t 100 percent dry when I am taking the train, I just fold it nicely into a gallon Ziploc bag and hang it up at the next hotel a couple of hours later. It’s all an easy process and keeps my suitcase down to four outfits.

For washing, I either use some of the provided hotel shampoo or bath gel, or I bring the Earth Breeze detergent sheets (similar to a dryer sheet) and tear off a quarter sheet.

Our washing machine at home decided to have a huge malfunction last week, throwing water all over our floor & using hot water instead of the cold setting! I am flying to Italy this Friday, so I jokingly have been feeling like my daily sink washing at home is part of this trip preparation! LOL! (The new washer arrives the day I leave, so my husband will be fine.)

I try to make sure one or two of my accommodations have laundry facilities, and I try to do laundry a couple of times during a 3-week trip. I sometimes do a few things in a hotel sink when necessary, and hang them to dry--either in the bath or shower stall or on the heated towel rack (if there is one). I use laundry soap sheets, which are light and easy to bring along. I usually bring enough clothes to go at least 6 days without doing laundry.

I travel with a small (under seater size) carry on only. I can't imagine ever going back to larger luggage on a regular basis. Occasionally, I attend an event where I have to bring costumes or bedding, and then I have to bring a larger bag and check it, but that's the only time.

Sink washing. We do a sinkful every 3 or 4 days, depending on the weather. We bring enough undies for 4 - 5 days, and mix-and-match tops and pants.

Trick I learned while bicycle touring: step into the shower wearing your skin layer. Soap up the nasty bits, wash hair, peel off of the clothing items, and throughly rinse them. Wet stuff gets rolled up in towels to prevent squeezing/wringing, hang up with elastic clothes line, hopefully in moving air to promote drying, Everything else is washed in the sink as needed. However, I will try hard to locate a guest machine in hotels or nearby launderette and make a quick dash whenever possible. After experimentation, I found laundry aids like scrubbing bags to be insanely goofy. Easier to just get wet.

My travel present to myself this summer was my very own sink stopper, so my sink washing is no longer limited by the size of a zip bag. Now I can wash my new super lightweight nurse's pants - another summer travel present to myself - in any sink.

Usually I won't wash things on the night before departure, but I like Jean's method of stuffing the small, still-wet stuff into a bag and letting it finish drying at the next stop.

When travelling with my wife ~3 weeks we just found a local laundromat.

For my bike travel, I usually take three complete kits (shorts/jersey/gloves/cap/etc.) that must be washed between wearings. Really. I do them in the bathtub, roll in a towel and walk on the rolled towel, then hang dry. This technique is adaptable for street wear.

We are a family of 4 and we typically rent apartments with washers. Sometimes there is also a dryer, most of the time there is just a drying rack. But the size of European washers means that every day we (4 people) wear about a load of laundry. So if we have a washer, we run it before we leave in the morning, washing the previous day’s clothes. If it’s a washer/dryer combo, it’s (mostly) dry when we return and we hang anything that’s still a little damp. We typically travel for 3 weeks at a time, and pack about 6 outfits each. If we’re moving around and have a few days where we won’t have access to a washer, we bring enough outfits to get us through that stretch. Before traveling with kids, we have dropped off laundry at a fluff and fold, and also used self-service laundromats. I’ve also washed in the sink and use the towel warmers to dry the clothes.

I always rent apartments with washing machines.
My three criteria for vac rentals are strong WiFi, a working machine and a little terrace or balcony.
I hang some of my clothes to dry at home, so don’t miss a dryer when I’m away.
Laundry sheets are amazing.
We use Tru Earth, made in Canada!

If I do stay in a hostel on a trip, that hostel will have laundry facilities, as does Wombats in Vienna. I bring enough laundry, ie socks, underclothes, to last me for a few weeks. Apartments and Air B&B are not options, so I do some laundry in the hotel sink.

I time the trip so when I accumulate a large load, literally down a couple of clean pieces left, I will be in Berlin where the Pension will do this load for me. The cost 4,5 Euro. The price has not changed since 2009. In Paris from my hotel in Gare du Nord is a coin laundry facility a few blocks away.

Really. I do them in the bathtub, roll in a towel and walk on the rolled towel, then hang dry.

Totally workable scheme: convenient and quick. Been showering in my skin layers for decades (don't tour on my bike any longer). Another thing bike touring taught me was how to pack more lightly than I thought possible.

I'm with the sink washers - I bring 4-5 prs of underwear and wash any pants/tops that need it, then roll it up in a towel, walk on it and let it air dry. If by chance I stay in a place with a washer, I will use that to wash everything.

Jean, I've gotten in the habit of bringing along a flat sink stopper for those places that don't have one built in. It takes up very little space and allows me to use the sink for washing (mostly places I stay in don't have a bathtub).

For a two week trip, I'll pack for one week and assume at least one laundry day. Pants and shirts are for multiple days. Extra space goes for more t-shirts and underwear. I'll pay for a hotel to do mine, or a drop off service. I don't do sink wash anymore unless I have to.

I guess I'm an outlier since I've never done laundry in Europe. We take enough underwear, socks, and shirts to have clean every day and wear slacks multiple days. Sometimes we check a 24 inch suitcase each, other times we carry on smaller ones but it all fits. Our trips top out at just over two weeks because we don't like being away longer than that, so it works for us.

We go for 5 weeks, take very few clothes, used to go carry-on only until we recently got old and decrepit and needed just a bit more space for boring medical things, can't use any soaps or detergents with scent or harsh chemicals so we take our own laundry soap (will try sheets on our next trip), travel mostly in winter or early spring so we have layers, and I really don't enjoy sink-washing or wearing clothes twice. I don't think of myself as a clean freak, but maybe I am when traveling. So we use the washers in our airbnb apartments and do our laundry every other day. I do miss having a real dryer, but we do OK.

When staying in hotels we’ve done sink washing. I have packed a light weight microfiber towel to roll a garment to get excess water out before hanging clothes. I recall buying a flat sink stopper years ago at the RS Travel Center but never had to use it! If staying in an apartment we have used the washer. Funny story- when we were in Prague my husband had the hotel launder his jeans. When we returned at the end of the afternoon we walked in our room to see the jeans hanging from an open window. ;) Apparently the hotel dryer was not functioning. No problem, the warm air from the window dried the jeans by late evening.

I like to have a week's worth of clothes (7 pairs of underwear and enough to mix and match shirts/skirts) and do laundry at the laundromat weekly. I don't mind taking time out to go to the local one. Usually, we are the only tourists, so I sit with the locals and talk while I do my laundry. On the next trip, I am considering a fluff and fold service if they are easy to find.

I usually carry 3 changes (fewer pants) plus what I am wearing and usually sink wash every couple of days so the amount of any hanging wet clothes is very manageable at any one time (usually in the closet after they stop dripping). Most of my travel clothes are quick dry synthetics, except for cotton socks. 30 seconds over the hair dryer in the morning will get them toasty dry. I don't like packing or carrying dirty or wet clothes. A few years ago I went on the Mediterranean cruise and the sink was the size of small serving bowl. In order to wash clothes I just jumped in the shower fully clothed and just lathered up and peeled off to rinse.

I am a man-solo traveler. I travel with one to two changes of clothes. I handwash clothes in the sink every night or every other night of a trip. I try to squeeze excess water out with a towel. Maybe I am being too obsessive-compulsive compared to other travelers. I have stayed in both hostels and typical hotels. I try to let my clothes dry overnight. If they don't dry overnight, they air-dry while I wear them.

We pack light, don’t do laundry except in the hotel sink & have a travel inside clothesline. Soap sheets are great as are spot clean stains -

I take 2 pair of quick dry underwear

also we travel in October when it's not so hot & sweaty

https://www.amazon.com/Tide-Instant-Stain-Remover-Liquid/dp/B01C3NAT16/ref=asc_df_B01C3NAT16/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309763807560&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=139140452087820139&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029371&hvtargid=pla-338416449002&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=travel+laundry+soap+sheets+for+sink+washing&i=hpc&crid=8UUI1H5KTIJW&sprefix=travellaundry+soap+sheets%2Chpc%2C594&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_25

My philosophy is “try not to stink.”

I will do sink washing, laundromat, or professional laundry service depending on my location and time needs. Sink washing is ok for one or two items if I am staying at least two nights. Laundromat is great when I’ve got an hour or two. Great opportunity to meet and interact with locals. Professional clean/fold when I’d rather spend my time out and about. There is something somewhat thrilling about leaving a big bag of laundry off, enjoying my day, and coming back to a neat stack of laundry folded and ready to go.

My trips are usually 10-14 days. I mostly do sink laundry every couple of days. I travel a lot in Germany, and I have a few friends there that I usually stay with for a few days, and they let me use their washers. On rare occasions, usually when I’m not going to be staying with friends and start to think that my sink washed clothes aren’t clean enough anymore, I will find a laundromat. That can be fun when it is one that locals use, and you can chat with people, and get a glimpse of normal daily life there.

We pack for a week. We do sink washing, laundries with folding service or use our hotel’s laundry service. Our trips are averaging 4 to 6 weeks.

Let's see...In 2017, I washed socks and undies in a sink at my B&B. There was a drying rack (spinner type) right above the sink so things could drip-dry. However, I found it to be such a PITA to wash them that the next year, I went back to washing them in the shower, one or two items a day. As far as being stinky goes, in 2018 I had a particularly stinky outfit. My landlady at the B&B kindly offered to throw items into her washer for me. So I took her up on it and had at least one non-stinky outfit to wear home. This year I am staying at a B&B and then an Airbnb, which will have a washer.

I think OP is traveling but since this thread is still going, Sandra’s comment made me think of a key point.

“As far as being stinky goes, in 2018 I had a particularly stinky outfit.”

A few years ago I took a new Lands End athletic shirt with me. I’d worn it a time or 2 at home and thought it would be Ok. HOWEVER it turned out that fabric held on to odor and smelled even when I did not! Yuck. I can usually get 3 wearings out of a shirt but that one was one and done. I buried it at the bottom of the suitcase and it was banned from being on the travel team!

So…in addition to testing for quick dry qualities, test your travel wardrobe for odor-factor!

I mostly stay in AirBnB's, booked with laundry, and pack for a week.

But when I do expect to be doing laundry in a hotel sink I'm very careful to limit the cotton I pack & wear. Wools and synthetics dry SO much faster. (Especially when you haven't been able to spin the excess water out.)

(Especially when you haven't been able to spin the excess water out.)

I hope you know the towel trick as described by Doug Dyment in https://www.onebag.com/travel-laundry.html

We pack light, and have been packing even lighter as we get older. Aside from what I wear, I think I am down to 2 pants (could drop that to one, but too many years of planning triple redundancy in my career) and three shirts, then enough underwear and socks for 5-6 days.

We do try to stay at an apartment for a washing machine (Booking.com lets you include a washer in your search criteria) maybe once a week, but there are also nearly always modern laundromats to do a load, and dry them. Even if we have a washer available, we will take most clothes someplace to dry them.