How to manage your laundry whilst on your travels

You start to smell this horrible wowth coming from your backpack and you notice no one wants to sit next to you on the bus or talk to you in the hostel, this is called the smelly backpacker syndrome.

Don’t worry, there is a solution!

I like to call it: “laundry day”

The one day on my travels that I dedicate to the art of cloth washing.

It has to be done, no one likes a smelly backpacker,

It’s fine to wear items of clothing for 1,2,3 maybe pushing it at day 4, but there comes a point when you have to get it done.

Here are some tips for getting your laundry done on your travels:

Prepare a set of clothes to wear on Laundry day

It’s good to have a spare set of clothes that you will only wear on laundry day. If you don’t, then you’re either faced with a set of clothes that will stink out your backpack till the next laundry day or test the local police service with how long you can remain naked for in the Laundromat.

I like to use my swim shorts, flip flops and a football shirt for this day. Why? They are quick dry and wash themselves easily in the shower or sink, happy days!

Wash by hand?

You could if you travel light, wash your clothes by hand in a sink, shower or even a lake. If you plan to wash your clothes in a lake be sure to use bio Eco wash solution so it naturally breaks down and doesn’t harm the environment.

You can even buy a portable travel washing machine called a “Scrubba Wash Bag” that can double up as a laundry bag too! Worth checking out if you want to stick to a tight budget.

Laundromat, Self service laundry

(Located all around the world and can be an affordable option)

All over the world, it’s easy to locate laundromats where you can wash your clothes with the locals, normally it’s inexpensive and will take a couple of hours to wash and dry.

Many hostels will also have a laundry room for guests to use, they might even have a pick up, drop off service so you can spend your time exploring instead of waiting around.

It takes around 45 minutes to wash 2KG worth of clothes.

You can dry your clothes yourself if you purchase a portable pegless clothes line, they are cheap, light and easy to use in any room to dry your clothes.

This method requires a lot of waiting around, make sure you have a good book to read on your Kindle to kill time or arrange to wash your clothes with another traveler and arrange to have coffee while you wait, great way to meet someone.

You can also locate Laundromats that have coffee stores close by to help kill time.

One tip, many laundry mats will charge top dollar for washing powder, many supermarkets now sell one wash packers for cheap, see if it’s any cheaper they’re to purchase, might save you enough money to buy one beer in Vietnam, just saying.

Another top travel tip is to travel with your own eco laundry detergent that you can bring with you on your travels. I like the Green Company as the sheets are flat and easy to pack and bring with you, and they are also affordable.

Ironing??

Are you joking? Your backpacking, unless your a complete hipster who swears by keeping button downs in tip top crisps condition, skip the ironing, no one cares! You’re free from ironing! Embrace the world and use the time instead to discover more on your travels wohoo!

Dry cleaning

(Pick up and drop off service via Tuk Tuk, perfect!)

Want to spoil yourself? Imagine a world where you could call a number, tell them your location, they come and pick it up for free and drop it off for free for only £1 per a KG?

Welcome to Chiang Mai, Thailand my friends!

Isn’t this the most awesome thing ever for backpackers not wanting to worry about clean clothes and can outsource it to a company to free up time?

It’s the perfect situation for travellers. You can do it yourself for £0.50 at a laundry machine on the street in Thailand (Don’t forget you have to buy the powder too) but with the added convenience for a little extra, why not right?

(Great service with free pick up and delivery, means you can spend more time enjoying your travels)

I use Chaing Mai laundry service and it works a treat, they pick up from my room where I pay on the spot then it gets dropped off by my door the next day, super! More time to explore the temples.

There you go, many different solutions to your travel washing needs, I hope you found this post useful and feel free to post below I’m the comment section if you have anything else to add,Thank you for reading!