sights uncovered
Travel with Tessa

Top 10 Tips
How to : Do Your Laundry and Travel Light

  1. The hotel’s laundry services may be costly. Laundromats and cleaners are sometimes difficult to find, and it’s not uncommon to find your laundry returned shrunken, stretched, misshapen or nicely packaged and still damp.
  2. To pack less, keep our clothing fresh and the laundering process quick and simple, we’ve developed a system of doing our laundry almost daily.
    1. a   I pack a small Tupperware of laundry powder. Powder vs. liquid for several reasons:
      It goes a long way; it does not spill and is allowed in your carry-on luggage; most underdeveloped countries use powder, and small packets are readily available in their markets should you need to replenish.
    2. b   I pack several pairs of thin surgical gloves to use when doing laundry. Without them, my hands get very dry and the skin cracks. One thing I don’t want is open cuts on my hands which can lead to an infection.
  3. We ask the hotel for two additional large towels, extra hangers, and a hair dryer if the bathroom doesn’t have one.
  4. We check out the bathroom and bedroom for places to hang laundry. Here you can get creative. Example: Bathroom rails, doorknobs, towel racks, handles on windows, standing coat racks, the clothes valet, etc.
  5. We identify the driest and warmest areas to hang our laundry. Example: A heated bathroom with warm towel racks a window where the sunshine floods the room.
  6. When we are in one place for two or more nights – it gives us a good amount of time for thicker items of clothing to dry. Everything can be washed in the bathroom sink. For some items, Stan may use the bathtub, but it’s hard on the back.
  7. Set to go! Fill the sink with water – add powder – not too much, the powdered stuff is concentrated and goes a long way. Wash and rinse the garments and squeeze out as much water as you can.
  8. Lay bath towel on the clean bathroom floor – you can also use the clean towel bathmat to wrap the clothes in —lay several items in the towel and roll it up. Stomp (with clean feet) on the towel. Flip it over and stomp again to get rid of as much moisture as possible.
  9. Hang up to dry. Using hangers lets the air circulate, and clothes dry more quickly. Use hangers with clips for socks and underwear.
  10. Take your hairdryer and with the item hanging on a hanger off the shower curtain rod or a towel rail, blow dry. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO WATER AROUND AND ALWAYS WEAR RUBBER SOLED SHOES TO BE SAFE.
    1. a   Don’t run the hairdryer for too long or you will burn it out.
    2. b   Do the drying part several times over the course of the next two days for a few minutes at a time.
    3. c   We take care to get ALL the water out during the stomping phase so that no water drips on the floors or carpets, and never put wet items on furniture.