Packing cubes and laundry
 

I'm getting better at one-carry on+personal item travel (unless very cold weather/special outdoor gear are involved). I recently did two 16-day trips with a rollaboard and personal item and still managed to bring back a few souvenirs.

I don't use packing cubes, but I do use ziplocks to help organize things. However, organization always starts to fall apart when it comes to laundry (things that won't get washed for a few days or until I get home - because there's no facility, no time to dry (very late arrival/early departure), too humid to dry...)

So for those who are really organized with packing cubes: how do you handle it?

I generally start out (like everyone) with a bag full of clean clothes. During the course of the trip, I have: clean clothes (unworn), 'clean' clothes (worn once, may wear again - a light overshirt, trousers), and 'dirty' clothes (not washed/won't be washed for reasons cited above).

I usually have an extra either packing cube or plastic bag, depending on what it is (socks and underwear for example go into a bag). It starts the trip empty, and slowly gets full of clothing that is for the wash. By the time it's full, another cube or bag is empty and ready to take more stuff.

If I have socks that are ready for the trash, or a tee shirt that I'll wear around the hotel that is ready to die (working for non profits, you have a never ending supply of event t-shirts), I'll bring those on a trip and toss them instead of bring them home to throw them out.

I pack two laundry nets (one for whites, one for colours). When I get home I can just grab the nets and chuck them directly in the washing machine. No fuss and no bother.

For me, it is just shifting contents among 3 tubes (med, small & slim) I used on a weeklong+ stay. For odor control in hot & humid climate, use doubled layer of plastic bags (gallon-sized ziplock bag will also do) as the soiled do "breathe" & leak ... Try not to zip close my softside luggage (as that would seal in the rich smell) or roller until it's time to checkout/leave.

eBag tubes are strong so it's used like a knapsack, stuff it & compact it, reshape to fit, etc. as it get fuller. In most Asia stops, we find a local wet laundry who charge by the pounds/liters for morning dropoff, neatly folded & ready to wear again with same evening pickup or next morning - costs are dirt cheap vs. paying hotel by the piece.

Old t-shirts & socks get worn one last time and tossed out, marked as garbage so that housekeeping won't chase us on checkout morning - make room for new purchases & souvenir t-shirts, etc. Outside & exterior flaps and pockets that aren't used on outbound travel now get stuffed with that cabin fleece & reading material, etc.

I can't stand carrying dirty clothes around and generally try to do hand laundry daily. If I'm in one location long enough to send laundry out I keep it in hotel plastic laundry bags, so it's separate from my clean items. Be sure to air items out overnight so you don't put damp clothing into a plastic bag.

Sometimes I pack a mesh laundry bag, useful for taking to a nearby laundry. I stayed at a high-end hotel in Bangkok one time, due to a great priceline rate (I'm normally a budget traveler). I found the hotel laundry could be accessed by anyone by walking around the back of the building. Their prices were waaay cheaper than sending laundry through the hotel. All over Asia it's very easy to find laundry ladies who will wash and fold everything overnight.

Thanks for all the input, folks! Believe it or not, this has been the biggest problem with trying to go 2+ weeks with a single bag. It ruins my packing strategy (like items together, all in the same place in the bag so I know where to find things). I think my biggest problems may have been not taking dedicated bags big enough to hold dirty laundry securely and not figuring out a dedicated 'laundry bin' area in my bag as the grotty stuff accumulates.

I have occasionally sent things out to a laundry (Asia) when it was cheap and the climate was too humid for me to handwash anything but small stuff and still get it dry.

One problem I have had (and seen) with most budget laundries is that they aren't always reliable with manmade fabrics. First time I ever sent laundry out was halfway through an Egypt trip. I got my sport bra back - ironed (and scorched). In India, a fellow traveller sent clothing out on very short (unreasonably, IMHO) notice. They clearly tried to iron it dry (the hotel obviously sent it out to a 'river' laundry). Unfortunately, they realized a moment too late that ironing a fleece top wasn't going to work...

This is why I never send underwear to a laundry, much as I hate all the handwashing. And I always tell them NO IRONING. Never had a problem yet. Knock wood.

Eagle Creek roll up heavy duty zip loc bags is what I use for the dirties, air tight and by rolling up you expel air to minimize volume.

http://www.ebags.com/product/eagle-c...ductid=1176684

When I get home I wash everything including the packing cubes (hang to dry, not in the dryer please). Then when everything is dry I repack the packing cubes for underwear choosing the color of the PC based on season of the year and business or casual.

I store these packed PC's in a dresser drawer all ready to go. Saves a lot of thinking at packing up time.

Based on previous bad experiences I never use drawers in hotel dressers. Just don't.

On trips I do a lot of washing out in hotel sinks and when the stuff is dry I either wear it or repack in the appropriate PCs.

I prefer Ebags brand packing cubes. Lighter and wash very well.

When I pack clothes in PCs I put an entire outfit into one PC (likely works better for a woman than for a man.

I follow one of two methods depending on the length of the trip or how messy the laundry is... but both revolve around the Eagle Creek 2-Sided packing cube.

Long Trip/Full Cube Method: As long as the laundry isn't too nasty, I just put the dirty/not to be worn again laundry back into it's place. I turn the dirty laundry a different direction from the clean so I know the difference. If the garment gets too bad, I put it inside a plastic grocery-type bag, then back into the cube.

Short Trip/Cube with Extra Space: The cube linked above has a "water resistant" side and a mesh side. I keep the clean laundry in the water resistant side, and switch the dirty over to the mesh side.

ziplocks or I just use the plastic laundry bags hanging in most hotel closets.

I put my dirty laundry in compression bags. I don't seal them up until I need to get everything back into the suitcase, but the ability to squeeze all the air out of them helps... got mine at Target in the travel section, not too expensive and comes in a couple of different sizes...

Ditto here. Whenever I'm going on a long trip I try to pack all my oldest undies/socks. Wear then once and throw them away. Added bonus? When I get home I have all new stuff.

I take my clothes organized into Rimowa shirt bags, which are made from the slippery interior lining material of the Rimowa cases. The are colour-coded, zippered, and compress or expand well, as needed. They pack fast when on the run, and very well.

Laundry:
Unfortunately, this include a suit, slacks, tie and shirt. Sometime two sets. Casual clothes are a rarity. So those items have to be dry cleaned during any business travel. I try and negotiate something with the laundry service of my hotel. In some countries, the actual stated time in and out is hardly the reality. There have been occasions where, after checking out in the morning, I almost missed my connecting flight while waiting for my late dry cleaning to arrive.

Personal laundry I do myself. I do not like to collect or travel with laundry that needs to be cleaned. It is un-hygienic, and could be anti-business. So included in my travel kit is a medium sized zip bag of Persil-Vernel laundry soap, which indirectly gives the luggage a little clean fragrance.

As mentioned above, most hotels offer washing machines today. So grab your clothes and zip-locked soap, take your tablet or laptop, and go do your own laundry. As I sometimes am working a straight 10-13 hour day, I have to add an hour and half on top of this. In that case, a cup of Yoghurt, etc. picked up from the morning meal, may be dinner.

Hotel drawers and closets:
Over the years I know where I am staying, and my hotels of choice are clean. But that does not account for the person(s) who previously used the same room.

Upon arrival, I always purchase a bottle of Isopropyl (Alcohol 71-91%) at a pharmacy, and spray-mist the drawers and closets, full strength, first. Spray, wipe, discard. Just takes a few seconds. I can also use this for cuts, abrasions, and even as bug repellant. I just returned from a month in Brasil, and it really is effective, even in the hot, tropical Nordeste. By the time I got to the south of Brasil, it was fleece-time: 12c and cold.

The laundry mesh bags are a good idea, but they have not worked very well for me. My clothes come out more wrinkled than they should. So I just have a small laundry bag with a pull tie, also from Rimowa, and do it nightly.

Over the past few decades of international traveling, I have learned to wash everything, clean out the luggage completely, and spray-mist the Isopropyl inside when back home. Never a problem as a result.

I hope this is helpful.

I pack almost everything in cubes and folders but unlike you I hand wash most of what I bring. Hiking clothing like Exofficio dry quickly even humid conditions. Exoffico also makes the best underwear for traveling. Many golf shirts are made of similar fabrics. After washing I roll the items up in a towel to remove excess water and hang. For those items you cannot wash Eagle Creek as mentioned by others has double side cube and compression sacs.

I'm sorry but there is no way I am wearing ratty socks or underwear. For one of all the items to pack these take up the least amount of space. It may also be a carryover from my childhood when my mother used to say about some of my underwear "would you like to be seen in those if you got into and accident".

Shak

http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-2s...e/d/1084_c_212
http://shop.eaglecreek.com/compression-sacs/l/214
http://www.exofficio.com/