Do Laundry Or Pack More???

[hocksocmom]

How many of you that go for a week plan to do laundry and actually do it? I don't mind doing laundry vs. packing enough clothes for 7 days (with some extra in case) but is it realistic to think there will be time to do laundry? We'll be staying at CBR. Thanks for your advice!

 

[TreeOfLife]

By all means, spend a few bucks doing laundry rather than waste vacation time in front of the conveyor belts at the airport!

 

[Elk34]

But wouldn't that be wasting a lot more of vacation time standing in front of a washer and dryer.

It's not like at home where you can just put it in and leave for the day unless you are in a Villa. Seems to me like it makes more sense to pack a little heavy and stay out of the laundry room at all costs. It doesn't take much longer to wait by the airport conveyor belt for 6 suitcases as opposed to 4.

I also hope to teach everyone that sometimes you can wear a pair of jeans or shorts for more than one day.

 

[dahess]

You have to figure a couple of hours to do laundry. The dryers always seem to take extra long also. I would pack enough clothes for the entire trip.

 

[lizzie64]

I always do laundry when we're on vacation. Don't know why. Seems like the little guys always go through 4 outfits a day (they are 4 and 2), and no matter how many extra I pack we never seem to have enough.

Now though, I've read a thread on the families board about packing in ziplocs. Ok don't laugh at me, I thought it was crazy at first, but they all swear they can pack an entire outfit in a ziploc bag, push all the air out of it and it takes up little or no space.

So if we are staying 10 days, that's about 30 outfits to pack for the little ones. That sounds like an awful lot.

Not to mention 2 outfits for an adult per day, that's 20 shirts, maybe 15 pants or shorts. 15 pairs of socks, underwear (to be on the safe side)

Yikes!!! Now I'm freaking out. I don't think I own that many clothes.

So, after all this-

I still don't know what to do

 

[primax]

We did laundry in 2002, and not in 2001. In 2001, we struggled to pack souveniers, in 2002 we did not. In 2002 we slept a little less at night because of laundry but it was much better on the packing ahead of time and departure.

 

[Samsma]

I think most of the hotels have their laundry right by a quiet or main pool. Let the others play, and you can watch/read between cycles. I'd much rather do a couple of loads than wake up to it when I get home. Going home is depressing enough!

 

[Elk34]

I don't mean to be argumentative. But speaking from the male perspective there is no way in the world I could go through 2 "outfits" a day. If I do change clothes for the evening it would probabally just be changing shirts and then in all likelihood I would wear that shirt the next day. I guess this may make me sound like a slob which I can assure you I am not but vacation has different rules. I won't know anyone there and I would rather be enjoying myself than doing laundry.

Also, let's say you do the Ronco ziploc baggie trick and cram a bunch of clothes in a suitcase. What about the airport weight restrictions on luggage. You had better hope that your bags all have wheels too. I say pack as light as possible as you can so you don't have to do laundry and back off the 2 "outfits" (guys hate that word) a day plan.

 

[confal1]

I did laundry at the B.C. on my last trip in Nov. It was so relaxing. My hubby took the 3 year old to the main pool and the laundry was located at a quiet pool where I was the only one there. I also save some money by buying and packing the tide tablets and that way you are all set for detergent. Also it may depend how full your schedule is when you get back. Have fun either way.

 

[TreeOfLife]

But wouldn't that be wasting a lot more of vacation time standing in front of a washer and dryer.

Not at all, not to me. You can do it at the end of the day, while relaxing midday or whenever else. Throw your things, go back to the room, when they're ready bring them in... It does not waste any time at all for me. I do it when I'll be in the hotel anyway, I do not stay extra time to do laundry!

I never overpack. I only bring what I know we'll wear and fits in ONE suitcase. If we stay less than 4 days, everything is packed in a carry on that we drag along. If not, it goes in ONE bag that I grab and run out of that airport with.

I despise waiting at the conveyor belt and feel like I am wasting vacation time...

 

[lizzie64]

Hey Elk,

I hear you but the last trip we went was May also. It was 90 degrees or better and that was through the evening hours. My husband would also change for dinner and then after chasing and playing with 2 kids all night would sweat through another shirt. He could never wear it again.

As for me, I would always wind up with ice cream, lollipop, cotton candy, ketchup what ever the little ones were eating always had a way of winding up on me. So I always wound up with 2 shirts a day.

Luckily for me all my bags have wheels and handles.

 

[Greg K.]

My wife and I invariably take long Disney trips -- typically, 10 - 14 days. In July, we'll be staying at the Beach Club Villas for 16 days.

What I prefer to do is pack for half the trip; this summer, I'll pack enough for eight or nine days. Midway through our trip, I'll take a quiet (hot!) afternoon and do my laundry, reading a magazine or a book. I actually find it's a nice break from the routine.

Once in a while, if I'm REALLY motivated, I'll do laundry a day or two before we leave, too, so that I don't have a ton of dirty clothes to contend with when I get home.

But I'm rarely that motivated...

My wife also likes to do a load at some point. But she tends to overpack, and usually brings enough to tide her over.

 

[peachgirl]

I refuse to do laundry while I'm on vacation. We stayed for 14 days on our last trip, 3 women and we didn't do laundry. It took some creative packing, we were right on the line with our luggage weights, and we had a ton of laundry to do when we got home. If I had it to do over again, I'd do the same thing!


We're staying at the OKW villas this summer and as far as I'm concerned they can take the washer and dryer away....I won't be using it!!I look at it this way, I'm paying a fortune to be at WDW. I'm not going to spend a minute of it in front of a washer and dryer. My time is free at home, I'll do it then.

 

[Limmer]

I have to agree with doing laundry. We had never been down in Sept before and had no idea how humid it could get. I had no intention of doing any laundry before going down but had to do 2 loads (the laundry room was empty so I could do them at the same time) so I did them while sitting by the quiet pool and reading a book. It was probably the longest I sat still the whole week, so in a very weird way it was nice!

 

[tinkerbee]

I always do laundry while on vacation. We go swimming while we wait.

 

[confal1]

Most importantly if you do your laundry on vacation remember to pack a pillowcase or something to carry your laundry in. It saved me. Have fun.

 

[mic&min]

I always do a load at least once during the week. I just do it while we are at the pool. The laundry room is right there so I can go back and forth.

One suggestion is to bring your own laundry supplies. I usually buy the Tide tablets since they are already packaged and then shove some dryer sheets in ziploc bags.

This seems to have worked out well for us since we go in Aug. so we swim at least once a day.

No matter what you decide, Have a great trip!!!

 

[sherry8253]

Hi - If you have a car, don't spend the time or money doing your own laundry. There is a great laundry/cleaner in the same strip mall as steak & shake, eckards & macaronni's in Lake Buena Vista. If you go out Hotel Plaza Blvd and make a left hand turn at the intersection where Uno's & McDonalds are located and go about a mile. You will see the strip mall that has the steak & shake, etc on your right. The laundry is in there. Toward the end of the trip, I always drop off a huge bag (I just stick 2 large garbage bags in my luggage) one eve & pick it up the next day. It is all washed and neatly folded. The most I have ever spent is about $20. I tell them each year that I wish they had a place where I live and I would let them do my laundry every week because they do such a great job and are so reasonably priced. I always go home with very few dirty clothing & I don't waste precious Disney time doing laundry. It is a great thing!!!!!!!!!!

 

[molly213]

We usually stay for 9 nights and do laundry twice during the trip. Actually the hubby does it late at night while the kids are swimming. Most of the resorts have the laundry area close to the pool so the kids help take the laundry down and he grabs as many washers as he can, gets the loads started then takes his book out by the pool. By the time everything is done, the kids are finished swimming, mom has had a nice break from them all and dad has had time to catch up on his Baseball Weekly. We (he) does this about mid-way through the trip or when my son runs out of socks, whichever comes first, and again the day before we leave. There is nothing better than not having a bunch of laundry to do when you get home after a 20 hour drive!

 

[sm4987]

I always take enough clothes for our entire trip. I just don't like doing laundry on vacation.