How do you wash clothes on vacation?

[Twinkler]

I am thinking to our trip in September and am starting to think about packing.

I don't know what I am going to do about clothes and undies for the kids. Do y'all bring enough for the entire trip or do you wash some in the middle?

How do you wash clothes on vacation?

 

[dizneychik]

We usually bring enough clothes for the time we will be there but we always pack detergent and dryer sheets. You just never know what you have to wash. I would rather not have to pay for those items when we get there.

 

[Twinkler]

Are there washer/dryers available? We will be at the Poly.

 

[tammy1210]

When we stayed at CBR we took travel size Tide/Downey and a roll of quarters. I washed one night while the kids swam in the pool - we actually had taken enough, but, as we expected, getting hot/sweaty, we ended up changing clothes a couple of times on a few days....

 

[jack hannah bananah]

I have used the laundry room in Wilderness Lodge, AKL, and BC. I am sure the Polynesian has one. THey are usually in easily accessable areas. The WL one was right near the door to the pool. So on our pool day I just ran back and forth - very easy. I am usually against all work on vacation . But it is very easy to plan a couple loads of laundry. I usually bring my own detergent (measured out powder in individual zip lock sandwich baggies all put in one big gallon baggy).

 

[jellybeans0607]

i only wash clothes if i am staying in a home away from home and the washer and dryer are in our "home". other than that i just bring enough clothes for the week.
the way i see it is, im not hanging out in a laudromat during my vacation, while others are having fun.

i do always bring extra clothes.

 

[minkydog]

I don't think I've ever taken a vacation and *not* done laundry. I pack a roll of quarters and a small bottle of detergent--we're good to go! Yeah, it takes about 2hrs out of my day, but I'd rather do that than deal with stinky, sweaty clothes in my hotel room.

 

[timzagain]

We pack powdered laundry detergent in ziploc bags, a few plastic hangers, as well as two of those thingies with multiple clothespins, typically used for hanging undies/ small items.

On the rare occasion when I've forgotten to pack detergent, I've used shampoo or shower gel to wash a garment or two!

We'll be travelling in late August this year and we will be packing quick drying clothes (dri-fit shirts, boardshorts etc) that we can easily wash in the hotel room at shower time. Squeeze the excess water out of them in a towel and hang them in the shower. They usually dry overnight. We're not planning any dressy events, so shorts & t-shirts should suffice. However, we'll each travel with a nice-ish outfit in case we need it!

Last year, my husband survived for the duration of our 12-day July trip, relying on three boardshorts and three moisture-wicking shirts using that wash-as-you-go strategy. Meanwhile, the rest of the family (all female) packed a ton of clothes. We had to do a load or two of laundry.

Of course, our three girls are all old enough to hand wash a garment or two. I don't know that I'd try this approach if I was travelling with several small children - doesn't seem like much of a holiday!!

 

[daisyduck123]

We're DVC...we can do our laundry for FREE!

All rooms (except the studios) have washers & dryers in them. People staying in studios get free use of the DVC washers & dryers down the hall.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We either rent single homes that have a W/D in the garage or stay in our timeshare condo that has a W/D in it. I don't have pay for it or sit and wait for it. It also allows us to pack extremely light so we only bring about 3 sets of clothes pp. It's very convenient for me.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

The Poly does have washers/dryers, but I think only in one longhouse. It would depend on which longhouse you are in how far you would have to walk. If you ask this question on the resorts board, someone will know exactly where the laundry facilities are.

 

[kimsuenew]

I am thinking to our trip in September and am starting to think about packing.

I don't know what I am going to do about clothes and undies for the kids. Do y'all bring enough for the entire trip or do you wash some in the middle?

How do you wash clothes on vacation?

We don't!

I always waaaaaaaay overpack for the three of us.

On vacation I do not take time out to do laundry (I have a couple of times when we rented condos on HHI that had washers and dryers) but while staying at WDW... no way!

Last year we came home with "oodles" of dirty laundry, so much in fact that I took it all (never unloaded it from trunk) the day after we returned (at night) and spent about 6 hours sorting, washing, drying, hanging, and folding it at a local laundry (it would have taken forever a load at a time at home)!

 

[kimsuenew]

We're DVC...we can do our laundry for FREE!

All rooms (except the studios) have washers & dryers in them. People staying in studios get free use of the DVC washers & dryers down the hall.

LOL, we stayed at SSR last year and I never knew that (not that I would have used them anyway except maybe to launder swimsuits one time).

 

[kileybeth]

The laundry room at the POLY is over by the neverland club. It is clearly marked on the resort map. They have a seating area seperate from the machines with a soda machine and a tv. We left magazines behind when done.

I normally do not like to do laundry on vacation but my last 2 children have different ideas then me and have made it an absoute necessity the last few trips.

I was suprised at how much I enjoyed that "down time". I sat and read while DH took the kiddos off to the pool.

A few times I have paid for stuff out of the machines. It's about $2 a load. Not horrible but not cheap.
Keep an eye out at Target/WalMart for sample size detergent and then just put a few dryer sheets in a ziplock baggie and you are good to go.

I always use a regualr stain stick on our laundry before I toss it in a fold up hamper anyway so take one of those too. Great for not letting chocolate set in. I have not had good luck with that Tide stain pen tho?

HTH

oh and we've used laundry rooms as POR,SSR and several off sites as well the last few years. Most are fairly well maintained, one of my main fears and why I avoided them for so many years. SSR actually has a huge room and folding tables as well.

Last trip we had to drive and that limited everyones suitcase to one carry on size a piece (6 people in a mini van fill it up quick!)for a 2 week trip. Laundry had to be done. I much prefer to fly and take the kitchen sink in those monster rolling cases! In fact, DH and I just returned from a week away w/o kids and we each took a large rolling bag and a carry on size to boot! plus a purse and a briefcase with laptop. all with no extra fees. But sadly even that is changing on some airliines I guess these days.

 

[squirrel]

When doing laundry at a WDW resort, do you stay and keep an eye on your clothes or do you just come back a few min. before it's finished?

 

[jack hannah bananah]

I have done both, but if I leave, I always keep an eye on the time and am back in the laundry room before my time is up. I don't want anyone waiting for me to get my clothes out of the machines (or taking my clothes out and leaving them on the counter).

 

[lovesdumbo]

Are there washer/dryers available? We will be at the Poly.

The Poly has a very nice laundry room. There is a nice room with chairs, couch and TV.

I always do laundry on vacation. My DH doesn't travel well so I try to keep the bags to a minimum to ease getting through the airport with 3 young children. I tend to do laundry late at night or early in morning while the kids and DH are in the room. I enjoy the nice quiet escape. It is hard enough to come home after a Disney trip and at least I don't have a huge mountain of dirty laundry waiting for me.

I do like others-pack enough powered detergent for a load of laundry in a zip lock back and bring my own dryer sheets. It is $2 to wash & $2 to dry so $4/load. A roll of quarters will only do 2 1/2 loads.

I also bring a pop up hamper with me and use the stroller to get the laundry to/from the laundry room.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Our trips are usually 10 days, and the kids have plenty of clothes, but I don't. Poor Mommy!

Anyway, we (usually DH) does laundry or twice during a trip while the boys are swimming. If they are napping, he takes a book and sits by the pool while he waits on it.

We bought a small-ish travel bottle of Sun or something like that, detergent in the checkout line at WM. It worked fine, but we ran out a couple of trips ago, so we just refill the bottle with Tide. I always pack it in a ziploc bag though, lesson learned after an entire bottle of shampoo leaked out in my suitcase.

 

[momto2inKC]

I couldn't imagine NOT doing laundry! 11 days, 4 people, 2 outfits a day! YIKES I'd never be allowed to check enough luggage to hold that much. I always do laundry at least twice on our trips. Especially in Sept, it is HOT and HUMID and there is no way my family will wear the same clothes all day. We always change into fresh clothes after our afternoon breaks. I usually do laundry while the kids swim.

 

[scottnkris]

I measure out powdered detergent in separate ziplock bags and take quarters. Strange as it sounds, I like to do laundry before I leave to come home because I hate to face mountains of laundry and a dirty house. (I attempt to clean my house well before I leave for vacation too.)