laundry

[momma of 2]

I read your wonderful ideas on packing, and I love the idea of ziploc bags for clothes and extra food. But if we are going for 5 days 4 nights, do you think I should plan on doing laundry or should I just pack 10 outfits for each of us.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

It's really a personal choice. You need to take into account a few factors

1)When are you going?
2)How do feel about doing laundry on vacation?
3)Do you have enough clothes?
4)Are you okay to come home with loads of dirty laundry?
5)How much stuff do you want to pack?

Now I'm going in August (will definately need two outfits a day) and I prefer to do laundry on vacation rather than when I come home. I also try to pack light (notice I said try for I have never actually been able to pack lightly but I do try) so I am planning on doing laundry while I am down there.

***I would take some detergent down with me because you never know if you have an emergency laundry situation (three kids here). See why I can't seem to pack lightly?

 

[momma of 2]

Thank you!!

 

[tadamom]

If you are able to do laundry while there, I would. We stayed at SSR and had a washer/dryer in our room and we did laundry every night (there was 10 of us). The only dirty clothes we came home with were the pajama's we wore on the last night.

And, if you do laundry and don't want to come home with the dirty pajama's from your last night - take everyone a pair of underclothing & t-shirts that you don't mind throwing away. (I heard that here on the Dis).

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I do laundry every trip!! We also have 3 kids, so 5 peoples laundry tends to stack up!! I bring a pop up hamper, .25s, and small detergents from home. About the next to the last day, or if we have a down time, dh watches the kids or they all go swim and I wash!

I do not like to bring home a ton of dirties, and I think dirty clothes never fold up right and take up more room that way. But... if you want to stick them in a bag and bring them home, it doesn't matter if they are folded!!

If I was going to go for 5 days, I may not bother with it. We are usually there a few days more, so I really have to.

 

[momma of 2]

Thank you everyone for your quick responses. See there will be 4 of us total and we are going for 4 nights. There is a laundry facility available at the port orleans. I might consider it. I hate laundry anyways and that is the last thing I want to worry about either on the trip or when we get home.

Thanks

 

[SnowWhite12]

We did do laundry half way through our trip, but we also wore the same clothes all day. Even after resting in the room mid-day, we knew the clothes would just get gross and sweaty again that evening.

 

[MrsPooh]

We had four of us at WDW for 7 days. Only one dd had enough clothing for the entire week and I couldn't really afford to buy extras for all of us (trip was a gift from relatives). Also, dh has a back problem and I had just been released after four months of home health care so we were trying to cut down on luggage. We brought enough for four or five days and then I did laundry so we had plenty to finish off and have a few clean items when we arrived home.

We stayed at Poly and the only problem I had was how crowded the laundry facilities were. We went during the slow time of Sept and I went to the laundry facility around ten at night. All the machines were in use and I had to wait in line to get into a washer and then a dryer. There was a long line of people waiting.

I wasn't thrilled doing laundry but it wasn't bad. I took a book and relaxed while dh and dds slept. I brought a roll of quarters. Before the trip I put the correct amount of powder detergent in ziplock baggies so I just had to dump one in each load and I brought along a few dryer sheets. The didn't take up much room and it was way cheaper than buying there.

 

[Mrs. D]

My first trip as an adult, so I can't speak from experience...just my personal preference....

I will be doing laundry b/c
7 nights, @ end of July...w/ 2 adults a 4 and 5 y.o....when I made the list of what to pack, realistically just for my kid's we're talikn 10-12 complete outfits because I KNOW we are going to change after mid day break...I KNOW DD is going to mess up at least 2 beyond me thinking "oh it's not so bad".

I'm only taking 2 swim suits a piece, and I am just not the type to rinse, hang up and repeat w/o having washed them after a couple days...I know, I'm weird....

I also love washing clothes!!

I'm thinking, I bring more tops, and like 5-6 shorts/ capri's a piece...do 1 load of color's and 1 of whites on about Wed., (we arrive Sun)...

DH thinks I'm crazy...but really, what does he know??

 

[Starr W.]

Since we are DVC owners and stay in units with washers and dryers, I have learned to pack less and do the wash. We're going to be a family of 4 with 3 wheelie carry-ons and 2 smaller bags for 6 nights on our next trip.

 

[Tam1067]

We're going for 8 nights in July, and I will not do laundry. I didn't do it last year either, and it went fine.

I brought enough clothes for us to change each day plus a few extras in case of problems. I bought each child a t-shirt (that gets you an extra day).

A few years ago, I did laundry at WL and it was a huge hassle. I just decided my vacation is a vacation from laundry. My time is valuable. So I'm not hanging out in the laundry room at the Polynesian when I could be in the parks or with my family.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We went for 10 nights last September and 5 nights this past June with DH, myself, 9 yo DS and 3 yo DD.

There is no way on earth I would take time out of my vacation to do laundry. People say they do laundry while DH takes the kids to the pool, its my vacation too, I want to be at the pool also.

It is just a no way. I take 2 outfits for each of the kids. Its alot of clothes but thats fine with me. As far as laundry when I get home, thats fine too, why take time out of your short vacation to do laundry, I just don't get it What else do you have to do once you get home?

 

[Mrs. D]

We went for 10 nights last September and 5 nights this past June with DH, myself, 9 yo DS and 3 yo DD.

There is no way on earth I would take time out of my vacation to do laundry. People say they do laundry while DH takes the kids to the pool, its my vacation too, I want to be at the pool also.

It is just a no way. I take 2 outfits for each of the kids. Its alot of clothes but thats fine with me. As far as laundry when I get home, thats fine too, why take time out of your short vacation to do laundry, I just don't get it What else do you have to do once you get home?

Ohhhhhh, work a F/T job, cook, clean, get the kids to camp, pick them up. Play w/ them outside, make sure they get baths...lol, the list is endless...

 

[mom*to*2*princesses]

It's certainly personal preference. My family of four did an 8-day trip in April. It was hot during the day, not drippingly so, but we did often change clothes at least once a day. I did laundry twice, one load each time. I could've easily packed half the amount of clothes that I brought, so lesson learned there. It was easy to do because we had lots of down time in the afternoon. I think if he had a shorter trip where we were going to be in the parks constantly, I might not be inclined to do laundry and would just pack enough. However, my kids do have favorite outfits and in reality only have about 3-4 that they wear often. I don't think they have enough clothes to go a whole week without wearing something again!

Laundry on vacation is not a big deal to me--in fact, I prefer to do it.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Ohhhhhh, work a F/T job, cook, clean, get the kids to camp, pick them up. Play w/ them outside, make sure they get baths...lol, the list is endless...

Me too, but I'm still not doing laundry on vacation.

With all the extras I have to do at home makes it even more important to spend time with my family on vacation and leave household chores for home were they belong.

Plus you say you love washing clothes, , not me. I brought laundry detergent with us on our 10 night trip last September. DH shook his head and said, who are you trying to kid, you hate to do laundry at home, do you really think you're going to do it in WDW. He was right, I left the bottle unopened for the next person.

 

[jakoky]

we went to WDW in dec 04 for 9 nights and then DL last may for 10 nights...we are a family of 5 and yep, i did laundry...i didnt find it took away from my time with the family at all, i went and threw in a load and either met up with them at the pool or whereever they were...45 min later, i took 2 minutes and threw it in the drier....i packed enough clothes to last the whole trip, but we all seem to have our favourites...I am the same as the other poster, i can rinse and dry a bathing suit, but then i kinda like to wash it...i came home with small bag of laundry, so once i got home, i wasnt overwhelmed with laundry because i truly hate laundry, but what i hate more is getting behind on laundry... We are 85 days away from our trip to DL and yep, i will be doing some laundry again...
sharon

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

we went to WDW in dec 04 for 9 nights and then DL last may for 10 nights...we are a family of 5 and yep, i did laundry...i didnt find it took away from my time with the family at all, i went and threw in a load and either met up with them at the pool or whereever they were...45 min later, i took 2 minutes and threw it in the drier....i packed enough clothes to last the whole trip, but we all seem to have our favourites...I am the same as the other poster, i can rinse and dry a bathing suit, but then i kinda like to wash it...i came home with small bag of laundry, so once i got home, i wasnt overwhelmed with laundry because i truly hate laundry, but what i hate more is getting behind on laundry... We are 85 days away from our trip to DL and yep, i will be doing some laundry again...
sharon

Hey to each your own, different strokes for different folks, nothing is right or wrong, just how people prefer to spend their time on vacation.

Plus both recent trips to WDW we stayed at the BCV, for me to walk from SAB to our unit was a long walk. It wouldn't have taken 2 minutes , but even if it did, I still wouldn't have done a load.

As far as the swimsuits, I bring woolite and wash them out in the sink, since I never wash swim suits in the machine anyhow.

Its funny though, someone posted a question on the DCL board about ironing and it was amazing how many people will wear wrinkled clothes and refuse to iron on vacation.

Now me, I'll go home to 20 loads of laundry so I don't have to wash clothes on vacation, but my family and I won't go anywhere with wrinkled clothes. Wash---no!
Ironing--yes!

 

[momma of 2]

Yeah I am kind of on the boat with not wanting to do laundry while on vacation but I also do not want to bring it home and do it. I do not know what I will do. This is our first real vacation as a family. Our daughter is 3 and our son is 2 so we haven't really done much yet. I know we will have fun. 87 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tadamom]

I probably wouldn't do laundry if I didn't have it in my room (which we did). Since it was in our room, each night after the kids were all in bed we started the wash. Since we were all up at least 1 - 2 hours after the kids went to bed we were able to do almost all the laundry that we needed to be done. Since most of the clothes didn't go in the dryer, we hung them up and they were dry by morning.

 

[girlsx4]

Last time we went we flew and I wanted to bring only 2 pieces of luggage. I packed only 5 outfits for everyone and did 2 loads of laundry while we were there. I did it when everyone went back to the room to "rest". It was fine! I'm probably doing the same thing this time......I just don't like to bring that much dirty laundry home from vacation!!!