Laundry is a necessity when taking longer trips. We are fortunate to have free laundry on Carnival cruises but even then, some things get hand washed (anything that could be damaged by hot water and high heat dryers). Here are some things we have used on previous cruises and will use on our two month trip.
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If you’ve ever tried to keep water in a hotel or cruise ship sink, you will appreciate this item. A flat sink stopper – invaluable!
For Europe, we have added these Ziploc bags for slosh washing when we need a bit more room. Turn inside out to dry overnight and pack for reuse. We used to use these when traveling by motorcycle to keep our clothes dry. Definitely a multi-purpose item.
Detergent – we used to carry single use packets of Tide when we machine washed. Now that we have free laundry service, that became too messy having to open and use a little then trying to reseal. The last couple of cruises we tried these out for our hand washables. They are perfect. Each sheet is perforated into four strips, half of a strip is enough for a sink wash. Fill the sink, slosh till dissolved, then toss in your clothes. Rinse, roll item in a towel to remove the excess water, then hang to dry.
We will be traveling with a lot of merino which has the benefit of not needing to be washed after every wearing. Turn inside out and air overnight. A spritz of water in the pits if needed (a rarity for us), and you’re good to go in the morning. I wanted something designed for washing wool, even though the breezeo strips should be fine, and this is what we now carry. A capful in a sink, slosh, wash, and no rinse needed. And, it’s unscented! This size bottle fits TSA limits, I bought a larger size as well so I can refill.
You’re ready to dry – how do you hang things? Most cruise ships have a laundry line in the shower that you can pull open to use and initially we used that. But we’ve found a better solution for undies – the clips are movable so you can set your spacing. I typically wash in the morning on a cruise, then in the afternoon I swap where the undies are placed to facilitate drying. This is definitely going to Europe with us.
We also tried out folding hangers on our last cruise. They are good for shirts and tops that are too big for the clothesline. They aren’t perfect but they are the best we’ve found. We normally carry two of them.
Laundry is handled – what’s next? A few personal items we carry…
- Planning for Europe…
- Planning for Europe – Electronics
- Planning for Europe – Comfort & Safety
- Planning for Europe – Packing
- Planning for Europe – Electronics Take 2
- Planning for Europe – Laundry
- Planning for Europe – Personal
2 thoughts on “Planning for Europe – Laundry”
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I think we will be with you during most of the travels you mentioned for this fall. For the Mediterranean cruise we are boarding in Genoa. I’ve added many of your items to my Amazon cart. I already have several similar items, but I’m always learning more!
And things are always improving, aren’t they. This is my third iteration on the portable fan and second iteration of how to hang clothes. We initially had the umbrella upside-down hanger, bulky and heavy.