Gentleman - Storing laundry while traveling

[David Ward]

At 33 I should probably know this already, but I'm curious what all the chaps here do with their used clothes while traveling. Is there a certain kind of bag one should use to separate it from the unworn garments?

Advice welcome!

David

 

[Johnnysan]

I always travel with a couple of laundry bags like this. Dirty clothes get folded and put in the bag to then lie flat in the bottom of my suitcase. Clean clothes go on top of that...and done! For smaller items, the complimentary plastic bags found in most hotels also work well in a pinch. Happy travels.

 

[Tomasso]

I use laundry bags as well. One note: try to avoid putting damp garments into the bag; you would be surprised how fast mold forms.

 

[Treetopflyer]

I use a white mesh bag that was issued to me. They were designed to be put directly into the ships wash machines so your clothes did not have to be seperated and lost. Of course you could never fill them all the way up otherwise your clothes would never dry when they put them in the dryer.

The best part about these bags is that they are kept closed with a huge safety pin.

 

[Tomasso]

I use a white mesh bag .

I would think that there would be an odor issue with mesh.

 

[Flipped Lid]

I carry plastic trash bags to put the clothes in. I usually store the dirty clothes in a hotel dresser drawer and pack them up and put them in the bottom of the suitcase before I leave.

 

[avedwards]

I just throw them in the bottom of my bag as they are without a plastic bag or anything like that. May sound a bit unsophisticated but it probably helps that I rarely travel with more than the clothes I'm wearing plus two shirts, two sets of underwear and a pyjama (a pair of trousers and a few ties if I'm staying away for longer than three days). If necessary I have no problem hand washing my clothes in a sink and then hanging them to dry during the night.

 

[JimWagner]

I carry plastic trash bags to put the clothes in. I usually store the dirty clothes in a hotel dresser drawer and pack them up and put them in the bottom of the suitcase before I leave.

In the dresser drawer inside the plastic bag, I hope.

Now that I have the picture in my mind of people putting their dirty clothes directly into the dresser drawers I may never put my clean clothes in a hotel drawer again.shakeshead

 

[Flipped Lid]

Yes, I put them in the bag first. I'm a neat freak. I never put my clean clothes in the hotel room dresser. I hang everything up except socks and underwear, which i leave folded in the suitcase.

 

[Rathdown]

Normally I have my shirts, socks and underwear laundered by the hotel before checking out. When that isn't possible I fold my socks in half (at the heel) and fold my boxers in half along the fly (fly to the inside of the fold). Placing my socks at the waistband of my boxers I roll them up and place them in one of the plastic bags that my folded shirts are in when they come back from the laundry. One of these shirt bags will generally hold three days worth of socks and underwear. Shirts which have been worn I lay face down on the bed with the arms outstretched. I then fold them in half lengthways, and then fold the arms over the shirt, then back again on themselves. I next fold the shirt tail to the arms, then fold the shirt in half again where the tail meets the arms. This gives me a neat flat piece of laundry that can be packed at the bottom of the bag.

I travel with a "folding cloth", an ancient linen square about 36"x36" which I use to (1) line drawers in hotels, (2) place on beds when folding my clothes, (3) pack between layers in my suitcase. I always use the drawers in hotels for my small clothes and folded shirts, and always empty my suitcase if staying more than one night. If my room is small I send my case down to the checked luggage room (or put it back in the boot of my car).

My one major complaint about traveling is that fewer and fewer hotels provide a trouser press; rooms now come with an ironing board and iron, but no trouser press.

 

[Edward]

TBH, I'd much rather the ironing board, as it is, far more often, shirts I have issues with getting wrinkled in transit rather than trousers.

I carry plastic trash bags to put the clothes in. I usually store the dirty clothes in a hotel dresser drawer and pack them up and put them in the bottom of the suitcase before I leave.

Pretty much what I've always done. I'm not much in the habit of unpacking a whole lot in hotels, a habit I think that dates back to having done so on a school trip when I was ten. When I was packing, ill, to leave for home that week (where I would, within twenty-four hours, be admitted to an isolation ward with dysentery.... long story!), I managed to go without a few things, including a then much-loved soap bag. For the most part nowadays shirts, suits, jackets, all get hung up, but underwear and other bits are left in the case. dirty laundry is returned to the case as taken off (hough typically I will repack before I leave anyhow).

 

[David Ward]

Thanks for all the advice! Looking around online, the military issue one's actually seem to be the most stylish, and affordable too. Time I put one of these in my suitcase.