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The original was posted on /r/onebag by /u/Waste_Minimum_475 on 2025-08-10 07:20:29+00:00.

I’m at the end of a 6 week trip right now, and I’m honestly quite proud of the laundry system I devised for my travels and I reckon this is the place to share it. I was worried about the cost of laundry in hostels and how it would add up if I did it regularly. This was my first trip that’s so long.

I carried a pack of detergent leaves (packed down nice and small), a length of plastic cord about 4m, and a rubber plug for sinks. I took with me 3 proper outfits (T-shirts etc), plus an extra spare pair of underwear, and later in the trip bought a little vest top too. I’m a knitter so by the end of the trip I also had an extra pair of socks.

I usually stay in places for 2+ nights so I would do laundry every night except the night before leaving. Only ever a few things to wash because I’d wash the clothes I wore that day. Then I’d find places to hang my clothesline and get creative about it - I also have sewn loops into most of my clothes and could hang them off things with carabiners if necessary.

Leaving everything to dry for at least 2 nights meant I only ever had an issue with drying the clothes once, when I stayed in a damp basement dorm and nothing dried, not even swimwear. Then because I had loops sewn into everything, I could sun-dry them off my bag when I moved.

To dry clothes a bit first before hanging, I’d roll them up in my towel (I use the SeaToSummit Airlite towel and it’s actually incredible) and step on it. In future I’m going to take two towels because I’d try to use hostel towels to dry clothes but if I didn’t have one, it meant my own body towel was going on the floor (to step on) and then I’d have to wash that - thankfully it only takes about an hour to dry but still not great. I need a specific clothes towel and body towel. the Airlite towel is kinda expensive but it packs down smaller than an apple so for me that’s worth the money getting another one.

In future I’d also take a dry bag because some hostel sinks are weird and you can’t run a basin of water in them.

Overall I’ve noticed, as I’ve been backpacking Europe, that most people travelling in the hostels where I’ve seen their bags, have an astronomical amount of stuff. So many outfits and so much weight. Although I really miss looking fashionable (the same 3 t-shirts for 6 weeks is driving me insane!), it’s meant my 50l bag has been not stuffed for the entire trip. I have a fair amount of empty space in the top. Which has meant I can buy more souvenirs…

Overall I think my laundry system has saved me the most weight on this trip. It also saved me money. One hostel I stayed in charged €12 for laundry and that was self-service.

I was worried about finding places to hang clothes but there is always a way. Some receptions even have an airer you can borrow, some hostels have drying racks in their laundry room, and if the worst comes to the worst, you can borrow a chair and hang your stuff off it. Usually I’d go for a bottom bunk so I can tie my clothesline underneath it, that seems to have the best results.

Just wanted to share this because I’m so autistic about travel and so happy that my system worked exactly the way I wanted it.

Edit: the reason I take a 50l partly empty is because I only have a 50l and nothing else suitable, and I don’t see the need to spend money on a new/smaller bag when my 50l is fine and I don’t fly with it atm. also i can fill it up with souvenirs then :)