What To Pack > Clothes & Laundry
For many, clothing presents the greatest challenge to packing light; it's certainly the area where the "What if ...?" syndrome runs most rampant ("What if I'm invited to dinner with the Queen?"). This page addresses the two major issues related to this dilemma: choosing clothes, and keeping them clean.
Choosing Clothing
Minimize clothing by selecting a uniform (one or two) colour scheme. Choose fabrics carefully: natural fabrics can be cooler, but wrinkle more easily, dry more slowly, and are generally heavier than synthetics (and modern synthetic yarns have come a long way from the "putrid polyesters" of yesteryear). Knitted fabrics are less prone to creasing. And small plaids/checks and other patterns, especially in darker hues, are better than solid light colours when it comes to keeping any wrinkles (and stains, and dirt) from being noticed. In all cases, the use of bundle wrapping helps considerably, by avoiding hard creases.
Choose clothes that will dry quickly. It's not a bad idea to test any new item you are considering by washing, towel drying, and hanging it indoors overnight. Anything not dry by morning is likely to prove annoying on a long trip (see "Doing Laundry", below).
Avoid military-styled clothing, which in some parts of the world can definitely send the wrong message. This includes anything with a camouflage pattern, or coloured green! Sounds extreme, but even green backpacks were once confiscated in Nicaragua.
Keep a watchful eye out for reversible clothing, especially tops; these effectively double your clothing choices, without noticeably increasing the amount you actually need to carry. Should you be fortunate enough to find such an item that appeals to you, I suggest setting it aside for travel purposes only!
Pay particular attention to underwear and socks, especially on longer trips. They will have a significant effect on your comfort, and likely be much more difficult (if not impossible) to replace than your outerwear, especially in third world countries, or areas where the local people have body shapes much different than yours. It's always possible to purchase appropriate outerwear locally (it may well be more appropriate than what you brought with you, and often makes for good souvenirs); the same is not true of undergarments. Incidentally, white socks and underwear are unlikely to remain that way over time, so unless you prefer surprises, start off with a colour choice of your own!
Finally, be aware of another useful traveller's strategy: taking along some older clothes that you plan to discard anyway. Abandoning them along the way makes room for souvenirs (which, again, might simply be some local clothing). If you do this, don't just leave clothes in your hotel room, unless you'd like them returned home at your expense! Deposit them in the trash, or donate them to the service staff.
Doing Laundry
Smart travellers plan to wash clothes during the trip, one of the major secrets to living out of one small bag. This is not as onerous as it might sound, if you carry the right tools. Of course, you could take your laundry to a local self-service wash ("Laundromat", "launderette"), although that:
- assumes there is a local one (improbable in most locales),
- is likely to be expensive outside North America, and
- turns laundering into a major (time-consuming) event, when it can be almost as easy (and convenient) as brushing one's teeth before bedtime.
So one of your evening chores becomes doing the day's laundry (if you travel with a partner, each of you can wash on alternate days). Wash and rinse the clothes (these will often be only socks and undergarments) in the sink of your hotel or B&B. [Scrubbing difficult stains out of socks? Try slipping them over your hands like mittens.] Rinsing can occasionally be done more efficiently in a shower than in a sink. [Laundering silk? Try an extra/final rinse containing some hair conditioner, which (because silk — like hair — is a protein) both keeps the fabric nice and lessens wrinkles.] Rolling wet clothes in a towel, and wringing the towel tightly (with clothes inside), is an old traveller's trick to extract water and thus considerably speed the drying process; this technique works with any towel, but using a viscose towel is particularly effective, as you can separately wring out the towel and reuse it to good effect (whereas a regular towel, once damp, will cease to be effective). Finally, hang the garments on your travel clothesline, and go to bed.
If you're ready to depart in the morning, and some item of clothing isn't quite dry, do as they do in the army: put it on anyway. Though it might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, you'll be surprised at how quickly it will dry next to a warm body. A better solution, though, is to choose travelling clothes made of quick-drying (and wrinkle-free) fabrics. A shirt made of Coolmax® (or some similar fabric) will not only dry quickly, but will keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter than one made of cotton.
If you're travelling on business, of course, you're unlikely to want to wash your dress shirts in the sink (though it's nice to be able to). On the other hand, it's more likely that someone else is footing the bill, so letting the hotel do your laundry is a more acceptable option. Be prepared for occasional surprises if you take this route; laundry processes in foreign hotels can be quite entertaining!
You'll find some more specific comments on this topic in the laundry section of the packing list.
But What if I am Invited to Dinner with the Queen?
The two best options are:
- buy yourself a new outfit, and
- patronize a local rental service (for years, such establishments have been supplying formal wear of all types for short-term usage).
In fact, this is the universal answer to any of the (mostly unlikely) situations presented by this kind of "What if ...?" scenario. Simply ask yourself what the local populace would do if they needed whatever item(s) you're missing!