I will be in Paris and Amsterdam for 10 days and I know I should only bring a small suitcase to schlep around. How so you survive for 10 days with just a few things to wear, do you handwash stuff in the hotel?

In a word -- yup. <BR>There are many schools of "travel washing." You can carry packets of saop powder, soap power in a ziploc bag, or [as I do] use those little shampoo bottles you get in so many hotels. [although it's getting harder to find ones without conditioner in them!] I bring a couple along and toss them as they are used up. As for HANGING the clothes -- well that can involve a *bit* more creativity. The key is, of course to bring clothes that aren't bulky and don't take long to dry. With layering this even becomes possible in the dead of winter

I take a little bottle of dish washing liquid. I try to wash when I first arrive in a town so things will have longer to dry before I have to pack them up. If you're traveling during winter, the perfect hanger/clothes dryer is a radiator.

I don't know what amenities your hotel offers, but many hotels offer laundry or dry cleaning service. You can get them back the next morning, or maybe even the same day. It beats wet clothes hanging in the bathroom.

Dana <BR>There was a thread on this within the past couple of weeks, if you search <BR>for "laundry" or "wash" you should find it. <BR>I occasionally wash things out in the sink, have inflatable hanger that I bring with me, and have been known to inflate a child's balloon to inflate the blouse or pants to help them dry faster. <BR>However, I have often said here that I am a big fan of same-day laundry offered by my hotel. Even if it costs me $20-$25 or so for a couple of items, <BR>it is worth it to me, and I just factor it into my overall trip expenses, or <BR>have bread and cheese for dinner if money is tight. That's a personal <BR>preference.

Nice if you can afford the laundry service, but it's usually rather pricey. It also isn't necessarily available at bargain hotels; in fact, I can't remember a single hotel I've stayed at in Europe where they've had laundry service. Of course, I'm definitely one of those Fodorites who stays at the lower-rent end of the hotel spectrum. <BR> <BR>Like Paige, I've found radiators to be the perfect dryer. Two envelopes of Woolite should be enough for the amount of handwashing needed for a ten-day trip, at least a ten-day trip in cities where you're not hiking in the brush or anything. <BR> <BR>Another alternative, if you really hate the idea of laundry hanging in the bathroom (or if your hotel is really strict about that--some are), is to find a laundry near where you're staying that will wash, dry and fold. Usually that's a lot less expensive than in-hotel laundry services. If there's one fairly close to you, it can be worth stopping at the laundry on your way out for the day with your stuff, and picking it up at the end of the day or the next morning. We did that in Venice, with some clothes that had gotten spilled on and needed more attention than the sink, and it worked out well for us.

Both times we've been in Ireland, and once in Paris, we've used laundromats that did wash-dry-fold service. They may not give things exactly the same attention I would at home, but oh well - I can survive! In Dublin in October, I paid about $10 and left for the rest of our trip with clean clothes. <BR> <BR>On our other trip to Paris, the apartment we rented had a washer/dryer. We did a load of laundry at night, left it to hang, and it was dry the next morning. And I never travel without a few wire hangers and clothes pins - which I also use for clipping the drapes closed at night if we want to sleep late in the morning!

Hi, <BR> <BR>Many moons ago, I bought a little hanging line from the Rick Steves catalog. I think it was maybe 5 bucks, and it is kind of like two little bungee cords twisted around each other. <BR> <BR>You pull the twisty parts apart slightly, slip a little piece of your clothes in (socks, etc - NOT jeans - not strong enough) and as it has a hook on each end - find somewhere to hook it. (over a radiator, even if it has a pair of jeans draped on it...) <BR> <BR>voila! unless you have thick socks, they should dry overnight. (thank God for Cool Max!) <BR> <BR>Beth <BR> <BR>

Thinking to avoid the exorbitant cost of in-hotel laundry service, we walked around the Barcelona neighborhood and found a laundry/cleaners. When we picked up our clothes late that afternoon and brought them back to the room, we discovered they had dry-cleaned EVERYTHING, including my nightgown. The stench of the chemicals took several days of handwashing to remove it enough to be tolerable (I slept in one of my husband's T-shirts). <BR> <BR>May have been one odd case, may have been language problem, but who would look at night clothes and dry-clean them?

My experience with wash/dry/fold is that you should only give them clothes that can take high-heat machine drying--they're not going to babysit any delicates for you.

If I'm paying I find a launderette that will do a service wash. <BR>I've used hotel laundry when travelling on expenses - I would almost have been better buying new clothes, but exes don't cover that. <BR>Hotel laundry is a racket in my experience, strictly for expense account travellers - perhaps someone knows somewhere with reasonable charges, I don't.

I saw this suggestion on another posting, and it's something that's always worked for me. <BR> <BR>I always had trouble getting my heavier clothes, like jeans, dried after handwashing. Then I discovered that if you roll the item up in a towel, after washing, and jump up and down on it several times, then hang it up, it will easily dry by morning--even jeans or a sweatshirt or sweater. I also now use this method at home for items that I handwash.

forgot to mention - another thing which may help with saving space (esp on the return trip - more room for souvenirs): <BR> <BR>try taking along a few items which you had planned on giving away/throwing out anyway. surely everyone has an old pair of jeans which are presentable but you don't mind throwing out, or maybe some old Ts to layer underneath for warmth... if you like, you can even buy a pair to replace them there - no washing needed then (unless spillage occurs...) <BR> <BR>on the last trip, I even took an old sweater which looked just fine, I just had not worn it in two years. I ended up throwing out two pairs of jeans, some Ts, socks, and a sweater. (of course, I STILL had to buy another piece of luggage to schlep stuff home, but on the return trip - who cares if you check your stuff - carry on your purchases as long as they are not HUGE. <BR> <BR>Beth

I always wash my clothes in the hotel sink and NEVER use laundromats or the hotel laundry service. Powdered Woolite is light weight. I also take string and one plastic hanger. But my best suggestion is to use the built-in hair dryer, if any, in the bathroom to finish drying still-damp clothes. <BR> <BR>Since I go on walking tours, I cannot wear hiking clothes more than once without washing. However, hiking socks take too long to dry, so I try to take enough for daily changes. However, for times when I will not be exerting myself, like dinner, I bring tops that can be worn several times without laundering. For non-hiking days, I find that a skirt can last an entire trip without laundering, while pants would need to be washed. I avoid heavy clothes that would need to be washed, like jeans.

Dana: If by chance you will be staying in Haarlem (outside of A'dam), instead of actually in A'dam, I can give you a few tips on a specific laundry near the Grote Markt.

Thanks so much for your responses, everyone! <BR> <BR>Jeff, I am still not sure where exactly we will be staying but if we happen to stay in Haarlem I will let you know so you can tell me about the laundry facility!

Walgreen's sells travel underwear, it's rolled up to tampon-size. It can be handwashed, or just tossed after one wearing. 10 pairs fit in little nooks and crannies of your suitcase. <BR>I've never had to wash out anything in 10 days - 3 bottoms, 4 tops, 10 pair of sox/knee his. I do what Beth does; I take 'disposable' clothing - the turtleneck with the wine stain but ok under a sweater; the black pants that pick up lint like crazy so I never wear; the sweater with the 3/4 sleeves that looked sooo cool in the store but makes me look like a dork. After 3 wearings, these little gems end their lives in a European dumpster. I usually buy souvenir t-shirts anyway, so I wear those if I run out of stuff. <BR>I take a clothesline similar to Beth's, but mine is a single bungee cord with big spring clips. I use it for drying towels, and anything that gets wait in the rain.

Where can inflatible hangers be purchased? I've heard of them but have never actually seen them in any store or catalog.

Where can you buy or order the inflatible hangers?

To XXX: <BR>You can buy inflatable hangers at Magellan's online.