An interesting take on the underwear issue. My habit is to wash both pieces every evening. The midlands part (not waistband) of the trousers and silk undies in their entirety of course. Now definitely more than anyone cares to know.

I have a good friend who has no sense of smell and we travel together sometimes. She's the cleanest person I know given she can't tell when she might offend so just never wears anything twice.

As for being further up than the area of usual concern, that's what underwear are for. Wash those after every wear>>

exactly Iowa - for underwear, in english english, read pants and for pants, read trousers.

In hot weather, I travel w/ capri-length cargo pants in a rip-stop nylon type fabric. If/when they need it, I wash the entire item :-) and it dries overnight.

I've been military for long enough that, well, I HAVE to carry a teensy travel iron or I will go nuts. It's bred into me, I guess. But recently on a ten day trip to the UK you'll be pleased to know I ironed nothing. Nada. I was so proud of myself... :)

I've discovered ExOfficio underwear while preparing for an upcoming deployment (apparently the laundry is contracted out and, uhm, female underwear 'mysteriously' disappears - no thank you). It's a bit pricey but I cleaned out an online discounter of a discontinued chocolate brown (because I'm really not going to be choosy about the color where I'm going). I've tested them with a long day's wear, to include a run and a workout, and they didn't stink - and when I handwashed them out they were dry in about two hours. Brilliant and well worth the money. I plan on coming home with every pair I left with. :)

sadly that ex officio underwear isn't available in the UK - amazon used to stock a "full brief" [looks like something out of the ark, so i'm not surprised it's discontinued].

M&S silky undies dry pretty quickly I've found and I'm hoping that aussie and NZ laundries aren't as light-fingered as the ones where you're going, TiggerToo. [the ones in Sri Lanka weren't and were very reasonable too].

I won't ask where you're going as if you told me you'd probably have to shoot me but good luck and take care, and I'm glad you enjoyed the UK.

Thanks! I'm married to a Brit so a lot of times I feel less like a tourist and more like a local in southern England - even my DH says there's places I know more about than he does. :) I am not a homebody. :)

I have a while yet before I depart on my other adventure. :) I'm glad, because there are a few things like that snazzy underwear I want to be able to accrue a little at a time to save myself from putting out a load of money all at once.

I found the women's Ex Officio boy leg briefs in Ireland at a retailer called Base Camp and the men's boxer briefs are carried by Orvis UK. I cannot imagine why they don't carry the women's stuff. Route40 carries Patagonia's active underwear (they were pricey, yes) which are designed wick moisture and my guess is they'd dry pretty quick if hung up as well. Just trying to help. :)

I tried the Ex Officio underwear and didn't care for the cut. These silk ones are the most comfortable and most practical I've ever worn, bought for the road but love wearing them all the time. They dry overnight anywhere including the tropics and England. I love them. http://www.kimallansilk.com/products.php#catid1

All this laundry talk has caused me to get up and wash a few things.

Do none if you use the stomp on the laundry in the shower technique? It works nicely.

Do none if you use the stomp on the laundry in the shower technique? It works nicely.>>

yes, mlgb, good point. and very efficient too, both of time and water.

TiggerToo - nice to hear that you're an honourary Brit. your comments had me thinking and I'm looking at Patra [who make some excellent silk tops which wash and dry really well] for some underwear :

http://www.patra.com/category/Womens...erwear-Bottoms

MmePerdu - i like the look of the kimallan ones but i think that Patra are cheaper and i already have some of their day wear. I wanted to order some long johns for our trip anyway, so I think I'll be adding some normal undies as well. thanks for giving me the idea, folks!

My husband likes exofficios. In fact, he likes them so much they are his preferred undies.

I bought a pair and liked them at first but they didn't wear well and I have other undies that fit better and dry overnight.

I never stomp on my clothes :)

I love my Ex Officio bikini briefs. I usually buy them at REI, but I see that Amazon US carries them. Not sure it would be worth the postage to the UK, though.

My husband likes exofficios. In fact, he likes them so much they are his preferred undies>>

his or yours, LSky?

thursdaysd - not for that price. it's good old M&S for me for everyday, and Patra for highdays and holidays.

Wow, folks are really passionate about the laundry! I think it is important to understand that there are a lot of different ways to travel, & what works for one may be totally inappropriate for another. My laundry procedures for one trip may be totally different than that for another expedition. I mostly travel for a month or more, & often to places that some might might consider primitive. The key is planning/preparation, & the ability to handle laundry on the fly when necessary. Sometimes there's creativity involved--like the time I borrowed an iron during a rainstorm to dry a sopping pair of khakis so I could pack them for an imminent departure. BTW, I don't always have a shower rod for hanging laundry, & that's when the totally packable travel elastic clothesline with suction cups & that doesn't require clothespins comes in handy.

Just traveled for a month with carry-on so some laundry was necessary. Weather varied so I had three pairs of black pants of various weights and no-iron shirts. The pants weren't really dirty after two or three days but I put them in the shower and hosed them down.

When they dried they had a few wrinkles. I had filled a small travel spray bottle with Downy Wrinkle releaser. It seemed to help.

There are some very light weight women's underpants in stores like Target, etc. much cheaper than the travel stores.

My husband tried the Exofficio but swears by Tilley. Also likes their socks. They dried overnight.

None of this took long and it beat lugging heavy bags up stairs, on trains, etc.

On a month long holiday I purchased 30 pairs of Bonds $2 undies and just threw most of them away when I wore them once. I washed a few ONCE.

I can think of better things to so with $60 than throwing it in the trash just to avoid a little laundry. Talk about having money to burn!

<i>I can think of better things to so with $60 than throwing it in the trash just to avoid a little laundry. Talk about having money to burn!</i>

Aye. That $60 could have been spent having the hotel do laundry and have some left over for beers.

That being said, trips are a good way to retire old underwear, undershirts, socks, etc.

Make your own detergent? Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets are thin, weightless sheets which can be cut in half to do a sinkful of whatevers every few days. These, plus the twisted travel line, and packing only performance wear -- no iron, no wrinkle, quick drying synthetics + merino wool takes us everywhere through the year with carryon only. It's really pretty simple.

Just came back from a month in South America. My most flexible pieces were black poly/nylon golf pants, superfine merino tops, thin long sleeved pima cotton tees, and thin wool socks. These all dry overnight (or in a full day if it is humid). I find that the wool items can go a long time without washing, in fact I think they never did get washed this go round! I am a big believer in using long trips to discard old undies. Apologies to crellston, the panty liners are a good idea, too! Makes the sink washing a lot more pleasant.

I find myself still wedded to my one piece of hold baggage and a small carry on. i think this is because I am used to the european airline way of doing things - only one small carry-on piece allowed.

on our next trip we are not that sure about the weather we will encounter - ok, hot in Hong Kong and Australia, but NZ, especially SI could be quite cool and wet. we will have access to washing machines and dryers though, so I'm going to aim to pack light, and leave lots of room for the Christmas presents we'll want to bring home.

Annhig, will you be in Hong Kong then in December? In my experience you cannot count on warm weather in HK in winter. Come prepared.

MmePerdu - we'll be spending 3 nights in HK en route to australia in mid November.

the weather charts I've seen suggest that it is usually nicely warm in November; it can also be hot or cold.

don't worry, we'll be prepared.

Should you need something in HKG I recommend my favorite Asian department store, Yue Hwa (in Tsim Sha Tsui) http://www.yuehwa.com/index.php Some of my favorite things bought over the years I've found there or in the Singapore location. The tea department is especially fun. I find I like clothing choices for myself from the men's department better than the women's.

thanks for the tip, MmePerdu. we'll be staying at the Salisbury which i believe to be in Tsim Sha Tsui so we'll go and have a look.

the silk scarves on the website look good, and are easy to pack!

I, too, stay at the "Y' Salisbury. Yue Hwa was very near but Google maps indicates that it's now up Nathan Road. Ask at the hotel desk if the nearby location, not far behind the hotel, is still there. My last couple of visits have been to the Singapore store.

glad to share our hotel of choice with such a connoisseur, MmePerdu.

WE'll ask in the hotel how to get there.

I've seen some of you people that don't believe in an iron. If you travel for work you need an iron or a half blind client.

I usually carry a few dryer sheets but love that hotel shampoo for washing out the undies.

>>I've seen some of you people that don't believe in an iron. If you travel for work you need an iron or a half blind client.<<

Not so. Honest. I traveled for work w/ business suits weekly for more than 20 years. If you pack w/ the bundle method things do not wrinkle. At all. Whether a business suit, a dress & jacket, a blazer, a tuxedo, or most anything. On top of that, I buy Foxcroft blouses at Nordstroms and use them exclusively for travel . . . they do not wrinkle and are very attractive.

I teach a packing class and the wardrobe I use to demo includes everything from jeans to dress slacks, cashmere sweaters to a suede jacket . . . and I leave everything packed in the course rollaboard for weeks at a time (I don't unpack between classes) and they come out for the next class in perfect condition.

Janisj, you need to help some of these people I see then! I am going to check out foxcraft. I have the Brooks Brothers blouses and they wrinkle on me.

Janisj, you need to help some of these people I see then! I am going to check out foxcraft. I have the Brooks Brothers blouses and they wrinkle on me. I think flight crews are some of the worse.

Perhaps a misunderstanding here, as some folks have been outraged that I make my own laundry soap. Clarifications: 1) super easy; 2) super cheap (c. 25 cents per gallon); 3) I don't make it for travel, though on some trips have carried a bit if it fits what I'm going to be doing & where I'm going; 4) I've never recommended anyone else make it for travel, either; 5) I primarily use it as a community service project, distributing it to our Food Bank, Ronald McDonald House families, Women's Shelter & Dept. Social Services. It is also used as Bingo prizes at a Senior Center where the clients are mostly in need & delivered with Meals on Wheels, l& used in hurricane relief. The recipe, along with tips on uses as a community service project is at <www.SudsforDuds.com>. Sorry for those who misunderstood my initial comment.

Janis - With the bundling method, how do you get what you need out of the suitcase without having to unpack everything? Or do you have to unpack it all? I often travel to multiple places in one trip, so I don't actually unpack, just live out of the suitcase, hanging the next day's clothes up the night before. I roll my clothes instead, which does a nice job of minimizing wrinkles, and I can get things out without having to unpack.

If I have multiple stops ( like the trip I'm on right now - 3 nights in Paris, two nights in one London hotel and three nights in a different London hotel) I'd do 'double bundles'. Two bundles each with approx half of the clothing. Since I try to coordinate most/all my clothes, it is easy to divide in half. Then you are only unpacking half of your things and the rest stays undisturbed. Most I've ever done is three bundles for a crazy eleven day, 8 hotel business trip.

The bundles are quick to un pack/ re pack so even if you don't double bundle, it doesn't complicate things much.

Suze, do you have a current source for capris? My old standbys are getting a bit worn, and I'm not seeing them around.