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As you saw in my ultra light packing post I don’t pack many clothes while traveling. 3 shirts, 3 socks, 3 underwear. That means I have to wash my clothes often.
Machine washing is a waste of time, money, and the environment with such a small load.
In this video I show you how to wash your clothes ANYWHERE using an aLOKSAK and organic fair trade biodegradable Dr Bronner’s soap.
In place of Dr Bronner’s you can use any camper’s or vegetable based soap. These biodegradable soaps are easier on the environment, especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere.
If you don’t want to watch the video I’ll quickly break down the process:
Step 1: Toss your dirty clothes into an aLOKSAK, making sure to leave enough room for water. If you have a lot of clothes you’ll probably have to do more than 1 load.
Step 2: Fill your aLOKSAK with enough water to soak the clothes.
Step 3: Add ~10 drops of Dr Bronner’s soap. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but this soap is highly concentrated. You don’t need much.
Step 4: Kneed the clothes for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Leave the clothes in the aLOKSAK for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Rinse clothes.
Step 7: Hang your clothes to dry using your elastic clothesline.
Total time: ~15 minutes.
Of course, if worst comes to worst you can always just wear the same dirty clothes for 8 days straight like I did in Germany. :)
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Great tip using an aLOKSAK for doing the laundry. I’ve been doing it in the sink in the past, problem is when the sink doesn’t have a sink stopper, arrrgh. Some people bring their own sink stopper when travel, but with a bag you won’t need that. Got me thinking, maybe I will pick up an aLOKSAK next time I travel, or maybe use a lightweight dry bag, this could be used to hold my dirty clothes as well.
Hey Cris, thanks for posting! Yeah, a lot of people use sinks, but I always find sinks to look gross. :) I use the aLOKSAK for dirty clothes too. Everything’s gotta be multi-use. :)
Never heard of aLOKSAK before. I’ll keep them in mind. I’ve used the sink before to wash, as well, but would also prefer the bag if I was traveling somewhere that required me to use a sink other than my own:)
Still lovin Dr. Bronner’s soaps.
Great post!
Thanks for posting Kenny! Yup, other people’s sinks are gross. :)
That’s cool. Thanks alot for sharing that… :)
Great tip on the aLOKSAK. I’ve used giant Ziploc’s in the past, but they don’t last very long. I use the same type of clothesline as you. I hang my shirts by their bottom hem. The pinch marks are much less noticeable and they dry faster.
Thanks for sharing Buddy. Yeah, ziploc bags are weak. :)
Bottom hem: good idea! Thanks!
What size aLOKSAK do you use for washing your clothes? Do you carry only one aLOKSAK or a couple different sizes?
Hey Michael,
I use the 12″ size. I have 6 aLoksaks of all different sizes. Check out my Ultimate Light Packing List: http://www.ridiculouslyextraordinary.com/how-to-pack-ultra-light/
Thanks!
Karol
Your aLoksaks didn’t seem to make it on your Ultimate Light Packing List. Knowing the 12″ size is the one in your video is helpful and I’m certainly not complaining; you’ve got a ton of great ideas on that list.
I just came back from two back-to-back tradeshows in Las Vegas. After so many days and nights in smoky casinos, I was running low on clean clothes, but didn’t want to bother with trying to find a laundromat and all that. Next time I’ll just wash and dry my clothes in my room.
I’ve got a 12″ aLoksak and that elastic clothesline on my Christmas wishlist. I travel for work a ton and would like to be able to pack less clothes so I’m going to try your washing and drying approach on some upcoming travel stretch.
Hey Michael, I mention the aLoksaks in #4 under Electronic Items, but I should’ve highlighted them better. I was probably a little delirious after spending a good 10 hours on that post. :)
Just wanted to share a tip for quicker drying:
Lay your wet clothes between two towels, roll the whole thing up, and stand on the roll to squeeze out excess water. This will wrinkle your clothes a bit less than hand wringing, and things will line dry much faster.
Hey Liz,
Thanks for sharing. Taking 2 towels on the road would be too much, but that is a great tip when I happen to stay in a hotel room. :)
Karol
I totally agree with Liz. If you have access to towels, roll your wet clothes up in them and wring. This can make all the difference in having dry clothes in the morning, or not. We always travel with a universal, flat sink stopper to do laundry in sinks. The aLoksak is a great idea!
Hi Katlin,
Thanks for sharing and affirming Liz’s great idea.
Karol
Hey Karol, thanks for the video. I’m definitely going to get a couple of aLOKSAK bags for camping. What size do you show in the video? That looks perfect for washing clothes. I wouldn’t want to get one too small or too large for my needs.
Hey Jaryd,
I use the 12″ in the video. Let me know how it works out!
Thanks!
Karol
When I was travelling in central america, I would wash my clothes in the sink and hung them out to dry in the hotel room. Unfortunately, one time when I did this while staying at a hotel in the Guatemalan rainforest, because of the humidity, the clothes weren’t dry the next day when I left.
I packed the wet clothes in a seperate bag. after a day, they really stunk. i had to take them to a laundromat.
Any advice on drying in humid environments?
Hey Chris,
Thanks for commenting. I was in the rain forest recently and it was humid. It did take longer to dry my clothes. Best advice: Wash in the morning and dry during the day when it’s sunny. That worked great for me.
Thanks again!
Karol
G”day Mate! ( I Don’t know why, Karol, but I half expected an aussie accent when I hit play, LOL. You still sound just the same!)
I wanted to ask about rinsing! When I used to own hand wash only clothes I would use my (clean) sink but it seemed I could NEVER get them rinsed and ended up using the washing machine just to get the soap out. Is that a problem with your system? Is it hard if you do end up using the Aloksak to rinse?
GREAT ARTICLE!
Jason – you’re likely using way more soap than necessary. It takes so little soap to break down the oils that hold the soil. 10 drops isn’t much! Less soap in means less rinsing out.
Hi Jason,
Thanks for asking. I rinse inside the aLoksak. And it’s never a problem. Sometimes I will rinse twice to be sure. But the beauty of vegetable based soap is it rinses out well.
Thanks!
Karol
Hi,
Interesting concept using the Aloksak. I’ve heard of them but never seen or used them. How tough are they, would it be feasible to use the same sack on a 2/3 month trip for washing clothes? I’m always interested in lightweight, dual purpose ideas! Great site by the way, i’ve just come across it!
Hey Keiran,
They’re tough. I’m 2 months in and have been using mine regularly. No problems yet. :)
Thanks for asking!
Karol
I do the stomp on my clothes while I am showering. That and squeezing them out between two towels works great.
Thanks for sharing makamoimoi!
To dry your washing out in the tropics place them under the ceiling fan all night.
Thanks for the tip David!
Great tips! Next time I got to the Philipines I will try this!
Great post. I love anything that can save you time.
Do aLOKSAKs come in anything larger than the 12in size? With that size, it seems to me that you’d only be able to wash one item at a time.
Yes, they come in larger sizes, but as you can see in the video I have more than one item in there. I can wash 2 socks, 2 underwear, and 2 shirts in a 12″ bag no problem.