How to Wash Dirty Laundry at Camp

There are a few mysteries when it comes to overlanding: how do you use the bathroom? How do you cook? What about showers? And right up there among the essential mysteries is how to wash dirty laundry at camp when you don’t have a washing machine.

This is one of the questions that can keep new overlanders up at night!

There are two easy solutions to dirty laundry while overlanding. One is to book an Airbnb or hotel with a washing machine, and do your laundry during your stay. The other is to go to a laundromat (lavandaría in Latin America), which may be self-service or full-service. These options worked for us during our first three years of part-time overlanding in the United States and Mexico.

But what about when you’re truly off-grid, with absolutely no washing machine to fall back on? That’s when you’ll need this week’s video. We cover:

• The supplies you’ll need to do laundry at camp
• Each step of the process I use
• Alternatives other overlanders use

For the record, this same process will work for backpackers and RVers without a washing machine, too!

Enjoy watching, and please leave your questions and tips in a comment!

The links to the products we mention are in the video description on YouTube.

What’s next for us?

I am writing my first ebook! It’s called, “What We Wish We’d Known Before Overlanding Full-time.” Some of you may recognize the title because it’s based on a popular presentation we gave many times in 2021, including at two Overland Expos.

I’m hoping the ebook will be done by the end of January. But between now and then, I’m actually blogging my ebook by putting short segments on our blog as I write them. The first segment has been published and you can read it here.

We are staying in Puebla until January 29. Our Airbnb is located on the zócalo, which in my opinion is one of the grandest and most beautiful in Mexico. We were here in 2019 and did a lot of the touristy stuff then, so this visit is more about seeing Eric’s family, catching up on some work, and just enjoying day-to-day life in Mexico.

It’s impossible to capture all of our travels through our weekly YouTube videos. So if you want to see more of the details behind the scenes, then come join us on Patreon. We have a wonderful community there, sharing photos and experiences that never make it onto YouTube or our social media platforms. We’d love to see you there.

-B