Washing, Washing on the line, Mrs Wishy-Washy

Ah...., washing. Such a delight to do while traveling. If you can't fit a washing machine in a caravan (we can't) how do you do your washing? Where do you hang it while free camping?

We use laundromats. Most towns generally have a laundromat and they are not too expensive per load. It may feel a little weird, lugging (for us) 3 or 4 tubs up the main street to get to the laundromat, but we're a spectacle anyway with our Transit. I think Mum and Dad like people staring at us!!

If you do do your washing in town, explore the local attractions while waiting for the washing. At Armidale, we actually went on the heritage tour while waiting for the washing, then picked it up and drove home to hang it out. Just remember as you’re lugging the washing down the street, you're entertaining people in a sometimes monotonous world.

To hang out our washing (another entertaining activity) we strung our washing line between trees. You want trees growing nice and close together, otherwise the lines sag. We have actual washing line, borrowed from a broken washing line at our home. When we need more lines (frequenter than you think) we use strong rope, hoping it won't break.

Entertaining people with our washing is quite easy. At Gum Bend Lake, all the grey nomads were camping there, and a group camping near us proceeded to get out there camp chairs and sat down and enjoyed the spectacle. We were happy to oblige, showing how a large family hangs out their washing. When Dad came back from the toilet, several grey nomads congratulated him on having such good children (as we were all hanging out the washing), with grins all through the group.

If you don't want to make a spectacle of yourselves, you can get a washing machine in your caravan. For small families with a bit of arm power, you can get 20L portable washing machine. You can also use a dryer for your clothes if you don't fancy entertaining other people with your washing.

A quick warning, take your clothes line down afterwards. They are a danger to people!! I nearly got strangled by running into one at full speed on a bike. With washing on them, hopefully they're visible, but when empty, they are basically impossible to see. If you're wondering why I was going so fast, I had “borrowed” a bike from Joel and he didn't like my “borrowing”.

What about you? How do you do washing on the road? Do you like entertaining people by hanging out your washing?