Laundry

Pretty early on, I figured out that I could happily backpack indefinitely, as long as I could keep away the sense of accumulating grime. Hence, laundry! (Also hair washing, but that'll be a separate post.)

If In a pinch, I'll just do underwear and socks. Clean underwear is the most important to me for hygiene reasons. I really don't want to develop a UTI or yeast infection from sweating through the same pair of underwear for days on end. (If I don't have time to do laundry at all, I carry a few individually wrapped pantiliners to give dirty underwear a veneer of cleanliness on day 2). And socks can get pretty filthy; since I also wear them to bed, I prefer clean socks when possible to keep the dirt from transferring to my sleeping quilt.

Gear

My most-used piece of gear (outside of essentials like a tent) is without a doubt my Sea to Summit 5L Kitchen Sink. I'm obsessed with it, and it's key here. I also use Campsuds, the smallest-size REI camp towel (which is basically a washcloth), a Sea to Summit Clothesline (which weighs just over an ounce), and wooden clothespins (also very light -- I bring 11 and they're an ounce and a half altogether).

Method

Fill up the kitchen sink with water and haul it at least 200 ft. from water, camp, or the trail. The water hauling is the worst part.

Put your first item in the sink. (I go in this order: underwear, sports bra, shirt, pants/skirt, socks. Socks are always dirtiest and go last. If I've been using a bandana as a handkerchief, or want to wash my dish-drying towel, that goes in after pants and before socks.) Wet the washcloth and put a drop of Campsuds on it -- really, just a drop will do for each garment. Start scrubbing, being sure to hit any areas you want to make sure get extra clean. Rinse the suds out as best you can, wring out the item, and drop in on a nearby rock. Add a new drop of Campsuds to your washcloth, and move on to the next piece.

Once you've gotten through all your washing, your sink will be filled with filthy water. Scatter it, and go back for a fresh 5 liters. Now it's time for the rinse cycle. I go in the same order again, just swooshing each item in the water, and getting the rest of the suds and dust out, before thoroughly wringing it out.

The more water you get out of your laundry now, the happier you're going to be when it's bedtime and you're taking your clothes off the line. Get every drop of water out that you can. Socks in particular.

Then they go on the line, ideally with some sunshine on them to speed up the process. If my sports bra has removable cups, I pull them out and dry them separately.

Overnight

Depending on how late I got to camp that day, and how long my clothes had to dry, sometimes a few items are still damp when I'm ready to go to bed. In that case, I use the clothespins to clip up the damp stuff up from the gear loops in my tent. They're always dry by morning. I probably could leave the clothesline up overnight, but sometimes you'll get a heavy dew, a high wind, or even an evening rain shower, and it just seems like a safer bet to bring everything in. Plus, my clothes may be hanging inches from my face, but at least they don't smell anymore.