RV Q &A - LAUNDRY! How do you get laundry done while traveling full-time in an RV?

AHHHH...laundry! Whether you live in a sticks and bricks house, or an RV...the job of laundry is just unending, isn't it?!? As I have mentioned in earlier posts, doing laundry while living full-time on the road can be full of interesting challenges!! I do have to confess that I still miss our washer and dryer from our home in Ellisville. My good friend now has it and when I was in St. Louis in March, I did get to see them again...and yes...I did give my old washer and dryer a big hug. It that strange?!?! :)

Below are some pictures of the laundry facilities at an RV park we stayed at.  We usually try to find a site close to the building, so we can just walk over with the hampers if possible. Otherwise, I just load up the van and drive there to unload/load the laundry hampers.  Most RV parks have 3 to 8 washers and 3 to 8 dryers at each facility.  They sometimes will have TV like this one did as well.

Most of the laundry facilities have been very clean and usually not crowded either.  It is nice when you can just throw all of your dirty laundry in at the same time and get it done quicker than when using just one washer and one dryer.  The washers run around 20 - 28 minutes, and the dryers around 45 - 60 minutes.  I usually spend the time waiting for the laundry to make phone calls, read a book or go for a quick jog.  Sometimes I end up staying in the laundry room the whole time because I have struck up a conversation with someone else there.  I have met some really nice and interesting people while doing laundry!  

At one place I did have to purchase a laundry card, but usually the machines take quarters and cost anywhere around $1.25 to $2.00 for a washer load, and $1.00 to $2.00 for a dryer that holds 1-2 loads. Adding that up really quick for a family of six, we spend an average of $20-$30 a week on laundry. We have definitely learned to wear clothes more than once if they are not that dirty!  It may sound like a lot of money, but remember, we do not have other bills that come with a house.  We do not pay electric, water, or sewer bills anymore. Also- cable is usually free at each RV campground, but we have actually never used cable in our RV or when we had a house. If we want to watch something, we use Netflix or Red box. So- overall, even with paying for our laundry on the road, we are still paying less than we did with bills from owning a house.

There was a time when we had been staying at two different church parking lots for 2 weeks in a row and so we had to find a Laundromat.  I have to admit, I was a little nervous.  I know it seems silly, but I just didn't know what to expect.  Well- to my surprise and relief, I found a very nice, clean laundromat in town. They had very nice attendants, a children's play area, vending machines, and several TVs.  To use the machines, you first had to purchase a laundry card with cash or credit. Then, you picked your machines. I think they had over 100 washers and dryers there!!!  There were small, medium, large and HUGE washers and dryers!! The bigger the machine, the more laundry would fit and more money it would cost. The huge washer holds up to EIGHT loads of laundry! WOW!

I accidentally poured too much detergent in the first time, so my clothes were really soapy! oops!

The large dryers were nice for big blankets or for several loads of laundry.  It cost about .99 cents for 8 minutes for the large dryer, and .39 cents for a small dryer.

OK- so I have a funny story about laundry...or should I say confession?!?! Many years ago (before I had 4 children), I would wash the bed sheets once a week, every week, like clockwork. Well..as you have more kids sometimes you need to wash sheets more often, sometimes you go more than a week for various reasons, right? So- after we brought Joshua home from South Korea, things were pretty hectic in our house for awhile.  We were all adjusting,  and Alan had a very busy summer schedule with children's ministry activities.  We were tired, frazzled, and in survival mode for several weeks.  One day while Alan and I were talking, I realized I had not changed the sheets in awhile.  I asked if he had changed the boys sheets recently. "No, not recently," he replied. As we discussed it further, we figured out neither one of us had changed or washed the boys sheets since at least a week before we came home from South Korea. That was well over a month before!!!! YIKES! Well- I am happy to say, that we all survived, the boys did not get sick, and nothing monumental happened because we forgot to change the sheets for several weeks! HA! So- now that we are living in an RV and paying to do laundry, we figure unless it is absolutely necessary sooner, once every two weeks is just fine!:)

Blessings to you and yours,

Jill and the boys:)