Road Laundry

I only have five pairs of underwear. My wife shakes her head at me about this, but really, it's generally not a problem. I've got an underwear drawer that's spacious and clean, and when it's all clean I've got what I'm wearing plus enough for four more days. Since my first baby was born I've never ever gone four days without doing laundry. Ever. There are a lot of things in life, like my small supply of underwear, that aren't an issue right up to the point where they become an issue. For me, that point came when we were packing for our recent trip.
We took our trip in my wife's truck. Fantastic vehicle her truck. Comfortable, gets ok mileage for something as big as a house, cruises at 70 with no drama. It's a good truck. However, it does not have a lot of extra space for luggage once you put people in the seats. Since we wanted to bring all of the people in the family, that meant we had to figure out how to not bring a lot of stuff. The trip was going to be nine days long, but a quick calculation let us to the conclusion that we couldn't fit 9 days of clothes. We could pack for 6 and just double up on some days. Or we could pack for three and buy new clothes if we need them. Or, and this was actually a new thought, we could check and see if the hotel we were staying in had laundry. It turns out that it did.
We decided, based on my four day reserve of underwear, that we would pack for four days and do laundry at least once on the trip. It turns out that we did laundry twice, and it was fantastic. Our luggage was half of what it was had we decided to pack enough to wear for the whole time. The whole family was packed in two smallish duffel bags and one small backpack. When we unloaded at the hotel we looked like we were just overnighting. It was awesome.
It turns out that every hotel we stayed at on the trip had coin operated laundry available. This may be old news to some but it was new news to me and I was delighted with it. So if you're laying out your family's clothes for your next vacation, remember, there will almost certainly be a washer and dryer where you're going. Pack light and every third night or so tell your wife that you have to go do laundry. It might be the most peaceful hour you get on your whole trip. Enjoy it.