In the last post, I wrote about how to formulate a lingerie packing strategy. Now it is time to figure out how many bras and pairs of underwear are necessary for a trip.
Once you know the minimum number of pieces you must pack to ensure fresh undergarments every day, you can add additional pieces. I always take a along a few extras!
Let’s start by defining what I mean by “trip”. My definition of a trip day is a day that I must dress using the contents of my suitcase. A 14 day trip means dressing from a suitcase for 14 days.
I am going to only focus on the essentials here – daily bras and underwear – and save the discussion of other pieces of lingerie (sleepwear, loungewear, etc.) for a future post.
Regardless of the length of your trip, the principles for determining how many pieces you need to take with you remain the same.
- Each bra can be worn twice before it needs to be laundered. (You can read about why this is important in my post on bra care and maintenance.)
- Bra quantity to pack = Trip length divided by 2
- Each pair of underwear can only be worn once before it needs to be laundered.
- Underwear quantity = Trip length
- Or, if you like to wear two pairs of underwear a day: Underwear quantity = Trip length x 2
If you have unlimited suitcase space and don’t want to do any laundry, a two-week trip means packing 14/2 = 7 bras and at least 14 pairs of underwear. That consumes a lot of valuable suitcase space!
To reduce the number of pieces that need to be packed, simply commit to doing laundry on the road. (I will detail the easiest way to do laundry in the next post!) Start by figuring out which days you will be able to do laundry. Be sure to have at least an overnight stay for a laundry day so everything has a chance to properly dry. Then look at the longest stretch in between laundry opportunities.
For example, I took a look at my upcoming travel itinerary and saw 3 potential laundry days and the longest I must go in-between laundry days is 4 days. This means I can think about packing for a series of 4 day trips. Applying the formulas above, a 4 day trip means packing a minimum of 2 bras (trip length of 4 days divided by 2) and 4 to 8 pairs of underwear (underwear quantity = trip length or trip length x 2).
If you are a minimalist and your lingerie choices work with the clothing you are packing, you can stop here. If you have some extra luggage space or need a special piece like a strapless bra to go underneath an off the shoulder top, you can add those to your packing list. Also, for vacation, you may want to add a fun set to the mix!
Because my packing strategy for longer trips depends on doing laundry, I will show you how easy it is to do laundry while traveling in the next post!
