Garth Brooks was on the too-short-lived Muppets Tonight program in the 90s, and there’s a scene there where one of the bears throws his boxers at Garth playing Tom Jones. He asks afterward if he can get them back, as they’re his last pair. (Video at the end.)
Why are you reading about this on a travel site?
You wear underwear when you travel, right?
Probably. If not, don’t tell us.
But I have two tips to deal with your unmentionables in a way that leave more space for shopping spoils when you come home.
Two kinds of disposable underwear
I’ve recently reviewed some underwear that’s meant for limited use. It’s generally cotton, and machine washable, but intended, marketed, and priced to be thrown away.
For example, here are 4- and 16-packs of a women’s brief that’s under $2 each. Here are some men’s briefs that are a bit over $1 each. There are socks, bras (probably a bit sketchier), and other items as well. You can even get “disposable” roll-up flats (for people who wear such things), and save a few bucks over what you’d pay in those Las Vegas Monorail station vending machines.
With these options, you can get fairly small packages of items you can throw away at your destination, or if you really like them, you can reuse them at your leisure.
Yes, there are some environmental concerns, but for those concerns you could bring a large zipper bag and bring them back compressed for reuse. But sometimes, whether it’s a last minute spray tan or any other reason, you might find this option viable.
The second option, which is what I do more often, is stashing your nearly-ready-to-toss undergarments until your next trip. You know the ones where the elastic is showing too much, or the heels aren’t quite gone but you know they have maybe 2-3 wears left. Just stash those in your bag and you can toss them when you’ve worn them that last time.
Obviously if you’re going somewhere that you need to impress with your socks or underwear, these might not be the best option. But if you’re flying solo to a conference, it’s not a bad idea to consider.
Let the post office bring your undies home
I’ve often suggested this for event swag, but if you don’t want to use your carry-on bag space for dirty laundry, bring a flat rate box (or two) from the Postal Service’s Priority Mail service, and print a label (or two) from usps.com so you can just ship whatever excess you have from the destination. Most hotels and convention centers have mail services, and with a gallon zipper bag or two, you can send the stuff you’re certain you won’t need on the trip home.
If you don’t use the labels, you have a certain period of time to cancel and request a refund (currently 60 days as this post goes out). Check this out when you make the labels to be sure you have the latest information.
You’re hoping I won’t talk about underwear anymore
And that’s fine. I have a couple of trip reports coming soon, some status match tracking to do, and some travel accessory reviews as well. Stay tuned, follow the blog, and watch for some new posts in the next couple of weeks!
And here’s the video I mentioned at the start. Watch at about 58 seconds in for the not-meant-to-be-disposable boxers.
rsts11travel 