CaminoKris2013
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- (2014)
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I am always a little concerned, irrationally perhaps, that I will become acclimatised to my own smell, and as a result will defer washing clothes till well past the time when others have noticed!Socks and underwear daily. The rest when they look really grubby or start to smell - merino is good here.
From what my daughter tells me , washing clothes is just not done except by "Old People". Apparently kids toss their clothes in the freezer for a day instead of washing them.
I am always a little concerned, irrationally perhaps, that I will become acclimatised to my own smell, and as a result will defer washing clothes till well past the time when others have noticed!
Who's freezer?From what my daughter tells me , washing clothes is just not done except by "Old People". Apparently kids toss their clothes in the freezer for a day instead of washing them.
Walking with my 15 year old son made daily washing a must for base layers and shirts. If machine washing, we'd also throw in our pants. If hand washing, we'd usually just rinse them.Although come to think of it an overripe teenager can be more pungent than Rochefort cheese.
The biggest problem I find is that my hands can become dry and split in cold weather and the constant washing does not help.
From what my daughter tells me , washing clothes is just not done except by "Old People". Apparently kids toss their clothes in the freezer for a day instead of washing them.
Hmmm. Didn't think of that. And these days I seem to have a soap allergy.
OK, for the Aussies here, POM (British person) does not equal soap allergy! (for non Australians, just a regular Australian tease)
Not sure how easy to is to find 'Goat Soap' on the Camino ! but the skin on my hands does dry out and split badly when I use 'normal' soap.
so, I see I have 2 options.
avoid clothes washing and leave that to my 'nearest and dearest' who will be with me as my 'life supervisor'. (bit like a like coach but far simpler and straight to the point)
or
find some kind of treatment for the skin splitting, which has alluded me for years. Any good remedies out there?
Washing is not the problem, it's getting your clothes dry. Here was my situation after walking in Galicia for 3 days in heavy rain.View attachment 9773
Ditto for me.Socks, underwear, T shirt I washed daily, the legs (zip off) of my walking pants every second or third day depending on the amount of mud/dust on them and the whole pants weekly. All other items as required or weather dependant.
Ditto. Daily is pretty much my norm; I learned many years ago that things start to smell ripe to others well before my nose starts noticing.I normally washed all my walking clothes daily. I carry two broadly equivalent sets, one for 'evening wear' and the other for 'day wear'. Even if they weren't completely dry, the day wear gets worn the next day. My only exception is socks. I carry three pairs, and only ever have one pair drying at a time. If I need to, I will 'rest' a pair or wear it again if the previously washed pair haven't dried.
Just read about this Mark, and it all started with an April fools day joke, must look into getting one as we Irish are kilt wearers as well.
Thank you bystander. They seem to be out of stock for most sizes except the very large waist size 40" and 42". I will have to eat some more.Here's the link for you wayfarer for when you resume your camino and for any other Celts so-minded
http://www.military1st.co.uk/produc...u-khaki.html?gclid=CP_Nwar2pb4CFRIPtAod5UMAYw
Just read about this Mark, and it all started with an April fools day joke, must look into getting one as we Irish are kilt wearers as well.
Kanga... I have been thinking of this too... not just washing, but self-care for "women of a certain age". I agree about the mental health assessment part of it. I think we older people have to "try harder".... certainly I can't wear what I did in my 20s to 40s. I'm 56. Any tips for women here?In mental health assessments not washing clothes gets labeled "lack of self care" - regardless of age! Besides, youngsters have their natural beauty to rely on, we oldies don't. Although come to think of it an overripe teenager can be more pungent than Rochefort cheese.
Of course, I see the need to wash one's underwear, socks and shirts, but do people wash their hiking pants/skirts everyday?
I said it was crazy, but I am a newbie
Kris
I wish I could wear a kilt. I think men in kilts are stunning! At any rate from what I've read about some of the "days of old" in Scotland, did the men of the tribes wash their kilts all that often? I suppose since they are mostly wool, you could wear em wet and it would not matter.my son and i plan to walk in our kilts for as much as possible and i dare say they will not be washed during the walk possibly aired a lot but not washed
ie when wearing some shorts to relax in
minus the sporan and belt may have to remove kilt pin for flights
Well, we have to be careful here. I am all for comfort and convenience and, when I did my Camino last year, I arranged for much of my paraphernalia - sunglasses / glasses / hat / water bottle, etc. to be at hand and accessible without my having to take off my pack. At one point, I sent a photograph of myself back home. One of my sons commented that I looked like a Swiss Army knife.Kanga... I have been thinking of this too... not just washing, but self-care for "women of a certain age". I agree about the mental health assessment part of it. I think we older people have to "try harder".... certainly I can't wear what I did in my 20s to 40s. I'm 56. Any tips for women here?
Suzanne, I'm just going to resign myself to the "crazy old woman" tag and have a good time - there are so many prejudices against older women anyway. As an advocate I'm aware they always get challenged on juries; colleagues are quite open about it. I wash not to please others but myself. It feels better to be clean. For me on pilgrimage there is also a sacred element - a personal thing.Kanga... I have been thinking of this too... not just washing, but self-care for "women of a certain age". I agree about the mental health assessment part of it. I think we older people have to "try harder".... certainly I can't wear what I did in my 20s to 40s. I'm 56. Any tips for women here?
Ok, I don't look as good as my daughters (in their 20s and 30s) but... Surely it is to be expected?
Bodies are wonderful things, after seeing how marvellously it responds and works on long walks I have learnt to love mine now as I never did when young. Think of the blemishes, the glorious patina of age, as the imperfections of high art....
I'd like to see that photo!Well, we have to be careful here. I am all for comfort and convenience and, when I did my Camino last year, I arranged for much of my paraphernalia - sunglasses / glasses / hat / water bottle, etc. to be at hand and accessible without my having to take off my pack. At one point, I sent a photograph of myself back home. One of my sons commented that I looked like a Swiss Army Knife.
Go Kanga! Thanks for this lovely expression of a sort of faith in the process.I'm sure you look beautiful! Just different to how you looked 30 years ago.
Bodies are wonderful things, after seeing how marvellously it responds and works on long walks I have learnt to love mine now as I never did when young. Think of the blemishes, the glorious patina of age, as the imperfections of high art....
Oh, this is just one of my philosophies... I don't mean try harder in order to be pretty or sexy, but I think that aging demands of both men and women that we care for ourselves and our environments even more than we did in our youth to be neat and pulled together, not to mention clean. I'm making a mess of this comment string, thoughI feel there's nothing better after a long day's walk in the sun and dust than a shower and nice clean clothes. Bliss. I walk in the Summer so of course it is easy to dry my washing, not sure I would manage it every day in the winter months, but in July/August, definitely!
As for older women having to try harder, err... Not sure I understand that one . (i'm an older woman). We're pilgrims, we walk 20 to 30 km a day (sometimes more), what's different about us? Ok, I don't look as good as my daughters (in their 20s and 30s) but... Surely it is to be expected?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN ? Calling me fat are you?Thank you bystander. They seem to be out of stock for most sizes except the very large waist size 40" and 42". I will have to eat some more.
Hmmm. Didn't think of that. And these days I seem to have a soap allergy.
OK, for the Aussies here, POM (British person) does not equal soap allergy! (for non Australians, just a regular Australian tease)
Not sure how easy to is to find 'Goat Soap' on the Camino ! but the skin on my hands does dry out and split badly when I use 'normal' soap.
so, I see I have 2 options.
avoid clothes washing and leave that to my 'nearest and dearest' who will be with me as my 'life supervisor'. (bit like a like coach but far simpler and straight to the point)
or
find some kind of treatment for the skin splitting, which has alluded me for years. Any good remedies out there?
Now don't stick this to nationality but we Dutch will have due to the weather in holland often what we call "winter hands" - cloven chipped skin on hands.
You will not believe me but try it out anyway. The best remedy is .... Wait for it ... Pee in the morning over the skin of your hands - let be appr 10 secs and then wash your hands as usual. After a couple of days all gone. It has to be morning pee. No I am
Not joking. Old Dutch grandmothers cure ... Hilarious. I know.
I will try to explain to my better half why I am doing this
Doesn't pee contain ammonia? That can't be good for the skin.
Seems I'm wrong. And according to Dr Google aka Wikipedia.....
Urine is an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water, with the remaining constituents, in order of decreasing concentration urea 9.3 g/L, chloride 1.87 g/L, sodium 1.17 g/L, potassium 0.750 g/L, creatinine 0.670 g/L and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds.
Sounds almost 'medicinal'
Love this remark... hope to meet you some day! Parisian women are, of course, the hight point of sophistication.You're not making a mess of anything at all, I'm just enjoying the conversation. It's nice. (Whether we're on topic I am not sure... Oops)
But no, I don't feel I have to make more of an effort now I am 'old', maybe I've lost the plot (wouldn't be the 1st time!).
I am just a pilgrim. And yes it was hard doing without make-up, or even a comb - took me a week to find it - and shampoo... I used a piece of soap for everything which resulted in having my hair looking like... Words fail me....
But I had the best time in my life, made friends I'm still in touch with today, did another camino and i'm off again this year in July....
But yes, I look more like a 'pilgrim' than a supposedly sophisticated Parisian woman lol and do I care?
I am not being ironic, they really are.Love this remark... hope to meet you some day! Parisian women are, of course, the hight point of sophistication.
me too or on the doorstep.Okay, people wearing clothes for a week without washing them? That does it. I'm sleeping in my tent.
And a piece of thin rope as a clothesline.Never one to embrace my smelly side (besides, experienced that enough in the military when out in the field without a bath/shower for weeks at a time) I washed my t-shirt, underwear and socks daily when I could. The shorts were a judgement call. Some days I did, others I didn't. The great thing about the synthetic, work-out/running type shirts. socks, underwear, etc is that they dry very rapidly after being hand washed.
Nobody likes a stinky peregrino staying in the same albergue with them, perhaps sleeping just a few feet away.
Bring about 8-10 clothespins with you for hanging your wash.
Some people figure that one can wear something for three weeks, then turn it inside out and get another three weeks out of it.
Good idea.Any waterproof jackets, shorts, etc...don't wash at all. Each time you do...the waterproofing can become less effective.
Now, here are a few things to consider:
1. NO COTTON...cotton kills! Make sure any garment worn close to the body has no more than 30% cotton. The remainder should be polypro.
Your normal body temperature CANNOT dry cotton. Washing cotton, hoping for it to dry by morning...is a bad bet.
I know I often regale against packing something you MIGHT need, but here is the exception:
I call it a Lifesaver. You may think of it as a trash bag.
Take a trash bag that will comfortably fit over your upper torso. In the center of the sealed end...cut an opening large enough to fit your head through (Joey...without the fedora).
Next, about five, or so, inches below the corner at each edge...cut openings large enough to accommodate one arm each. There...now you no longer have a trash bag...you have a Lifesaver.
What makes it a lifesaver, you ask?
If you are experiencing the shivers...your body is telling you your Core (the area between your neck and belly button)is losing heat. Take off any jacket you may have on, put the Lifesaver "over" your shirt and replace your jacket.
This additional vapor barrier will insulate the core and assist greatly in natural body heat retention.
The Lifesaver weighs...nothing.
The Lifesaver takes up precious little room.
The Lifesaver costs: practically nothing.
Here's a test: wearing a damp cotton t-shirt, stand in front of a fan and feel your body temp drop. Now add the Lifesaver.
Heres another test for folks savvy enough to wear a shirt made of a non cotton material.
Again, dampen the shirt, stand in front of the fan. Yes, initially your body will begin to cool, but in rather short time the shirt will (with the combination of natural body heat and rapid evaporation) begin to return the body to near normal.
Try it...I'm sure you'll like it.
Buen "I'm tough to the Core" Camino,
Arn
Reading your post I still can smell the guy who poluted the air in the Betanzos albergue earlier this year. disgusting !Some people figure that one can wear something for three weeks, then turn it inside out and get another three weeks out of it.
@Arn, this isn't true of some of the more modern waterproof fabrics like eVent, where regular washing and drying is recommended. That said, I don't think I would be tempted to wash my rain jacket while on the camino, but wouldn't avoid it afterwards.Any waterproof jackets, shorts, etc...don't wash at all. Each time you do...the waterproofing can become less effective.
snip
Arn
I know that guy! He was sitting at the table next to us in O'Cebreiro last year when we were having breakfast.Reading your post I still can smell the guy who poluted the air in the Betanzos albergue earlier this year. disgusting !
Soap and fresh water cost nothing.
That's the guy ! You met him too ! The more we talk about him the more we are going to miss him .I know that guy! He was sitting at the table next to us in O'Cebreiro last year when we were having breakfast.
Seriously though, I believe people, over time, become immune to the smell of their own clothes. Some people, poor souls, through no fault of their own, lack the resources to wash their clothes, and their bodies. Others think that as long as they wash their bodies regularly, all will be well; they are unaware that unless the clothes they wear are also washed regularly, their clothes will smell. Perhaps these people left home before their mothers had a chance to impart on them this bit of wisdom - hey, it can happen. Maybe some Forum members can suggest some tactful way to get this message across to the transgressors.
If the transgressors don't appreciate our efforts, their mothers will.
Hmmm. Didn't think of that. And these days I seem to have a soap allergy.
OK, for the Aussies here, POM (British person) does not equal soap allergy! (for non Australians, just a regular Australian tease)
Not sure how easy to is to find 'Goat Soap' on the Camino ! but the skin on my hands does dry out and split badly when I use 'normal' soap.
so, I see I have 2 options.
avoid clothes washing and leave that to my 'nearest and dearest' who will be with me as my 'life supervisor'. (bit like a like coach but far simpler and straight to the point)
or
find some kind of treatment for the skin splitting, which has alluded me for years. Any good remedies out there?
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