One of the great benefits of living in many parts of the world is that laundry services are the standard way people get their clothes washed. This means the businesses are plentiful and cheap. For me, back home, it’s a luxury to get something like this done.

You either need a mummy on-hand or you take it to a laundrette and end up paying more to get it cleaned than you paid for the item in the first place! So of course, I eagerly take advantage of these services when I can.

However, it’s easy for your laundry to get mixed up when you send it off to get cleaned. I’ve lost a few pairs of boxers and other people I’ve travelled with have lost bras and tops.

When you only have a few pieces to your name – and you probably brought quality items from home – it can be heartbreaking to lose them.

But what can you do to minimise this? I’m glad you asked!

Before you bag up your laundry, spread it out on the bed and take a few photos. It’s quick and easy but it gives you peace of mind when you are wondering if you got everything back.

Also, having a photo to show them gives you a better chance to get it back if it has been misplaced. It can be hard to describe it if anything goes missing and a photo sidesteps any language barriers.

Worse, sometimes it doesn’t occur to you until later on. You might have already left the area, or the other person might. One time we lost a bra but gained one as well. The laundry was returned in the morning but we didn’t notice the mistake until the evening.

We went down to the front desk and found out that the other person that had done their laundry at the same time had already checked out and left the city with our bra swapped into theirs.

A photo check could have saved the day and got these items back to their correct owners!