So one of your evening chores becomes doing the laundry; typically, you won't need to do so more than every other day (if you travel with a partner, you can take turns), washing and rinsing the clothes — often only undergarments and socks — in the sink of your hotel or B&B. Never done laundry by hand? Whether done by hand or machine, the process is essentially the same (don't forget that washing machines are a fairly recent invention, and limited to the wealthier parts of the world). You can find many travel laundry products such as travel size liquid soap packers, travel size dry laundry soap sheets, as well as portable clothes lines and sink stoppers here.
A quick pre-rinse will get some of the dirt out of the clothing before the wash phase begins. Fill the sink (or washbasin, or whatever) with water, immerse the clothes, and knead them with the hands, much like preparing dough for bread-making. Then drain off the water, squeeze the clothes to remove as much of the dirty water as practical, and set them aside. Begin the wash by refilling the sink (but not too full, as the wet clothing will take up a fair bit of space when you return it to the basin) and adding soap or detergent; if using a dry laundry product, ensure that it is well dissolved before continuing.
Add the wet laundry. If the clothes are badly soiled, you might let them soak for a bit at this point (but no more than ten minutes); most of the time that won't be necessary. Wash the clothes by kneading them thoroughly. If you're trying to remove a stubborn stain, rubbing that portion of the fabric against itself is helpful (when doing this with socks, try slipping them over your hands like mittens). Remember that washing is primarily a mechanical process, not a chemical one. When the wash water stops getting noticeably dirtier, drain it. Then refill the basin with clear water, and rinse the clothes the same way you pre-rinsed them. Drain, squeeze out water (wringing the clothes will extract more water, but is more damaging to fabrics), refill, and repeat until the rinse water remains clear. You might need several rinses if the clothes were particularly dirty, but two or three usually suffice. This entire process, apart from any soaking, should take no more than a few minutes (unless you've let the laundry pile up).
Rinsing can often be done more effectively in a shower than in a sink, but at the cost of more water used. If laundering silk, try giving it an extra/final rinse containing some hair conditioner, which (because silk — like hair — is a protein) both keeps the fabric nice and lessens wrinkles.
Rolling wet clothes in a towel, and wringing the towel tightly (with clothes inside), is an old traveller's trick to extract water and thus considerably speed the drying process; the towel both absorbs the moisture and protects the fabric from damage due to wringing. This technique works with any towel, but using a viscose towel is particularly productive, as you can separately wring out the towel and reuse it to good effect (whereas a regular towel, once damp, will cease to be effective).
Finally, hang the garments on your travel clothesline, and go to bed. All of this takes but minutes with a bit of practice, and you will forever be amazed at how much it lightens your load.
If some item of clothing isn't quite dry when you're ready to depart in the morning, do as they do in the army: put it on anyway. Though it might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, you'll be amazed at how quickly it will dry next to a warm body. A better solution, though, is to choose travelling clothes made of quick-drying (and wrinkle-free) fabrics. A shirt made of Coolmax® (or some similar fabric) will not only dry quickly, but will keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter than one made of cotton.
If you're travelling on business, of course, you're unlikely to want to wash your dress shirts in the sink (though it's nice to be able to). On the other hand, it's more likely that someone else is footing the bill, so letting the hotel do your laundry is a more acceptable option. Be prepared for occasional surprises if you take this route; the laundry processes in foreign hotels can be quite entertaining! Should you choose to have the proprietor of a B&B or small hotel do your laundry, be sure to negotiate the fee in advance.
When travelling for extended periods, some people like to splurge on a "real" laundry every couple of weeks or so, especially for large/bulky items of clothing that are more troublesome to hand wash. Drop-off laundries in some places are notorious for "losing" items; spreading out your clothing on their counter and taking a quick photo with your digital camera can help resolve any differences of opinion at pickup time.
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