Yes, use the Pyth. Thm. This situation is illustrated by a right triangle with legs 5 miles and 3 miles. What would be the equivalent straight line distance from house to cleaners?
(5 mi)^2 + (3 mi)^2 = (straight line distance)^2
(25 + 9) mi^2 = (straight line distance)^2
straight line distance = length of hypotenuse = sqrt(34 mi^2) (answer)