First and foremost, it’s essential that you emotionally, mentally and physically prepare yourself for what’s to come. Doing laundry in this country is a workout in itself; so skip your exercise regiment for the day (if you’re brave enough to work out in 100% humidity).

For emotional and mental preparation, sit down and read a chapter of your book or listen to some of your favorite songs. It will help you decompress before your start the grueling process.

For physical preparation, drink at least 24 ounces of water (or Club, if you’re feeling adventurous) and eat a full meal.

Now that you’re (somewhat) prepared for the process, proceed with the following instructions. Make sure you have no plans for the next hour and a half, as this is a lengthy endeavor.

1. Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. It’s going to take at least 25 minutes to get warm, let alone boil, so you may want to do this step before preparing your meal.
2. Put laundry soap in the bottom of a large bucket.
3. In the large bucket, mix the one part boiling water with two parts cold water from the outdoor tap (trying to fill from the sink is inefficient).
4. Carry the bucket of water to your shower… this is where the fun really begins.
5. Insert your filthy, stinky, sweaty clothes into the bucket and watch as the water slowly turns from a sudsy-clear, to a dingy-brown.
6. Take a deep breath and plunge into the abyss. Grab your clothes and prepare to do the “wash” cycle, which in Ghana means swirling clothes around with your hands until you feel like some of the grime has released from the fabric.
7. Welcome to the “rinse” cycle. Wring out soapy clothes under running water from your shower. You’ll be soaking wet with a mixture of sweat, dirty clothes water, and shower water after this step. **NOTE** You can use another bucket for the “rinse” cycle to save water, but your clothes will dry with a sort of film over them. If you do use another bucket for this cycle, I recommend changing the water a few times throughout the process.
8. Next, is the “spin” cycle. After thoroughly rinsing, twist clothes to get most of the water out. You’ll thank yourself later because your things won’t take so long to dry and will smell less funky, but this is one of the more energy expending steps.
9. Pour filthy water into drain, and marvel at the fact that all that grime came off your clothes. Ya know…the ones that were on your body.
10. Walk your wet clothes out to the balcony or backyard, while saying a little prayer that there will be an open place on the line to hang your things. **NOTE** You should probably check for space prior to starting your laundry at all, as you will be heart broken and frustrated to go out and find no place to hang your wet clothing.
11. With clothes pins, hang each item on the line. I recommend folding it over and then clipping to prevent your underwear from flying away in the wind (yes, that really happened).
12. Within 24 hours your clothes should be dry, especially if you did the “spin” cycle adequately and hung your items on the balcony. Drying in the backyard works too, but you risk another “rinse” cycle from unexpected downpours.
13. Finally, check your privilege. Think about how lucky you are to even have running water here in Ghana, and access to a washing machine and dryer back in the States.