The Bucket Bath List

I love baths. Whenever the opportunity for one arises, I pounce. Before leaving for Africa, I took a bath everyday for two months. I had a hunch this luxury wouldn't be available much longer. I was right. Now I bathe in a bucket. Today, dear reader, I will guide you through bucket bathing so that if you find yourself suddenly showerless, you won't be (too) stinky.

Step One: Select a suitable bucket. Mine is a large basin, This is good for catching and reusing water. You can splash as wrecklessly as you please and most of the water stays in the bucket. When your water tap is a couple hundred yards away, you want to keep water usage to a minimum. Some basins have pretty designs on the bottom. These are useless: the water will be opaque in one rinse.


Post bath water. Like I said, opaque.

Step Two: Heat one to two liters of water. Add cold water to taste. The exact ratio depends on the season. During the winter, hot water was the one small luxury I couldn't bear to skip.

Step Three (Optional, very optional): Shave. Fill a large cup of with water. Use this to rinse your razor. Don't use the basin, as you will needlessly mucky up the water.  When you rinse you don't want the water that was formerly on your legs to end up stuck to your shoulders. When finished shaving, dispose of the dirty water.

Step Four: Start at your head and work down. This step is crucial for women. Starting with your hair will reduce, not eliminate, the soap film that will permanently cling to your locks. Use your large cup to rinse. Don't try to dip your head into the bucket: you will get water up your nose. Do not lather and repeat--no conditioner either. You want to keep the amount of soap in the basin--and consequently, stuck to your body--to a minimum. Suds up the rest of your body ending with your feet. The heat, sand, and chacos are not kind to feet.

It's nice at this point to have clean water in another bucket to rinse with. The water in the first bucket will be extremely icky at this point. This step is also optional, however. Especially if reaching your tap involves a short hike.


View from my "shower."

Congratulations! You have just finished your first bucket bath. If your feeling fancy, spritz on your favorite perfume or bug spray. Now your ready to hit the village, paint the shebeen shanties (Namibian for bar) red, or maybe just curl up under your mosquito net and dream of hot water and claw-footed bath tubs. I think tonight I will choose the latter. 


Sideways picture of my basin and bucket. I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.