By: Augusta Tate

Since we have been living in Cyprus for roughly a month, you will eventually need to do your laundry unless you pack an overwhelming amount of clothes. There are several service options nearby that are easily accessible. I had been told beforehand that there was a laundry service just next door, which was inexpensive and really easy to use. All you have to do is drop off your laundry bag, pay 12 euros, and then come around the next day; your laundry will be done for you. It seemed like a sweet deal to me, but I hadn’t had the chance to go there because I decided to do my laundry the hard way.

Around the two-week mark, my clothes started to run thin, and I was in desperate need of the essentials to be cleaned, such as socks and underwear. I had originally wanted to attend the service next door, but I chose against it because I didn’t want to wait 24 hours for it to be done. So, a couple of other people and I went and found a do-it-yourself laundromat that is about a 5-minute walk from our apartments. Not as close as the service next door, but still nearby. The laundromat is in a nice part of the area, too. However, the first time we went there, we had to walk through some areas where the road was under construction. It seemed to be located just outside the very touristy area. It was more frequently used by people living in Larnaca. Still was easy to get to, though.

During the walk, you can see many wonderful paintings on the sides of buildings done by local artists. It seems that public art like this is very common in Cyprus and the Mediterranean, as I saw numerous murals during my stay in Athens, Greece, as well.

The quality of this particular laundromat was to be expected if you’ve visited any regular penny laundromat in the United States. Some of the washing machines were out of order, it was hot because of the dryers, and the smell of wet clothes was overwhelming. But it still had its own charm.

To pay for a wash, it costs two Euros, but some of the machines don’t accept two-euro coins, so you need plenty of one-euro coins. You will need to bring your own detergent. Luckily, there is a kiosk just down the street and around the corner that sells detergent pods for a good price.

Drying your clothes costs about 3 euros for one cycle, but don’t worry, because the dryers accept two euro coins. However, you will need to do at least two cycles depending on how much clothes you have. The last time I was there, I had too many clothes to wash, and it took me a long while to dry all of them thoroughly, or at least well enough, so I could finish drying them out on my balcony. So, I definitely would advise you to wash your clothes sooner rather than later, and in small increments if you choose to do so.

Even with all of that, it’s a great place to sit down and do some blog post-writing while you wait. They even have free internet! The lastThe last time I was there, we had walked past earlier in the day,, and a kind man who had an art studio across the street had greeted us. Later on in the afternoon, when we went to do our laundry, he recognized us and told us that he was having a barbeque and to come back in 30 minutes. We had kind of forgotten about his offer, but then, about an hour later, the street was filled with the smell of grilled meat and the sound of people laughing. A small group of locals had gathered around some fold-out tables and plastic chairs, sharing a meal. It was definitely a familiar sight if you had ever been to family barbecues during the summer. The warm atmosphere made our nights, even though we unfortunately didn’t partake in the feast. If you choose to do your laundry this way instead of using the service, it’s definitely worth the experience and the cost.