Surviving Holiday Hosting: Managing Extra Laundry When Family and Guests Visits
- Sonja Joubert
- Nov 5
- 9 min read
You've stocked the fridge, made up the guest beds, and mentally prepared yourself for hosting family over the holidays. You're ready for the cooking, the entertaining, and the general chaos of having a full house.
But have you thought about the laundry?
Probably not. Most people don't realise just how much extra washing comes with holiday guests until they're knee-deep in towels, beach clothes, and swim costumes on day three of a two-week visit.
Let's talk about managing the laundry explosion that comes with hosting, because a little preparation makes a massive difference between a smooth holiday and a stressful one.
The Reality of Holiday Guest Laundry
When you're hosting family or friends over December, you're not just doing your normal washing. You're dealing with:
🔖Extra towels. Guest towels, beach towels, pool towels. Towels everywhere. Each guest might use two or three towels a day depending on how often they're swimming or showering.
🔖Outdoor activity clothes. Everyone's at the beach, in the pool, playing cricket in the garden. These clothes get sweaty, sandy, chlorinated, and grass-stained. They need washing after every wear.
🔖Increased bed linen. More guests means more beds to change and more sheets to wash. If you're hosting young kids or teenagers, you might be washing bedding more frequently than usual.
🔖Kitchen and table linen. More meals mean more tablecloths, napkins, and kitchen towels getting used and needing washing.
🔖The unexpected stuff. Someone spills red wine on the couch cover. A child has a bathroom accident. The dog jumps on someone's clean shirt. Holiday hosting is full of laundry surprises.
Add it all up, and you're easily doing three or four times your normal laundry volume. Maybe more if you've got a big group or young children visiting.
Before They Arrive: Prep Your Laundry Setup
Don't wait until your guests arrive to think about laundry. A bit of preparation makes everything easier.
🆘Check your washing line. Is it sturdy enough to handle double or triple the usual load? If your line is sagging, the rope is fraying, or your T-pole is leaning, now is the time to fix it. You don't want your washing line collapsing under the weight of six beach towels.
🆘Stock up on pegs. You'll need more than usual. Make sure they're good quality pegs that won't snap when you're hanging wet towels in the wind. Cheap pegs break at the worst possible times.
🆘Buy extra detergent and fabric softener. You're going to use a lot more than normal. Having plenty on hand means you're not rationing or running out mid-visit. We recommend natural allergy-friendly laundry detergents, softeners and stain removers.
🆘Clear space on your line. If you've been letting your washing pile up or leaving things hanging for days, clear it all before guests arrive. You'll need maximum space.
🆘Consider a backup drying option. Additional drying areas can be a lifesaver when your washing line is full or the weather's not cooperating. Many of our customers install a second and even third wall-mounted foldaway washing line indoors, under the lapa, in the garage or on a sunny wall. They are elegant, available in three colours and fold away neatly.
🆘Service your washing machine if needed. The last thing you want is your machine breaking down when you've got a house full of people. If it's been making funny noises or not draining properly, get it looked at now.
Setting Expectations Early
One of the biggest mistakes hosts make is not discussing laundry expectations with their guests.
👉Let guests know what's available. During the planning stage, mention your setup. "We've got a washing machine and plenty of washing line space if you need to do any laundry while you're here." This lets them pack accordingly and know they're not imposing if they ask.
👉Explain your system. If you have specific laundry days or times when you prefer to run the machine (like avoiding peak loadshedding times), share that upfront. "We usually do washing in the mornings before the power goes out" gives guests a framework.
👉Be clear about beach towels. Will you provide beach towels, or should guests bring their own? This one decision can significantly reduce your laundry load.
👉Discuss the kids situation. If guests are bringing children, chat about how you'll handle the inevitable increase in washing. Maybe they'll do their kids' laundry themselves, or maybe you'll do a daily kids-clothes load together.
Creating an Efficient System
With multiple people and constant activity, you need a system or the laundry will overwhelm you.
✔️Designate a dirty laundry spot. Set up a basket or hamper somewhere accessible where everyone can put dirty towels and clothes. This keeps things contained and makes it easier to sort and wash.
✔️Do a load every day. Even if it's not completely full, running one load daily prevents the backlog from becoming unmanageable. It's easier to keep up than to catch up.
✔️Prioritise towels. They take the longest to dry and you need them most frequently. Get towels washed and dried first so they're ready for the next beach trip or pool session.
✔️Use the hot water wisely. If you have a solar geyser or limited hot water, time your washing accordingly. Bedding and towels benefit from hot water, but t-shirts and shorts don't necessarily need it.
✔️Make use of the sun. South African summer sun can dry a full load in a few hours. Get washing out early in the day to maximise drying time.
✔️Rotate through the bedrooms. Change and wash sheets in different rooms on different days rather than trying to do all the bedding at once. It's more manageable.
The Washing Line Workflow
Your washing line becomes command central during holiday hosting. Making it work efficiently is crucial.
👕Space things properly. Don't cram items too close together or they won't dry properly. Air circulation matters, especially for thick towels.
👕Shake out everything before hanging. Particularly with beach towels and anything that's been near sand. A quick shake removes loose sand and helps things dry faster.
👕Hang heavier items on the stronger parts of your line. If you have a T-pole or rotary line, distribute weight evenly. Don't cluster all the wet towels on one side. Hang heavier items at the back of wall-mounted foldaway washing lines.
👕Use the weather to your advantage. That afternoon breeze? Perfect for drying washing. That humidity before a thunderstorm? Maybe hold off on hanging out the next load.
👕Bring washing in before evening dew. Leaving clothes out overnight in summer means they'll be damp again by morning. Get them in while they're dry.
👕Have a backup plan for rain. If it's been threatening all day, have indoor drying space ready so you're not caught out.
Managing Guest Participation
Some guests will offer to help with laundry. Others won't. Navigating this gracefully requires a bit of diplomacy.
🧺Accept help when it's offered. If someone says "Let me throw my stuff in with yours," let them. They're trying to be considerate, not critical of your hosting.
🧺Show them how your machine works. If guests want to do their own washing, give them a quick tutorial. Every machine is different, and you don't want them accidentally ruining their clothes or flooding your laundry.
🧺Set gentle boundaries. If someone's doing three loads a day and monopolising the machine, it's okay to say, "Let's coordinate our washing times so everyone gets a turn."
🧺Don't do everything yourself. If you're hosting a large group and drowning in laundry, it's absolutely fine to say, "I'm doing a towel load this afternoon if anyone wants to add beach towels" or "The machine's free if anyone needs to do washing."
The Loadshedding Factor
Nothing complicates holiday laundry quite like loadshedding.
⚡Know the schedule. Check your loadshedding times for the entire visit period. Plan your laundry around when you'll actually have power.
⚡Communicate this to guests. Let them know when the machine will be available. "Power's back at 2pm, so that's when we can do the next load" helps everyone plan.
⚡Don't start a load right before loadshedding. Nothing's worse than having washing sitting in the machine for two hours mid-cycle. Time it so loads finish before the power goes out.
⚡Consider a backup power solution. If you host frequently, a small inverter setup that can run your washing machine during loadshedding might be worth the investment.
When Things Go Wrong
Despite your best planning, holiday laundry chaos happens.
⚠️The machine breaks down. Have a backup plan: a nearby laundromat, a neighbour who might help, or the willingness to hand wash essentials until you can get a technician out.
⚠️Weather doesn't cooperate. Three days of rain with a house full of people and nowhere to dry washing is challenging. Indoor drying racks, fans, and patience are your friends.
⚠️Someone ruins something. A guest accidentally washes something they shouldn't have, or colours bleed in the machine. Take a deep breath. It's just laundry. Things can usually be replaced or fixed.
⚠️You're overwhelmed. If the laundry is piling up faster than you can manage, it's okay to say so. "I'm behind on laundry, so if anyone needs clean towels urgently, let me know and we'll prioritise those." People understand.
The Mental Load
The physical work of holiday laundry is one thing. The mental load of managing it all is another.
You're not just doing the washing. You're tracking what needs to be washed, when you can wash it, where it needs to be dried, making sure everyone has clean towels, anticipating what will be needed next, and keeping it all running smoothly alongside everything else that comes with hosting.
☑️Give yourself grace. You're not going to stay on top of everything perfectly. Some days the laundry basket will overflow. Some days you'll forget washing on the line overnight. That's normal.
☑️Lower your standards slightly. Does that tablecloth really need ironing? Do the sheets need to be changed after three days instead of four? Pick your battles.
☑️Ask for help when you need it. Hosting doesn't mean doing everything alone. If you're stressed about laundry, say so. Most guests are happy to pitch in; they just don't realise you need help unless you ask.
After They Leave: Recovery Mode
Your guests have departed, you've waved them off, and now you're standing in front of a mountain of final washing. Guest room bedding, leftover towels, that tablecloth from the big lunch. It's daunting.
📌Don't try to do it all in one day. Spread it over a few days. You've just finished hosting; you deserve a break.
📌This is when you notice your washing line. After two weeks of heavy use, you'll see every weak point, every sag, every issue. The rope that needs replacing. The pole that's starting to lean. The pegs that are down to half their original number.
📌Consider it maintenance time. Just like you'd deep clean the house after guests leave, this is when you assess your laundry setup. What worked? What didn't? What needs fixing or upgrading?
The Difference a Good Setup Makes
Here's what most people don't realise until they've hosted a big holiday gathering: your washing line setup directly impacts how stressful hosting is.
A sturdy washing line that can handle heavy loads without sagging? That's one less thing to worry about. Quality pegs that don't break when you're hanging wet towels in the wind? That saves time and frustration. A well-positioned line that gets good sun and airflow? Washing dries faster, which means you can do more loads and keep up with demand.
When you're already managing meals, activities, family dynamics, and general holiday chaos, having a laundry setup that simply works without adding to your stress is genuinely valuable.
The hosts who manage holiday laundry most smoothly aren't necessarily doing anything fancy. They just have reliable equipment and a basic system. That's it. But the difference it makes to the overall hosting experience is significant.
Looking Ahead
If you're planning to host again next year (or if you host regularly throughout the year), investing in your laundry setup isn't extravagant. It's practical.
You don't need anything elaborate. You just need something that works reliably when you're asking a lot of it. A washing line that stays up. Pegs that don't break. Enough drying space for the volume you're dealing with.
The best time to sort this out is right after hosting, when you're acutely aware of what worked and what didn't. When you remember the frustration of a sagging line or the third time a peg snapped. When you're motivated to make next time easier.
Because you will host again. And when you do, you'll be grateful you sorted out the laundry setup properly.
Make hosting easier with a washing line setup that can handle anything. SA Washline supplies and installs high quality T-pole, rotary, wall-mounted foldaway, and retractable washing lines. We also repair old lines and supply durable no-rust pegs that last. Contact us to get your setup ready for next holiday season.
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