We have a home in the tropics not too far from a beach. The furniture in the TV room needs replacing and my husband said “everyone else has outdoor furniture in their house. Get outdoor furniture”. I ignored him and bought a fairly modern indoor sectional. I’ll acknowledge we have blues and greens and some rattan in the house, but no palm trees!
When I first started my AirBnB I bought a ton of single use shampoo, conditioner and body soap as well as small bars of soap for the hand basins. When they got used up I decided not to get any more and now just supply shampoo, conditioner and body wash in whatever brand looks good in the supermarket. I top up when they get low. Novbody has ever complained so I will continue. I did like the idea of dispensers on the wall but the walls around the bath area are tiled and I don’t want to screw holes in the wall and I suspect suction based would fall off creating maintenance headaches for me.
You don’t have to screw them in. The ones I purchase are glued on. I didn’t think they would stay up, but it’s been 5 years and they’re still on the shower wall.
@Ritz3 - do you remember the wall dispenser you bought? My hubby is willing to consider using one that doesn’t require drilling into the tile wall.
My AirBnB is an apartment which one day I might want to sell so I don’t want hotel like items like soap dispensers on the wall that cannot be removed. So screws were out as they would leave holes in the tiles and it seems like the dispensers you refer to might be permanent also. But I would be interested in what brand you bought.
I use a wall mounted dispenser and the fill them with stuff from the dollar store. I go for all white (shampoo, conditioner, body wash). I try to find a neutral smell like coconut. I think most guest bring their own except for soap.
They have 3m tape on the back of the dispenser.
We stayed at a hotel recently and their dispensers were attached to the wall with silicone. They aren’t easy to pull off and won’t fall off, but you could remove them and clean the silicone off the wall up before you sell the apartment.
In my experience, silicone is impossible to remove. You can cut and razor knife off thick parts, but you can never get the film it leaves off of surfaces. Unless there’s some silicone solvent I’m not aware of.
I devised this which hangs from the shower head. It needed to be compact. I found the sliver tray 1st then (I think they are about 6-8 oz don’t need to fill often) bottles full of cheap stuff that fit in it. Total non permanent and all parts cleanable. Refillable with whatever. Custom labels printed on clear plastic. There is a tube of lotion in the cabinet. I get the travel toothbrushes in a pack at the dollar store.
We ditched the small sizes long ago, for the trash problem, and what to do with half empty bottles that guests left behind. Along with the rest of California, we are using full sized bottles. We like the pump bottles. Plastic waste is a huge issue, and we don’t need to haul any more stuff than necessary to town to the dump.
I use anything guests leave behind. And even with full size bottles I remove them to my space to use and leave the new full clean one in the Airbnb room. Same with partially used TP rolls. I rarely have anything new or full in my shower except bar soap, which I don’t use in the Airbnb room.
BTW, my hand soap dispenser in the Airbnb room and in my own kitchen is a rechargeable battery motion activated one from Simple Human and the refillable soap comes in bags. Slowly producers are getting better at “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Progress in things like huge dispensers in stores where people bring their own containers to refill is hard to make when pandemics make people afraid of contamination.
Good Morning KKC
You and I do the same thing - I use everything left behind. TP etc. No waste here. The refill stores are getting a lot of publicity. Here, the “natural foods” stores have always done refills and folks can donate good containers to the bin rather than recycling them. Re-use is higher than recycle, and thanks to the pandemic, there are new fangled dispensers taking the place of the bins and scoops.
Your soap dispenser gadget sounds cool - will look into it! Thanks!
Same here.
We even ask guests not to use the garbage disposal, to save the ‘waste’ in a separate bag for us downstairs.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
I have decided to use large pump style shampoo and conditioners. Planning to attach them to the wall with the mount below. I ended up ordering individual body soaps from the link I previously shared.
I started a quilt for #2, born 2002, I recall taking it to hospital thinking I’d work on it there… lol. last year when were packing up to move I found it and donated it to good will. may some other quilter spot it and finish the project. my kids all got 2 quilts made but their granny, they are doing fine.
agreed!
the stuff you buy in small bottles is not usually high quality, nor is it recyclable. you can buy far nicer product, made locally, in large bottles (that also are better at recylability), plus all we do is pick them up to check the levels (or angle the spouts a certain way to see if they were touched) and wipe them down, way less work. and although I do have my own brand of shampoo that I like, at least when the bottles get low I don’t mind finishing them myself, cos I trust the quality.
and guests hopefully remember that you actually cared enough to provide quality amenities.
ha, yes, we always have too many small rolls of TP left.
recently I bought a very boujie brand of body soap and lotion, for the abb, knowing i’ll get to use the last 20%. these small victories (over the tax dept too haha) are the stuff of life. I buy candles for the same reason. once they get to 30% they are mine.
Good idea for those who allow guests to have candles. I only use outdoor candles as I don’t like open flame/smoke/carbon inside the house unless it’s a fire in the fireplace.
Exactly!
I love pampering my guests, they get the best. Handmade soaps also from a local woman - she has sample slices, that are perfect for a weekend stay. I have sensitive skin and everything I provide for guests is quality I use myself. Every guest stay gets an unused TP roll, and extras. Nope, we don’t waste anything around here.