Sustainable switches
As holiday let owners, there are a few reasons why the choices we make about the consumables we provide and cleaning products we use matter even more than they do for everyone else.
1. Our holiday homes can offer first hand experience to guests of how eco-options can work in practice. I’ve lost count of how many of my guests in my own place start using Scrubbies after their stay (a brilliant reusable, compostable eco sponge alternative).
2. When people are on holiday, they have a tendency to consume more: more food and drink also means more bin bags, more washing up and more loo roll!
3. The experience still needs to be decadent: this isn’t the place for ‘less’; we need to find ways of eco options being a treat. Premium, great smelling eco products I’ve found are a positive switch for the environment and your guest experience and demonstrate how eco can be synonymous with luxury.
4. In some ways, we have twice the impact: what we choose for our holiday home is often then mirrored in our own. All the more important if you are running multiple lets.
After lots of searching, here’s my top eco switches.
Click on the links in orange to learn more or purchase.
As an affiliate (I’m an Amazon Associate and work with Wild England too), I earn a small commission from some of these. I use and love every single one and won’t ever recommend anything I don’t (you know me better than that 😉)
Miniml washing up liquid
A straight switch to Miniml for washing up liquid means far fewer nasty chemicals (paraben and sulphate free), less plastic waste (the whole container is returnable to Miniml or, at worst, recyclable) than buying in smaller amounts. I refill a glass bottle with pump lid, also from Miniml (see below).
Miniml has solid eco credentials and seems to me to really mean it - they are cruelty free and vegan too.
Oh, and it works really well. I use this in my own home and my holiday lets.
There are two scents: this one is my preferred and is usually cheaper.
Eco Scrubbies
Compostable cleaning pads which I reuse and reuse, giving them a hot wash in between, and eventually compost.
Kerry runs the definition of a small, eco-focussed company, and she’s lovely too.
Brilliantly functional and beautiful to boot.
Wild England Toiletries
Wild England was the result of a lot of searching for bathroom products that I could be proud to share in my holiday lets.
Dorset based, incredibly eco and socially-focussed, they have curated a truly luxury brand and product without compromise.
Hotels and holiday lets are their target market so the design is perfect: organic, ethically sourced and vegan in some lovely scents.
KAYGIBBS40% gets you 40% off anything on the website.
Enter the discount code at checkout as many times as you like, and with no minimum order, making it perfect for smaller operators.
In The Snug, I have the cleansing gel, shampoo and conditioner on a three section wall bracket. In my larger property, I have the cleansing gel on every sink and the toiletries in the showers.
Dip Plant Based Cleaning Sheets
If we want guests to do a nice job of the dishes, it makes sense to leave the ingredients to make that happen, and DIP is now my brand of choice.
Concerned about what I've read regarding our gut microbiomes and the chemicals commonly used in dishwashing, I was on the look out for an effective but gentler option. I used them at home first to be sure the quality was there, and I’m incredibly impressed. I also notice there’s no chemically smell at the end of the wash.
When I have shared these on Facebook, one follower mentioned that her mugs were coming out with tea stains with these. Mine have been totally fine, but worth bearing in mind for some dishwashers.
Dip also do laundry sheets and more; I haven’t tried them yet. Let me know if you do!
Serious Tissues Toilet Roll
One summer, after a fair bit of searching, I decided on two toilet roll brands that had the eco-credentials I was looking for and had a bit of fun asking each guest to choose their preferred of the two. It helped that one was brown and one was white!
They almost unanimously chose Serious Tissues, who also do kitchen roll, face tissues, laundry strips and other products I haven’t yet tried. Please let me know if you do.
The toilet roll adorns all my lets and my home.
I love that it arrives on a subscription so I don’t have to think about it. I love that there’s no excessive packaging (that really put me off the one we all know with the pretty wrappers). I love that I am convinced by their green credentials and I doubly love that each box I buy offsets 11% of my annual carbon footprint.
At the time of writing, you can get 5% off with my code KAY1694 (but codes are limited on this one).
Washable slippers
To add a touch of luxury, and encourage guests to take the shoes off at the door, I include slippers in my offer.
These are washable and I’ve found they can be reused for around 5 guests and still be in pretty good shape. I wash them in with the bedding and towels. The odd guest takes them home, which is fine by me: they’re still getting another life!
They come in two sizes and I order both. They say 4/5 and then 6/7, but I’ve found the bigger ones are plenty large enough for men.