Who restocks the toilet roll: you or your cleaner?

Running out of toilet roll on the second night of a stay is a tiny problem that leaves a strangely big impression. So does an empty washing-up liquid bottle or a dishwasher with no tablets. These gaps usually happen because nobody is quite sure whose job restocking is.

Split it: you buy, your cleaner tops up

The arrangement that works for most small hosts is simple:

• You keep a store cupboard stocked with supplies, ordered in bulk.
• Your cleaner tops up the guest-facing amounts from that cupboard at every turnover.
• Your cleaner tells you when the cupboard is running low.

This keeps shopping off the cleaner's plate, which avoids receipts, reimbursements and arguments about brands. It also means restocking happens at the one moment someone is definitely in the property: the turnover.

If your cleaner is happy to shop as well, that can work, but agree a fee or time allowance for it. Our post on paying your cleaner covers how to handle extra tasks fairly.

Use fixed amounts, not "some"

"Put out toilet roll" means different things to different people. A fixed number means your cleaner knows exactly what to leave and you can check it from a photo. For example:

• Toilet roll: two per bathroom, plus a spare pack in the cupboard.
• Dishwasher tablets: five.
• Washing-up liquid: one bottle at least half full.
• Bin bags: a roll under the sink.
• Hand soap: one per sink, at least half full.
• Coffee and tea: enough for two a day for the length of a typical stay.

Write these numbers on the checklist. Our post on the turnover supplies worth stocking covers which items are worth providing in the first place.

Set a par level for the cupboard

A par level is the amount below which you reorder. If the store cupboard has fewer than two packs of toilet roll, or fewer than twenty dishwasher tablets, it's time to buy more. Put a small note inside the cupboard door listing the par levels, and ask your cleaner to message you when something drops below.

This sounds formal for one listing, but it removes the guesswork. You don't have to visit to check, and your cleaner doesn't have to judge what counts as "running low".

Put it on the checklist

Restocking gets forgotten when it lives in someone's head. Add it as specific lines at the end of the turnover:

• "Two toilet rolls in each bathroom, spare pack in cupboard."
• "Five dishwasher tablets by the sink."
• "Message host if any cupboard item is below the line on the door."

Our cleaning checklist template has a restock section you can edit with your own amounts. If you want to see that it was done without visiting, a checklist your cleaner taps through on their phone gives you a record of each turnover.

Check it without visiting

Ask your cleaner to take one photo of the bathroom shelf and one of the kitchen sink area at the end of each turnover. It takes ten seconds and shows you at a glance that the toilet roll, soap and tablets are out. If a guest later says something was missing, you have a dated photo of what was left.

Buying in bulk

For one or two listings, ordering every one to two months is usually enough. Bulk packs of toilet roll, bin bags and dishwasher tablets cost noticeably less per unit, and they store well. Keep receipts for your records; supplies are a normal running cost. Our post on tracking income and expenses covers what to record.

The aim isn't to be lavish. It's to make sure no guest ever has to message you about toilet roll.