Tulip Group In The Community

Fact: Every week thousands and thousands of partly used and even unused toiletries, cleaning products and other useful items go to waste, thrown away, or even poured down the drain.

Fact: Thousands of unfortunate Londoners do not have a home, live on the streets or seek refuge in hostels and rooms supported and maintained by one of many charitable organisations.

With so many wasted products every day and witnessing the increased homelessness on London’s streets, we spoke to our clients and asked if they would consider donating their partly used/unused toiletries and other sundries(see list and details below) for us to distribute to various charities providing support services to the homeless.

The feedback was overwhelming. 98% of respondents said they would be delighted to donate their partly used products.

Moving home; relocating; selling a home; preparing a home for a Tenant is hard work and time consuming. There is always so much more to move than we imagined. Just when you think everything is done, you open a cupboard, look on a shelf only to find bits and pieces you missed. Most commonly these forgotten items are toiletries, cleaning products, non perishable food items and small electrical items.

These discoveries often happen long after the removalists have gone, cleaning completed, the car full and with no more time to spare. In this scenario the majority of people throw the items away or simply just leave them behind. This is not only a waste, but left items can cause more problems than you might imagine-indeed the less you leave behind the better(see our FAQ’s below for some explainers).

What Products Can I Donate?

Kitchen: Partly used cleaning products

  • Washing up liquid

  • Hand wash

  • Sanitizer

  • Oven cleaner

  • General kitchen cleaner

  • Glass cleaner

  • Laundry detergent

  • Dishwasher tablets

  • Fabric softener

Kitchen products: Unused items

  • Cleaning cloths

  • Kitchen Towel (less than 50% used)

  • Cleaning pads

Bathroom cleaning products and toiletries

  • Shower gel

  • Shampoo

  • Bubble bath

  • Bleach

  • Bathroom cleaner

  • Glass cleaner

  • Deodorants (at least 50% full)

Bathroom products and toiletries – unused

  • Toothbrushes (ideally in original packaging)

  • Toilet roll (completely intact)

  • Soap

  • Toilet brushes – new and unused only

  • Hand and body lotions

Non-perishable food items new/partly used, with at least 6 months until use-by. Items must not require refrigeration

  • Pasta

  • Rice

  • Sugar

  • Tea / Tea bags / Coffee

  • Any tinned food

  • Unopened bottles of wine / alcohol

Other items commonly left behind or disposed of. Must be 12 months old or less (see important notes below)

  • Kitchen bins – must be clean, free from cracks. Lid / pedal mechanisms in full working order and no taller than 80cm

  • Towels – stain free and undamaged

  • Bed clothes – stain free and undamaged

  • Hairdryers – in good working order; the flex must be undamaged

  • Toasters – must be in good working order, crumb free

  • Kettles – must be in good working order, limescale free

  • Irons – must be in working order; the base plate must be free of scratches or black stains; the flex must be completely intact

  • Vacuum Cleaners – must be in good working order ; free of scratches / damage with original box or manual if possible

  • Crockery, cutlery, glassware, saucepans – any items should be in a good condition; glassware should be free of cracks/chips; saucepans should be scratch/burn free; we will collect up to a set of 6 of each item

  • Utensils – any items should be in a good condition

  • Dustpans and brushes – must be damage free and in a good condition

  • Boardgames / Puzzles-must be in a good condition and complete

  • Books / Periodicals – up to a maximum of 10 items

  • Mop Buckets / Mops / Mop Heads – must be in good condition and clean

  • Small indoor house plants – provided a plant is below 30cm in height and healthy

How Tulip Group In The Community Works

  • When you book us for a clean you can tick the ‘donate used/unused products box’

  • We will post you one of our recycled/reusable Tote Bags(NB. If you do not tick the donation box on booking and you decide on the day you want to donate products our Cleaning Consultants can still take away any donations)

  • Prior to our arrival on the day of the booking, you can place all of the products you wish to donate inside the bag

  • You should leave the bag on the kitchen worktop to the left of the sink or nearest visible location

  • When we complete the cleaning job our operatives will remove the items to our Essex storage facility

  • At the facility the items are cleaned, disinfected and sanitised

  • Packs are then made up and distributed to our charity partners

  • You can be happy that nothing has gone to waste and that your partly used/unused products have made a huge contribution to making others lives better

  • This service is provided to you and our partners at no cost

  • Please read our FAQ’s below for explainers on the processes we follow once we have received your donations

Tulip Group In The Community FAQ’s

The items might be useful, but most people moving into a new home will have their own toiletries/cleaning products and for hygiene reasons prefer to use their toiletries/cleaning products.

Unless it is agreed before you leave a property you should never, under any circumstances leave anything behind that was not present when you moved in. Items left behind create mess and accumulate over time. Electrical items may require a safety (PAT test)which a landlord may not want to pay for-therefore meaning items need to be disposed of. Any items which need to be disposed of may result in you, as a Tenant incurring additional charges.

Likewise if you are a homeowner/Landlord the same applies. You may think leaving partly used products behind will be handy but most Tenant’s prefer to use their own.

Our detailed research showed there are multiple products and brands which appear time and again eg Fairy Liquid, Method, ECover, Johnson & Johnson etc. At our storage facility when we collect 20 partly used original Fairy Liquid bottles we can usually make up 5 full bottles which we then sanitise/disinfect and distribute full and in an as new condition. This is the same for many other toiletries. Any surplus bottles/containers are sent for recycling.

At 1 Hour A Week we want to give back to the communities where we work. We are experienced in clearing away and recycling items. This work is simply factored into our processes and is actually not too time consuming and the disinfecting, sanitising and repackaging at our storage facility is carried out by volunteers.

All of our teams carry our recycling bags so if you do change your mind please inform your cleaning operatives on the day or send us an email to enquiries@1houraweek.co.uk

A landlord or incoming occupant may not want to take on the responsibility of plants and they may end up dying or being disposed of anyway. If a property is left empty, even for a short length of time, plants can quickly dry out, die and drop leaves/debris which will need to be cleared up. This can be avoided through donation.

This is no problem. Our Cleaning Consultants carry extra bags with them in case of this eventuality. You can leave any extra items adjacent to our bag ready for collection on the day of your clean.