apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'm not sure why you'd live any differently than you already do. You're doing your guest a favour by welcoming them into your home, there's no need to go overboard and change your life for them too (aside from the pee thing - I think it's a good idea to flush while they're there). In fact, it's a great way to spread eco friendly living. In seeing the way you live, your guest might pick up some green habits they didn't have before.

For instance, I visited my parents in Brisbane, AU during their water crisis and they asked me to take four minute showers as per the recommendation there for saving water. It seemed a completely reasonable request to me, and I'm far more aware of my shower time here at home now.

I think that house guests understand that everyone lives their lives and runs their homes a bit differently. Let them know your "quirks"--what to use instead of paper towels, etc. I wouldn't go buy things that you normally do not keep on hand. Unless your city is water rationing, be relaxed about whether they run water while brushing their teeth, or whatever else you do. And I would definitely flush.

There's no need to change the way you live for a guest. Just explain, and if she asks for a paper towel, show her where the rags are kept. It's no biggie.

As for letting it mellow, I'm no fan of it with a full household -- it's no problem when it's just one person, but a lot of urine in the bowl can easily result in a big stink, especially on hot days. Or, for that matter, when you serve asparagus for dinner. So you might consider switching to the bathtub and bucket technique for the duration -- that is, plug the tub as everyone showers, then toss a bucketful down to flush the toilet.

Agreed! No need to change your ways. If your friend *really* needs a paper towel rather than the rags or sponges or whatever you use, let her go out and buy them. And then have her take them with her when she leaves!

this is a perfect opportunity to educate another person about how simple it can be to live more sustainably.

We live at the ocean, so we regularly have houseguests. We also let it mellow and do not use paper towels. So far, almost no guest has minded the change. Also so far, no one has reported that they have changed their ways since staying with us. But our guests have remarked that they were surprised how much they didn't miss paper towels. That's the practice that seems to really stand-out to our friends/family.

I'd probably put off the mellow practice for now but otherwise, don't worry about a thing! They'll love having a place to stay with you!

I presume that this does not apply for this particular guest, but this is just a comment for a certain subset guests. I have celiac disease which means that I get sick if I consume any gluten - the protein in wheat, barley, and rye. I hardly ever use paper towels in my own, gluten-free, home. However, I use them when I'm a guest because community towels get cross-contaminated with gluten very easily. I used to get sick when I visited my parents until we figured this out. I always warn my hosts that I will need paper towels though, and I offer to buy them once I arrive.

Obviously, this doesn't apply to most guests. I just wanted to take a moment to highlight a case when it isn't as much a matter of setting aside a green habit as it is accommodating a guest's health needs.

This is an interesting question. I would definitely draw the line at the mellowing thing, and just FLUSH.

But there is no way I would buy disposable or paper anything just for my houseguests. I usually give houseguests a cloth napkin and a ring (our rings are all different to identify the napkins) and say, "This will be your napkin. But if it gets gross and you want a new one, just toss it in the bin in the kitchen and grab a new napkin from this pile right here." I think my family thought the cloth napkins were a little hoity-toity at first but they're over it now.

I have the reverse problem at my in-laws' house. My mother-in-law washes EVERY bath towel after ONE use at her house, which is outrageous. I DO NOT provide that service for my in-laws when they visit. They just reuse their towels like normal people when they visit. At their house I have usually just handed over my towel when she asks for it, but now that I've been "in the family" for a few years, I'll be comfortable next time just saying, "That's okay, I'll hang it in our room--we're trying to conserve energy and water these days." Ironically, though, they do compost at their house, so of course I've always been happy to comply with that!

I do not tell people what they should set the guest bedroom AC unit to in the summer. I have snuck in there during breakfast to make sure it is off, however.

I don't let smoking guests litter their butts into the street (as, lamentably, so many smokers in the Northeast do). I usually find a small plant pot with some soil in it and put it on the back porch for them.

In general I stay pretty low-key about enforcing green-ness, but have my limits with things like litter.

I wouldn't change most things, but I would explain them. As for the bathroom, we mellow but are known to flush in the warm summer months on a productive day. With guests around, though, we flush. Here's my caveat: the worst case scenario is when you forget to flush and the guest is not familiar with the practice and just thinks it's gross and weird when they come upon your unflushed toilet. I am sure with many multi-day visits that we must have forgotten to flush at some point over our years of doing this. My new plan is my advice to you: tell people about your normal mellow habit, with some humor, when you're explaining the paper towels and the rest. You can then tell them that you normally flush with guests around, but hope they'll excuse it if you forget. They will understand and be more at ease when you forget to flush out of habit, and this also gives them the opportunity to tell you that they are comfortable with the practice and by all means think it should continue during their visit!