Since sharing this round-up back in 2009 and this one from 2012, we’ve been getting quite a few requests for an updated breakdown of the household cleaners and personal care products we’re using to keep our home (and bodies!) clean these days. And I always get a bunch of questions about my skin routine. We do our best to keep our collections of soaps and cleaners pretty simple and streamlined (including my makeup, which all fits into a bag the size of a pencil case) because less stuff = more money, more time, and more space. So if you’re looking for a few ideas on what you might be able to cut out or simplify, hopefully this quick little post will give you some ideas. And if you wanna know what I put on my face, that’s in here too. Ok, let’s go.
Household Cleaners
Yes, these are the household cleaners we use to clean our entire house. This J. R. Watkins lemon dish soap sits on the counter by the sink for pots and pans along with this J.R. Watkins grapefruit hand soap (which we use in our bathroom and the powder room too). And here’s our dishwasher detergent, which we forgot to pull out for the picture.
We use Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Multi-Surface Concentrate Cleaner for nearly everything else (no buying toilet cleaners and tile cleaners and wood floor cleaners each to do an individual job). We like the concentrated formula so it lasts a while and we can just water it down, which I usually do by around 50%. We typically use a moist microfiber cloth to rub down whatever it is that needs scrubbing (floors, counters, tabletops, windowsills, etc). Our favorite is the lemon verbena scent. Trust me on that. It’s heavenly.
The white vinegar and water in the spray bottle is also a really great all-purpose cleaner (we use it mainly for cleaning windows and mirrors, and it also works to clean stainless steel appliances if you buff it on “with the grain” of the steel). I typically do a 3 parts water and 1 parts vinegar combo in my spray bottle and I’m good to go. I can’t tell you how nice it is not to have the entire cabinet under the sink crammed with cleaning products. Plus the fact that a big jug of vinegar is so cheap and goes such a long way means it saves us a ton of money each year, and I’m not always running to the store to get more.
Oh and toss in Magic Erasers too. You can cut them in half so they last longer, and they’re great for grubby spots where messy hands grab the white stair banister or for cleaning up the marker-dappled top of the art desk. We also love these weirdly named Scrub Daddy sponges for pots and pans with baked on grease and grime.
Laundry Stuff
Generally speaking, the MVP here is our Seventh Generation Free & Clear detergent, which we use for every load of laundry (this is also a concentrated cleaner so it doesn’t take up much space on the shelf). We haven’t used fabric softener or any sort of spray starch for YEARS and don’t miss it.
Occasionally when we have an issue with a stubborn stain that doesn’t come out with just some pretreating with detergent we’ll reach for the big guns: the Oxi Clean powder (which we use for soaking things) or the Oxi Clean spray (a stronger pretreatment than just the detergent). And a Tide To-Go pen is nice to keep in the kitchen junk drawer with another one in the car (just in case there’s a spot you notice when you’re headed out the door or already out at a meeting). One in the purse isn’t a bad idea either.
Freshening The Air
A few members of our household are sensitive to overly perfumed or fragranced stuff, so there’s no Febreze or Glade Plug-Ins in rotation. We generally rely on soy candles with various essential oils for a really nice non-irritating scent (like this one, which also keeps mosquitos away when we light it outside). This Mrs. Meyer’s candle is also one of my favorites (I take the cap and label off so it just looks clean and simple on a counter or shelf). It smells JUST LIKE the multi-purpose cleaner I use in the lemon verbena scent, so my little mom hack is that I like to light one in the kitchen so it smells freshly cleaned (but I didn’t actually scrub anything down – ha!).
Plants are in this mix too, because they’re awesome for purifying the air (see this NASA-approved list for the most efficient ones) and they look pretty too, so I’m down with having something green in every room. The Eco Me spray air freshener is basically a greener version of Febreze (I love the mint smell best) so that’s nice if something is musty or a room/rug/sofa just smells stale. Give it a few spritzes and you’re golden.
And that little gray charcoal bag is something I’ve mentioned on the podcast, but we love them for eliminating smells naturally. The charcoal basically absorbs extra moisture and odor through the burlap and traps it in there – then you lay them out in the sun for around an hour or so once a month and the odors bake out and they’re “recharged” to soak up more odors for another month. I have a ton of them around the house – one in each room, plus one in each shoe bin in our mudroom cabinets by the door to keep them smelling fresh. They’d be awesome for a gym bag or cabinet full of sports stuff too.
Shower Stuff
Our shower stuff is as pared down as possible for us (we’ve tried shampoo/conditioner combo products and haven’t found any we love) and this is our current favorite shampoo and conditioner (by finding stuff that we both don’t mind using it saves shower clutter from having a ton of bottles), and I also use this AMAZING curl cream, which I apply when my hair is wet right out of the shower (long story short, I realized my hair is actually curly and not just frizzy like I thought – this stuff is great for thick hair whether it’s straight or curly – it tames the frizz and leaves my hair soft & less insane looking). As for the bod, John & I use this giant body wash (lasts for months and months) and we use conditioner as shave gel. #rebel
I also love this Burt’s Bees deep pore scrub that gently exfoliates (it has those little beads in it) and leaves my skin feeling soft. I use it 1-2 times a week in the shower on my face, just to gently slough off dead skin. Occasionally I’ll also use coconut oil straight from the jar as a deep hair conditioner / mask (you have to wash it out thoroughly with shampoo after you apply it, or your hair will be greasy the next day, but it’s great for softening & detangling).
So We Don’t Smell
We’re not really perfume/cologne people, but we like to know we don’t smell, so we rely on natural deodorant that actually works (we have tried a ton, and currently love this one). A note on bodies/smell/natural deodorant: for some strange reason I can try something John loves and hate it, and vise versa. So the way we found our favorites was just to try a few and not rely on reviews or what works for others since it seems to vary so wildly by body chemistry and other mystical things.
When it comes to the ol’ breath we love these Sonicare toothbrushes (my dentist told me he can tell who uses them because their teeth are noticeably cleaner which made me beam like a piranha) and we like Tom’s of Maine whitening toothpaste to clean & naturally whiten at the same time. Also not pictured is floss, but we don’t use mouthwash and it’s all good. Dentist approved even!
The Kids’ Stuff
Ok, so we have discovered that you can acquire an infinite amount of kids’ stuff. And for us, we have just tried to keep things simple from the start. Their bathroom counter basically has two products on it: Tom’s of Maine Strawberry Children’s Toothpaste and the foaming version of that J.R. Watkins hand soap (they like the fun-factor of foam versus the liquid pump kind).
In their tub we keep some Honest shampoo/body wash (love one product that does two things) and the accompanying conditioner. Pump bottles again for the win! We also got tipped off by a mom who told us her kids never got lice because she misted their hair with this peppermint spray that I guess lice hate so they stay away? We’ve been spritzing a bit on their heads before hair brushing during our out-the-door routine, and so far, no lice! I’m knocking on allll the wood as I say this, but there was a particularly bad case of it last year involving a ton of kids getting it (even the ones sharing a desk with our daughter) and they never hopped on her head. Hallelujah!
Update: It happened. Lice invaded our household and it was the worst (more on that here)… and the lice lady said it probably wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t slacked off on the peppermint spray. So yeah… we are now the most vigilant hair sprayers that have ever lived!
My Makeup
So this is all of the makeup I own. No basket in the bathroom. No clear plastic drawer system. No caboodles (although I totally had one as a kid and LOVED THAT THING). If you see us at a speaking event, this is all I have on my face (and if you see me at Target, I usually have nothing but lip balm and maybe some salad in my teeth). The Physicians Formula bronzer is awesome. I apply that with a big makeup brush (mine’s old but this one is similar) and occasionally I use this concealer under my eyes if I need it – but I’m pretty lazy about that.
Next I swipe this Nars Orgasm powder, which does magical things, under my cheekbones and I swipe this highlighter stick (which I am obsessed with) above my cheekbones and under my eyebrows and kinda… rub it in? Next, I put some brown eyeshadow on my lids (the darkest color in the four-pack) and on my eyebrows (sounds weird, but it subtly darkens them just a little). Then I use the lightest color from that eyeshadow kit under my eyebrows sort of on top of the highlighter. Next I curl my lashes and apply black eyeliner, which I’m legitimately terrible at doing (I have a steady hand for cutting in a wall, but the most unsteady hand for drawing on my eyes) and then I add some mascara. Note: this mascara blows every other mascara I’ve ever tried out of the water (and I stop strangers on the street to tell them about it). Truly. It is a miracle and people ask if I’m wearing fake lashes or using some sort of growth serum and all it is is this cheap grocery store mascara! CAN YOU TELL I’MCRAZY ABOUT IT?!
Last step is always some of this Boy Brow stuff, which is somehow both extremely natural looking yet it makes a huge difference. It’s my favorite beauty find of the year for sure, and many many days a year I just wear this with lip balm and maybe a dash of mascara and I feel so much more polished than I did without it. I can’t explain it, you just have to try it (I get the brown color).
Oh and as for what lip balm – always Burt’s Bees! Nothing on my lips but that ever ever ever. I have a giant joker mouth with even the slightest color on my lips, to the point where blog readers see me in magazine shoots when a make-up person put lipstick on me and say WHYYY DID THEY MAKE YOUR MOUTH LOOK SO CRAZY?! Oh and my favorite tweezers and nail clippers are in the pouch too, in case I need to do some grooming with those.
I am NOT a makeup pro (I’m pretty much the polar opposite), but I thought it might be funny to make a two minute video of me putting on my makeup because it’s so fast and easy, and a few people have seen pics like this and said “what did you use on your cheeks?! How do you do your makeup?!” But is that a weird thing to do? I don’t know. Tell me if you’d find that helpful and maybe I’ll work up the courage to aim a camera at my face for two minutes and press record.
Nail Polish
This is probably the one area where I could be more minimal (I’m sure a bunch of folks out there don’t have any nail polish around) but it all fits into one small basket and I like painting my toes and nails myself (see also: I’m cheap) so I guess this is my little treat-yo-self category. My absolute favorite brand is Butter London. It’s eco friendly and has a brush that makes application a lot easier for me, but it’s also somewhat pricey. I pay because it lasts forever and goes on so well that it looks like a pro manicure for a fraction of the price. I also like Zoya (also eco friendly, and comes in some pretty colors too).
The colors shown above are:
- Top Row: Butter London Shop Girl, Butter London Ta Ta Lacquer
- Bottom Row: Zoya Nina, Zoya Maura, Butter London Twist & Twirl, Butter London Hardwear Topcoat, Butter London Rather Red, Zoya Kylie, Zoya Louise
Weird Face Stuff / Woo Woo Anti-Aging Routine
Here’s where I’m gonna get weird for a second. I don’t buy toner or makeup remover or eye cream or face lotion or any other potions for wrinkles or acne or stuff like that. That’s right, I DO NOT USE FACE WASH. And I’m not a doctor or a dermatologist so this is just what works for me (my derm knows what I do and her response was “your skin looks happy” so I’ll take it – ha!).
Here’s what I do: I buy these three totally natural products that basically do it all for me: Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (it has to be Braggs! It’s the best/purest/most concentrated!), Dr. Bronner’s Organic Coconut Oil (don’t use cheap/unpure coconut oil either or it can clog pores and generally be bad for your skin – make sure it’s pure/organic and from a good brand you trust like Dr Bronner’s), and Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel Facial Mist Toner. (I recently added this third thing and it’s so good along with the other two in the photo below – I just mist it over my face after the other two). I use coconut oil so much I leave it out on the kitchen counter so I removed the label to make the jar prettier.
I already mentioned coconut oil as being an awesome deep conditioner and it’s also really amazing for skin – body lotion, face lotion, makeup remover, you name it. I generally like to rub a small amount on my face before bed (warning: if you rub too much on in the morning you can look a little shiny – and too much can make your hairline grease too – the key is a light dab here and there). I put it on maybe 30 minutes before bed and I just apply a small amount. It doesn’t stain my pillowcase and it soaks in like any moisturizer would. I have sensitive skin, but I never break out from it (since coconut oil is naturally antibacterial, I have a theory that it cuts down on blackheads and breakouts, both of which I’ve had as an adult when using other products on my face).
Also, a word on wrinkles: when we share photos like this picture or the one below, people ask if I don’t age…
I definitely do have wrinkles, but I have noticed in the last year or so of using coconut oil every night before bed that my skin feels more hydrated and plumper if that makes sense – so it’s less dry and therefore my crinkly eyes and forehead don’t show up as clearly. So yes: coconut oil is my anti agingsecret. I’m basically that dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and his Windex, except I walk around wielding a big jug of coconut oil.
So as I mentioned above, at night it’s just a light coating of Dr. Bronner’s Organic Coconut Oil (I swear by that brand because it’s so organic/pure) that I rub into my face just like you’d apply any moisturizer. That’s it. No other products. It even takes off makeup if you rub it on like a cold cream and then wipe it off with a warm damp washcloth after applying it (the warm wet wash cloth does most of the work, so don’t overdo the coconut oil – just a dab). All the grime and makeup comes off. Even Gisele (the ridiculously gorgeous model) uses coconut oil to take off her makeup. It’s GOOD. And it’s simple and so cheap. After wiping with the washcloth to take your makeup off, just dab a bit more coconut oil on if you feel dry after that, but not too much. When I don’t wear makeup I skip the washcloth wipe-down and just rub it on like night cream.
Then in the morning as a toner/skin cleanser I wipe my face down with a light swipe of watered down Bragg’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (remember it has to be Bragg’s with “the mother” in it). Water it down about halfway – so it’s 50% water and 50% ACV (I premix about 2 weeks worth and store mine in a small lidded tupperware container that you’d use to transport salad dressing). I just dip a cotton ball in that little tupperware jar every morning and wipe it all over my face as I’m pouring my tea.
I actually keep cotton balls and ACV in the cabinet with my mugs since I do it at the same time (you don’t need to refrigerate it). You’re going for a light coat, which shouldn’t have any smell when it dries. If it does, water it down more and use way less. Don’t douse your face like a salad. A little goes a long way, and it seems to also help with avoiding breakouts, reducing blackheads a ton, and just generally clarifying my skin.
Once my face dries (maybe 10 minutes later) I mist some Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel Facial Mist Toner all over my face. It smells heavenly, and has definitely helped with adult acne (I recently traveled without it and got a zit the day I didn’t have it! Got back home and put it back on my face and my zit disappeared!). It has over 4,000+ five star reviews (it’s a cult favorite on Amazon, which is why I tried it) and it’s under $9 for a big 12 oz bottle. Can’t say enough good things about this stuff.
Wait but back to the apple cider vinegar for a second. A cotton ball soaked in not-watered-down ACV that’s held on a skin tag for a few minutes for a few days in a row will literally make it FALL OFF YOUR BODY. It’s nuts. I know that’s gross, but it’s also kind of a miracle. I did one next to my eye that bugged me so much and three days later it was GONEZO. See ya later, taggy. (*flashes peace sign at skin tag*)
You can also apply a very light coat of coconut oil in the morning on top of the apple cider vinegar (smells so good and feels more moisturized if you’re feeling dry). Lately I have been using this jade roller to help it absorb, because we know I love all the woo-woo things and it feels so good and cool on my skin in the morning – and apparently it has a ton of benefits. You can even see my eye bags disappear when I’m using it in this series of IG stories.
I also have been microneedling once a week in the evening with this and love it so far. It’s supposed to make your skin firmer, even out skin tone, help with fine lines and imperfections, and generally made tiny tiny damage to your skin which then regenerates stronger and better if that makes sense (most important thing to me = it doesn’t hurt – feels kind of like scrubbing my face with exfoliating beads). Make sure to clean it well after each use (I spray mine with alcohol in a tiny spray bottle and let it air dry). I keep meaning to research some sort of serum to use afterwards (this one and this one look good), but as of now… I’m just using coconut oil. Who is surprised? Anyone? Bueller?
Oh and I do this face mask once a week (usually about 3 days after microneedling). You can mix it with apple cider vinegar or water AND YOU KNOW WHAT I USE! Ha! Makes my skin so soft and helps with acne. It’s crazy well rated too (over 16,000 five star reviews!!!).
Still have questions? Wanna see my face in action after I microneedle or watch me jade roll away my bags? Just watch this series of IG stories for lots of extra info.
And if you’re looking for other general favorites of mine (like fav shoes, slippers, clothes, household stuff, etc – this page has you covered).
More House Cleaning Advice
If you’re interested in more ways to keep your home clean, check out these posts below:
- How To Clean A Stainless Steel Sink
- 2-Ingredient Homemade Window Cleaner
- Are Robot Vacuums Worth It?
- How To Get Rid Of Fruit Flies
- A Beginner’s Guide to Pressure Washing
- The Best Home Air Purifier
*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.