Keeping It Clean: A Makeover for the Laundry Room (and for my cleaning products, too!)

If you're a regular at the  cafe, then you probably know this: I love laundry. I don't know why. It's the one household job I always enjoy. Dirty things go in, clean things come out. Easy!

One of my favorite features of this house is the main floor laundry. Yay! No more second floor laundry room! I prefer my laundry rooms to be handy and nearby, and this one is in a great location: right off the garage, and around the corner from the kitchen.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there was a strange cluster of doors in this little hallway, though. And if multiple doors get opened at the same time, it's a traffic jam.

These shuttered saloon doors served no purpose. For starters, the old washing machine is so loud that it sounds like a 747 is landing on our roof. It will have to get replaced one day. The doors did nothing to help keep the noise down.

I went at them with a screw driver and took them down. Who knows? Maybe I'll repurpose them in some way. They might be a cute decoration on the front porch this fall.

The laundry room also has this little doggie Dutch door. The original owner used it to keep her dog out of the kitty litter box. We've used it once or twice to keep our Jemma in a contained space. And sometimes, when Jemma starts stealing from the dirty laundry basket, I use it to keep her out, too.

I had to remove a faux stained glass window, then hung a temporary IKEA panel in the space. A little art work, a little cleaning, and the space is working well.

 I hung the Laundry sign above some existing hooks.

I hang my wool dryer balls and essential oil here at these existing hooks.

And speaking of essential oils...

Ever since I got my essential oils and diffuser for Christmas, I have been using them non-stop. And here's the thing: it has made me extremely sensitive to any phony smells that reek of chemicals.

All of those chemicals just cannot be contributing to a healthy home. And in my quest to build a simpler, more sustainable, almost Amish life, I figured it was time to find another way.

I decided to give my cleaning products a makeover.

I am now using Mrs. Meyer products all over the house, and I really love them.

The dish soap and hand soaps are wonderful, and I really like the room air freshener. It lasts and lingers so much longer than other products, and the scent is just clean and refreshing. Lavendar is one of my favorites, along with lemon verbena.

Shortly after I bought my new cleaning products, I found that Aldi was selling these really awesome microfiber cleaning cloths. They do a great job!  I also like the fact that I'm not being wasteful with paper towels or wipes and such. I can wash and reuse these again and again.

A cleaner home, a happier home.

Tell me, do you have a favorite cleaning product to recommend?