The Best Products for a Sparkling Home

My Ode to All Things Fresh and Clean

Welcome to Goods — A curated guide of good things free from affiliate links! This week, I'm sharing my favorite things to keep our home so fresh and so clean, clean! I'm genuinely excited about each of these products, and I hope you and your family will love them.

Before fatherhood, my life was a whirlwind of wanderlust! As a freelance TV producer in my 20s, my goal was eight months of work and four months of exploration. My adventures around the globe are etched in my memory, but one very simple one stands out with surprising clarity. Nestled in a residential corner of Bangkok, I found myself in a humble guesthouse on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, where a daily symphony of sweeping greeted me early each morning.

In that quaint neighborhood, the rhythmic cadence of cleaning became my daily alarm clock. It was a gentle reminder of the universal impulse to keep our surroundings orderly. As I reflected on my own cleaning habits, previously dismissed and begrudged, a shift occurred. Within a few days, I found myself captivated by the almost meditative rhythm of sweeping. In its repetitive motion, I recognized the intrinsic connection to our shared humanity and made a promise to myself.

I made a conscious commitment to infuse purpose into my daily rituals, starting with cleaning. My objective was straightforward: adopt eco-friendly practices, opt for bulk purchases to minimize plastic waste, and invest in high-quality supplies that not only endure but also bring joy.

Now, twenty years later, with the chaos of two kids reigning over my home, my living space is way more cluttered than I ever imagined it would be. Sometimes it's hard to find joy in the endless cleaning. Yet, true to my commitment, I try to view each task as an opportunity rather than a chore.

I have established systems and buy products that still echo my initial aspiration, and here I share them with you — with the hope that maybe, just maybe, they'll sprinkle a little happiness into your umpteenth floor cleanup this week!

Topping my list of must-have products is Force of Nature. This nifty contraption works its magic by transforming salt, water, and vinegar into a powerhouse cleaner and deodorizer that rivals bleach. The best part? It's fun to whip up (think bubbles, fizz, and voilà!), and the results are downright are super impressive. Say goodbye to stubborn grime and all that plastic waste.

We don’t have a dishwasher, so we clean everything by hand. We use 1 gallon Oasis Dishwash in the refillable Soap Daddy. You can either press the top to apply soap directly onto your sponge or squeeze to dispense from the bottom — so convenient. I like the Dye-Free Scrub Daddy but I’ve been buying the colorful 8 pack at Costco lately.

I always keep some copper cleaners from Redecker and a wood scraper from Bambu handy for hard to clean situations! Plus I am slight obsessed with have a variety of brushes ready for any situation, also from Redecker!

We list to keep of hands clean and here’s how we’ve been doing it lately! I really like keeping our EO’s hand soap stocked with a 32 oz refill. We used to buy Aesop handsoap, but its so expensive, but we still buy our Aesop Rinse-Free wash (aka hand sanitizer) in the car cause it it lasts longer, smells so dang good and not to harsh on the hands. I also really like the natural scents and foaming hand soap from the Oregon Soap company.

I like to indulge in things that keep our floors clean and I usually spend a little extra for a nice experience. Our house broom is from Jhoi Broom. It’s super effective, handmade and contains 100% natural materials. If you have littles, I’d recommend buying a full-size and shorter Urban one to clean together. For outdoors, I like Hannah Beatrice Quinn Walnut brooms and dust pan and I really feeling the clean lines of this stainless steel dust pan

I also like a good cleaning container and I found these recently at Ikea. I like the three piece bucket with lid and this foldable wash tub.

I’ve spent the last decade resisting a swiffer and I really like the alternatives at Libman. They make their high quality products in the USA. Their Dual-Sided Microfiber Spray Mop and Wonder Mop effectively clean with only water!

I don’t know about you but we wash a lot of clothes and manage a lot of stains! I really like Defunkify and recently our friend Jill introduced us to Puracy, which she says is the source and the light.

Someone recently asked why our family always smells so good and here is our secret — Laundry detergent made with real essential oils. We buy Lavender Zum Laundry Soap. I do wish it came in the 200 oz bottle, like Rebel Green sometimes sells at Costco. An equally delightfully smelling laundry detergent.

I have three types of towels I use in the kitchen. A Blue-Striped 24 oz. Cotton Herringbone Kitchen Towel to dry dishes, A 28 oz. 100% Cotton Bar Towel for the floor and extra messy spills and theses delightful to touch tea towels from Jenny Pennywood for hand drying!

So where do we keep our dirty laundry? I really like these heavy duty laundry buckets from Muji. One in the laundry room and one towards the back of the house.

Speaking of Muji, I really like their Carpet Cleaner system ( aka an oversized lint roller) We have a dog and this handy system is great for getting the couch or spot on the bed un-furred!

While we mostly machine dry our clothes, I do love the feel and smell of the air dried laundry. I long for the day we have a yard for this Hills Hoist or I could justify spending $360 on George and Willy’s hanging ceiling rack but for now a rope and the awesome clips from Onyx is perfect for laundry and all sorts of things!

Last but not least, theres something I need to admit to you. We own three vacuums. Yes, maybe a little excessive, but I find joy and use in every single one. So I will wrap this little clean fest up with some links to our vacuums. Our Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum cleans the floors while we are out of the house, we spot vacuum with our cordless Dyson and when the battery dies from those super long vacuuming sessions we have a bottom of the line Meile as back up!

Does writing an entire post about cleaning products make me a clean freak? I’d like your honest opinion!