Simplifying The House & Living With Less

It is straightforward to crave less. Less to buy. Less to clean. Less to store. Less to chose from. Less to throw away. And we are those people who get a rush from consolidating two items down to one or earning more space in the drawer/cabinet/closet by paring down, so this is our idea of a good time (why buy ten bottles to do ten things when one product can do it all?). Three years ago I wrote a post about how we try to keep things plain in small ways, so after more than a few requests for an update/extended list, here it is. Happily, three years after embarking on Project Simplify, we likely have fewer cleaning/grooming/hygiene products around the house than we did back then – even with a third person in the house to care for. The “magic products” that work for us are likely going to be distinct than the ones that work for you (so there is no pressure to conform to organic stuff if that is not your jam), but hopefully it helps to see how we try to keep things plain.

Back in 2009, John and I realized that we do not mind using the same shampoo and conditioner (Avalon Organics from Target) and could also share the same body wash (we right now use Say Yes To Cucumbers, also from Target) so why not stop buying our own bottles – for a total of 6-7 containers in the shower at all times – and share? Purchasing a single bottle of each breaks the constant cycle of someone needing shampoo or conditioner every time we go to the store, and three bottles (total) in the shower at all times is fairly darn refreshing. We do not have other bottles of shampoo/conditioner/body wash in the vanity or linen closet – this is it. When it gets low we get a new bottle. It is pleasant and uncomplicated.

Thanks to a lot of our eco-related changes from a few years back, pairing down in a few other areas has gotten awesomely automatic. Relying only on Seventh Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent (without any fabric softener) makes shopping for laundry products few and far between (and makes storing a single bottle a breeze). We used to use Charlie’s Soap for diapers but alternated with Seventh Generation whenever we ran out, and eventually simply stuck with Seventh Generation (diapers are still doing strong and it is easier to find and use one thing on everything across the board). We ran out of fabric softener a few years back and did some loads of laundry without it and did not even notice a difference, so we simply stopped buying it.

We use this in the dishwasher. We have talked about making homemade laundry detergent and dish detergent too, but have not tried it out yet (we will journal all about it if we make the switch someday). We have some strong recipes in this post of yore.

When it comes to cleaning everything else around the house, from floors to counters and tubs and tile, we use these two cleaners 99% of the time (along with the occasional homemade recipe from this post). No buying window cleaners and tile cleaners and wood floor cleaners each to do an individual job. We typically simply water down some Mrs. Meyers (the “all purpose cleaner” label truly means it works on counters, wood floors, etc) and use a moist microfiber cloth to rub down whatever it is that needs scrubbing (floors, counters, tabletops, windowsills, etc). For glass, I simply use vinegar and water (5 parts water to 1 part white vinegar). Here is a post with more of our cleaning routine broken down for ya.

We also water down our Dr Bronner’s soap (it recommends that on the bottle, which is excellent since it goes twice as far) and use it for all the hand-washing in the house (kitchen sink, bathrooms, etc). We do one part water to one part soap and it is strong. It is also what I use to wash my face/remove makeup. It is pleasant and mild. And we wash Burger with it. So it is pup approved.

I think I got bitten by the simplicity bug back in NYC, when I lived in the tiniest studio, with no room for anything. Ladies (and gents?), I give you my makeup bag. I am not proud of my $5 Chinatown bag from nine years ago (I cannot believe the zipper still works) but the point is that virtually all the makeup that I own lives in this little bag. It is not a travel bag, it is my only bag – which makes it straightforward to pop into a suitcase. It in fact lives in the car for the most part since John’s the driver and I get to “put on my face” as we go wherever we are going (since I can never seem to get it together and do it at home).

It holds:

1. Physician’s Formula Organic Wear bronzer/blush (from Target or CVS)
2. Physician’s Formula Organic Wear two-toned eye make-up (from Target or CVS)
3. Physician’s Formula Organic Wear concealer stick (from Target or CVS)
4. Physician’s Formula Organic Wear mascara (from Target)
5. An eyelash curler (from Sephora)
6. A blush brush (from Sephora)
7. One lone contact (simply because I am known to lose them randomly)

I have used all of the above products exclusively for the past 2-3 years. And I enjoy them. I have never been strong with anything like liquid liner or fake eyelashes, so for those of you who are, perhaps I do not know what I am missing. But either way, my simplified makeup bag facilitates especially speedy makeup application, which in fact results in me looking more polished. I’d never slap on make-up if it was too complicated or took too long – I am simply a wash and go girl (hence my ponytail tendencies). And now that I only use a few organic things, my skin is a lot better, and I find that I do not amass a pile of new products (no more impulsive purple eye shadow or bubble gum pink lip gloss purchases that seemed like a good idea at the time).

As for what we do use in the name of hygiene, John has hair stuff (Crew from Target after he could not find his go-to old stuff, Got2be – which we later learned got new packaging so it was hard to spot) and shaving cream and aftershave (Burt’s Bees). I in fact simply shave with a little bit of conditioner in the shower. We both use the same type of razor (we have two of them, mine is in the shower and John’s is in the drawer) so that buying refill blades is pleasant and plain (we do not have to buy two types for two distinct razors). And we both use Tom’s of Maine deodorant and toothpaste (the kind with fluoride since we tried the fluoride free kind and both got cavities and then switched back and have had none for the past two years).

That is about it when it comes to beauty/grooming products that we buy beyond shampoo, body wash, and conditioner (John’s not a cologne guy and I am not a perfume girl). We also use sunscreen and lotion, but simply try to buy one container and restock only when it runs out. We like Dr. Bronner’s Lavender Coconut Organic Lotion (from Target or Whole Foods) and Bullfrog Sunscreen SPF 30 (Target, CVS). We keep a tube of each of those in our travel bag under the sink and in our car’s middle console. I do not even use face cream now that I use mild makeup and Dr Bronner’s soap (it does not strip my face so it is not dry and in need of lotion anymore – which used to make my sensitive skin break out anyway).

In high school I was kind of a slave to beauty products (you should have seen my stash – I likely had a million bottles) but since I no longer get home from school at three pm and play with my nails/hair/face for hours, this new “grown up busy mom” routine works for me. For the past three years I have in fact not used hair spray, pommade, or perfume. This is certainly one of those to-each-his-own things, but I like the smell of my shampoo and body wash sufficient to be cool with that being “my scent” – and thanks to my ponytail propensity, there is no need for any hair stuff beyond shampoo, conditioner, and a good old fashioned brush. It is a look I like to call low-maintenance chic on a good day (and messy momma on a bad day).

One of the nicest things is that there are sections of magazines about makeup and perfume that I can gloss over entirely (in high school I was kind of an “ooh I want that!” kind of girl, which is likely why I had approximately 500 bottles and samples and cans of things on my vanity) so I cannot tell you how pleasant it is to not consistently want everything I read about. I simply flip on by. Oh wait, but there is nail polish.

I did not paint my nails or toes for a while simply to keep it plain, but I do have occasional yearnings for a bright pop of color, so I do have a few polishes made by Zoya and Honeybee Gardens (they are free of some of the fumier chemicals in some other brands). I have ten nail polish bottles total, which all fit into our freshly organized drawer. It is pleasant to keep it to that number, so I will not impulsively buy any more. I likely had 50+ bottles in high school, but now ten is the new number – no buying any more unless one runs out.

Oh and I enjoy this stuff. It is in my purse, a box next to my desk, on my night table and in the glove compartment of the car. You do not want to see me when I cannot get my hands on lip balm. I am a total baby. You’d think my lips were falling off or on fire or something. Seriously, it is not fairly. So I learned that keeping one stick of it in four key places is the simplest solution for me. I never fully run out since I have a few stashed around the house, and because I have so many in rotation, they tend to last a while so I am not consistently buying it a stick at a time.

Oh yes, but within the last three years we had a baby! So we must have amassed a ton of products for Clara, right? I mean we are fairly attached to the girl. But when it comes to keeping Clara moisturized, clean, diaper-rash-free, and sunburn free, instead of registering for twenty creams and lotions we chose to scan three things and take more of a wait-and-see approach. We knew we could consistently purchase more/distinct products once Clara came along (who knows if she’d have an allergy to something anyway) so we began with:

1. California Baby Especially Sensitive Shampoo & Bodywash (for bathtime) from Target
2. Badger Baby Sunscreen (for sun protection) from Whole Foods
3. California Baby Calendula Cream (for face, body, diaper rash, cradle cap, eczema, dry skin, etc) from Target

That is it. No baby powder, no face lotion and body lotion and diaper cream (simply one that does it all), and no body soap that differs from hair soap. Simply three basics. And miracle of all miracles, that is still all we use! After nearly two years. Seriously, those three products are our whole arsenal. So you can imagine that when it comes to storing them it is no biggie (they all slip into the top drawer of her dresser except for the shampoo which we keep in the closet in her bathroom with the washcloths and towels). So we do not have a big basket of products or a stockpile of extra bottles. Simply those three things. And when they run out we get more. Simply one more though, we do not want to get ahead of ourselves. Haha. Who knows when things could change. But so far, so good. Off to knock on some wood…

By making an effort to covet less (and trying to focus on natural things or a small amount of items) it cuts way down on the products that can jump into my cart on a whim. And it does not feel like I am missing out on anything. It feels like I am gaining closet and cabinet space, more moolah in my wallet, and extra time that I can spend doing things other than restock various bottles. I am dying to know what you folks do to make life straightforward and live with less. From sharing products and even making your own to forsaking certain things and purchasing specific items in bulk, I’d enjoy to hear what works for you.

Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint colors we used? Simply click on this button: