This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links below, I may receive compensation.
01. A tall stack of cheap white towels in the linen closet by my sink. I use these to wash my face morning and night. I love that I needn’t be precious — if a little makeup or mascara gets on there, no problem! They are just for washing my face. I toss them into a wire basket I keep at the bottom of the linen closet when used and wash them every few days.
02. We wash nearly all of our produce in a solution of baking soda and water. (I’ve heard other Magpies use a solution of vinegar and water, but the effect is the same: the soda or vinegar act as a mild abrasive, dissolving waxes/coatings.) We then rinse in a colander. We’ve been doing this for months and months, typically several times a day as our children are fruit flies, so we tend to just leave the orange Arm and Hammer box by the sink! I recently bought this little glass jar with lid and spoon to decant the baking soda into — a little bit less of an eyesore.
03. Ditto my two salt cellars for fancy salts (seen above). We use Diamond Kosher salt in great quantities as we cook at home a lot, and store that in an open-mouth salt pig from Emile Henry (N.B.: these now come in really fun colors, BUT you can also get the look for much less with these ones, also available in great colors). But I found we were reaching for both our Maldon flake salt and our seaweed salt a lot, and I hated the way those containers looked on our kitchen counter. These inexpensive wood salt cellars to the rescue! I bought them in two slightly different wood types so you can easily tell which is which, and stack them on top of one another.
04. Return address labels! Save me so much time. Cheap and cute prints from this Etsy shop.
05. Beadboard drying rack. Life changing! I love that this can collapse into the wall when not in use, and that it’s mounted / out of the way. Contemplating buying a second one to flank the first. I use these all the time!
06. These cabinet/drawer organizers — the smaller ones are great for things like hair ties, paper clips, push pins, etc, and the larger for pens, bandaids, lipsticks, makeup brushes, lining up bottles of sunscreen, etc. These are so handy in the kitchen, bathroom, and any linen/storage area of the home. For larger sets of things, I love this exact brand in the medium size. Somehow the perfect dimensions for everything — great for organizing sets of bath/body products (shampoos, body washes, etc), medicines, and general categories of loose items (e.g. in the linen closet in our children’s bathroom — we toss all the random combs, brushes, etc in these).
07. For organizing travel items and/or backstock of cosmetics, I’m in love with these drawers! I keep them under my sink. The fact that they are clear is a huge bonus. You can see everything!
08. Portable speaker. We love this thing! We bring it outside any time we’re out watching the kids on their bikes/playing in the yard, having a cocktail or dinner, sitting on the front stoop, etc. Mr. Magpie also uses it while washing the car and doing yard work. We also bring it on trips — great for beach, hotel room, etc. Super durable and semi-water-proof too. The best!
I’m not including this in the “little households things I love” category but I have to say: this teak dining table was the first item we bought for our house in Bethesda and not a day goes by I don’t love it. I noticed it’s 30% off, which might be the least expensive I’ve ever seen it. Strongly rec. We purchased it as soon as we closed on the house. (I mean, maybe the same day we closed?) We were so hungry for outdoor space, and this was the one thing we absolutely needed: outdoor dining table and chairs. I love the classic teak style and it’s the perfect size for our back covered porch. Withstands swampy D.C. summers and frosty D.C. winters with poise. We paired with these dining chairs. (S&L has a similar style they just released here. Unrelated, but these kitchen pendants, also from S&L’s newest arrivals, is so retro-chic and different!)
P.S. Another S&L item I love, and all its virtues, here.
P.P.S. More household favorites and repeat buys, plus kitchen favorites you might not have.
P.P.P.S. What’s the first job each morning?