The Laundry Room

Purchase this cute tin sign at the Old Town General Store

Hate doing laundry? Don't we all. But now there are some great products to get the job done well - and leave your clothes smelling marvelous.

DETERGENTS

The Laundress offers many special-purpose products to pamper your wardrobe, like separate detergents for lights and darks. Now that we're headed into the summer season, be sure to check out their Swimwear Care, which is designed to get the salt and chlorine out of your itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini - without being too harsh.

Art Home Botanical Detergent for Delicate Fabrics is ideal for lace, silk, wool, cashmere, nylon, lycra, rayon and all other synthetic fabrics. Available in blue lavender and tulip scents.

LCDP Luxe liquid detergent was recently featured in Daily Candy. Made from old-fashioned Marseille soap to be gentle on sensitive skin and is presented in a gorgeous gothic-lettered bottle that you won't want to hide in your laundry room!

STAIN REMOVERS

Let's talk about a special problem. Have a set of underwear for monthly use? Accidentally stained a favorite pair of panties? Laundry Spa's Stain Remover removes these embarassing stains. It’s scented with a light lavender and vanilla fragrance and contains only natural and biodegradable ingredients.

SOFTENERS

Without softeners, your jeans could end up so stiff they could walk away on their own. Try these options - with scents a bit more sophisticated than Grandma used to use.

Mrs. Meyer's aromatherapeutic household cleaners can make any household task easier, better smelling and with their cute packaging, even a little more fun. She has three scents of fabric softener - Lavender, Lemon Verbena and Geranium. Bonus: they contain natural essential oils, are biodegradable and phosphate-free, and they never test on animals.

Caldrea offers fabric softeners in 6 scents, ranging from Citrus Mint to Basil Blue Sage. They contain plant-derived softening elements and essential oils.

FRESHENING

Your going out clothes reek of smoke or fried food from the late-night diner. Rather than rack up more dry cleaning bills, try these at-home fresheners.

Art Home's Botanical Room and Fabric Deodorizer comes in a gorgeous glass bottle you needn't hide away in the laundry room. Its powerful formula comes in Blue Lavender and California Grapefruit.

Did you know that the scent of lavender can help ease you into sleep? Jane, Inc.'s Sweet Sheets Bedding Spray can freshen clothes and scent your sheets and help speed you off to dreamland. Buy at drugstore.com.

SPECIAL HELPERS

The Laundress Static Solution helps eliminate embarassing static cling, without the telltale odor of Static Guard. Their classic fragrance smells fresh and clean without being overpowering.

Got a white streak on your little black dress? Deodorant marks can be hard to eliminate, but are no match against Miss Oops. Use these little foam sponges to whisk deodorant, dirt and powder off your clothes without discoloring them with a damp cloth or creating pills from too much rubbing.

REPAIRS

Don't forget to travel with a sewing kit. Made by women in Nepal, this cute fair trade sewing kit supports their livelihood, comes in a cool black wool case and lets you do quick fixes on the fly.

Torn your favorite jeans? Let Denim Therapy save them! No simple patches here; they will literally reweave your jeans so they look and feel like like it never happened.

Kicked out a hem with your stilettos? I'll let you in on a secret. When I don't have time to sew it myself (ahem, I mean ask my mom or tailor to), I use Dritz' Stitch Witchery, a tape that you put between the layers of fabric. Simply iron it and it melts between the layers, fusing them together. (They can later be separated for real repairs).

Bottom line? Nicely-scented, well designed products make any chore more fun!