Favorite French Cleaning Products

Being an adult in the country you grew up in, gives you the distinct advantage of knowing more or less which cleaning products worked in your family. Even if you end up switching things out in your routine or trying new things, you at least kind of know how some of the products on the grocery store shelf are going to pan out. Or you can always just call your mom.

But being in a new country means you get to start from scratch in that department, and I can tell you that I've been terribly disappointed several times now. Mind you, I've only been here for three years and only tried out a fraction of the options available. But I thought I'd share a few of the products that have worked well for me so far, just in case you're as lost as I was.

*All products were purchased with my own, hard earned pennies.

Paic Dish Soap. 
This costs a teensy bit more than your entry level washing up liquids, but it's really concentrated and lasts a lot longer. Also, the scent didn't make me want to vomit at the beginning of my pregnancy, so extra points for that!

Method Bathroom Cleaner
I'm pretty sure that this brand is available state side as well, but it's worked really well for us, so I thought it was worth mentioning. I love the way it smells, it's effective, kinder to the environment than a few other options and supposedly, better for bébé than using straight up bleach. Win.

Persil Pur & Efficace Laundry Detergent
So neither I nor my husband particularly needs a fragrance or dye free detergent, but this one just tops every other detergent we've tried so far. We wanted to test out a few baby-safe detergents before Bambina arrives, but started and ended our search with this one. My clothes are cleaner and they smell lightly of Savon de Marseille. It's also, potentially, cloth diaper safe. I'll let you know how that goes.

The water where we live is slightly hard, and this one seems to work really well with that.