It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas: natural, affordable holiday edition soaps that make cleaning less of a chore

One of the little things I do over the holidays is swap out the grapefruit dish soap or lavender hand pump for something a little more festive. It's a simple way to make everything feel more holiday-ish the second we walk in the door. It used to be that only the fancy, high-end boutique brands carried incredible fragrances, but now I love that so many favorite natural brands are making them readily available. Here, just a few favorites you can find online or as close as your local market.  

Method Holiday Collection Method has always done a great job with their annual scented holiday soap offerings and their Orla Kiely for Method collections--and now they two come together.  With whimsical packaging and creative scents, there are four products each available in hollyberry or peppermint vanilla.

For more traditional holiday scents, there's a limited edition holiday collection complete with gift tags for giving (though not sure I'd give anyone soap as much besides a stocking stuffer). I like the sugared mint best which smells like a big candy cane in a pretty peace + love container. There's also a woodsy frosted fir, with fun Christmas-y packaging, and a gingerbread foaming handwash that is nice, if you're okay with wanting to eat your hands after you wash them.

 

Mrs. Meyer's Holiday Collection It's nice to see long-time favorite Mrs. Meyer's 97% naturally derived cleaning products even more widely available in our local shops lately. For the holidays, they're out with three new scents: Orange Clove, Iowa Pine and Cranberry, and you can even get three of the products nicely packaged in a "Seasons Cleanings" gift pack. (We'll ignore the fact that my dream holiday does not involve cleaning anything.) While Cranberry has been a most popular fragrance (and is quite nice) it's actually the Iowa Pine I'm really liking. Sense a pattern here? Sign up to be alerted when they're back in stock online, or look for any number of stores that carry Mrs. Meyer's--there are 100 alone near me in NY.

Caldrea Holiday Collection This holiday soap and cleaner collection is absolutely wonderful right down to the classy, classic package design that you won't mind displaying by the sink. The Juniper Laurel Mint scent is crisp and clean, not flowery at all, and it's nice to have my hands--and home--smelling like something besides lemon or lavender. I even find the countertop spray works really nicely. They're all made with all-natural essential oils like eucalyptus, pine, spearmint and cyprus, and if that doesn't say holidays, I don't know what does. (Note: some products are temporarily out of stock but keep checking back.)