Monica Would Love Courteney Cox’s New Laundry Products

In ELLE’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke with Courteney Cox. For years, Cox brought happiness into people’s homes through her longtime role as Monica on Friends. More recently, she’s been doing it as the founder of the home care brand Homecourt, which takes an elevated approach to everyday products, such as your dishwashing detergent and cleaning spray. Homecourt also recently moved into another area of the house: your laundry room. Below, Cox shares why organizing makes her feel safe, how she helps friends like Laura Dern around the home, and what she’s planning to launch next.

My first job

I was 13 years old and lived in Alabama. I would walk to the store and make cold calls to raise money for a charity. It was from 6-9 P.M., four days a week, while I was going to school. I would get a bag of Wacky Wafers (banana was my favorite flavor), then go into this little room with a bunch of other people and dial out of the phone book.

My worst job

When I went to college, I had two jobs. I worked as a “gopher,” where I did errands for people. I went to school in Washington, D.C., and I would drive to Bethesda, Maryland. I actually liked it at the time, but I would work there from 3-6 P.M. Then after that, I went into Georgetown and would work at a place called The Door Store. I love design so much, but I was really insecure at that point in my life. I was 18, and there were the cooler, older people. I didn’t enjoy the job, because I didn’t feel like I fit in.

My best job

I’ve had some really great experiences in this acting business of mine, but obviously, Friends was such a life-changing job. To do something for 10 years with people that you grow up and experience things with—I’d have to say that was my most life-altering and best job.

The worst career advice I’ve received

It probably came from myself, when I’ve let fear stop me from taking a chance—if I talked myself out of something by going, “Oh, you’re probably not right for that, that’s not in your wheelhouse,” or, “You probably won’t get it anyway.” You have to take chances and not let fear take over.

My go-to sign-off

When I’m talking to people in England or Ireland, I have to give you an “X.” If you don’t, you might as well be saying, “I hate you.” If it were me, I’d just say, “Love Courtney,” but that’s too forward for a lot of people. “Sincerely” is too serious. “Always” is too weird. “All my best”— that’s what I sign when I do a picture for somebody. But it is not great. I have to come up with something new. I don’t like it.

Where my love for organization comes from

I’m the youngest of four kids, and we had a pretty chaotic house, so order was really important to me. What makes me feel safe is to have things in their places. Visually, I get very stimulated when there’s a mess. Monica had a junk closet—I wouldn’t have that. I don’t love extra things. I think less is more, always. If you have more, it needs to be curated. Otherwise, it’s just chaos to me, and I don’t want it to live in chaos anymore.

If someone asked me, “Can you come over and help me [organize]?” I would go. I have known my friend Laura Dern for years and years. We’re really close, like sisters. Sometimes, I will go over and help. We will rearrange. We will put all the furniture from the den into the living room. She has an exceptional amount of bud vases and all these little things, like knickknacks and awards. She will be like, “Why can’t we display all of these things?” I’ve definitely had to put things aside and say, “Okay, that’s 25 too many of those.” But not the awards. You can have as many of those as you want.

My secret to packing for a trip

Let me give you some negative things about myself: I’m always late. I am scattered. I have pretty bad A.D.D., and I can go off and get caught up in a detail. But I am an exceptional packer.

My partner lives in London, and we go back and forth. Yes, I have all of my facial products there, and some other things, so I don’t have to carry that. But I’ve never checked a bag. I don’t care if it’s the middle of winter, when you’ve got to have coats and sweaters. It doesn’t matter where I’m going. You don’t need as many things as you think you do. I do sneak in a lot of stuff on the plane; I’ve got the hanging bag that’s got a bunch of stuff, and the other [bag] weighs a lot. I do not want to travel with someone who has to wait for luggage. It’s so annoying.

My current beauty routine

I just got a new facial wash that I love. It really cleans my skin. To me, cleaning your skin is key. I have a hot towel warmer and use a hot towel every night. Then I use the Augustinus Bader face cream. I use a Retin-A, but it’s a formula that has estrogen, retinol, and NAD in it. It’s a compounded thing that my doctor gave me.

Why Homecourt expanded into laundry

Our whole brand is about beauty products for the home, and our laundry is a part of our home. We take something you have to do and make it special. I’m very proud of it. It’s all been thought-out: You can pour [our Laundry Concentrate] directly into the machine. You don’t have to put it into a cap and then put that cap back on and have it drip down the bottle. You can use between three and five pumps, depending on how much you want it to smell or how dirty your clothes are.

Cece is our No. 1 scent and my personal one that I’ve been wearing for years and years, so there is detergent scented like that, as well as Steeped Rose and Neroli Leaf. You can add the Fragrance Oil, which has no alcohol in it. You can put in three to five drops in the dryer, and it helps with static and dries your clothes faster. We also have a Linen Spray, which I use on my pillows every night. I also use it on my curtains and on the couch and upholstery. It’s a wrinkle releaser, so you can spray it on your sheets, which I do every day. These are things that make doing your laundry almost luxurious.

What I’m working on for Homecourt

I have been testing a stain remover, and it’s incredible. It works so well. We will not have a scent in that, but we have a formula that we’ve been working on. We also will have a little Homecourt stain brush and a lingerie bag that you can put in the washing machine. We’re working on all kinds of stuff that involve laundry, and one day, we’ll be in every room of the house.