Little Local Joys: My Milk Door

We are collecting reports of the positive little things and little moments that are bringing us solace and joy in the East Lansing area during the stay-at-home order. Learn how to share yours.

I live in East Lansing’s Bailey neighborhood in a house built in 1931. Our kitchen has the original subway tiles from the 1930s as well as a milk door. When I bought the house two years ago, I had to totally renovate the kitchen, but I was determined to keep the original tile. My contractor put in new subway tile in to match, and the entire wall with the milk door is original.

The milk door opens directly to my kitchen, and even though it’s old, it’s very well-insulated and does not let cold air in.

This winter, I used the milk door to keep my Baileys Irish Cream chilled! It has become a glorified wine cooler in winter months. I’ve also had friends drop off packages there even before the coronavirus set in.

Due to the virus and my having to quarantine, and because I want to support local businesses, I was delighted when Massage and Wellness in the Campus Town Mall posted they can hand deliver candles, essential oils, and many other products for free to residents. While I have been supporting local restaurants by ordering “contactless delivery,” I felt it also important to support other small businesses in town whenever safely possible.

Enter my milk door! I ordered some aromatherapy products from Massage and Wellness and they left the items in my milk door — making it completely contactless! Since it worked so well, I plan to use my milk door from now on when ordering delivered food.

This contribution by Laura has been lightly edited for length and clarity. She asked that we not use her last name.

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