Weird little joy of mine: buying a brand-new bottle of hand wash and placing it next to the sink. I love how it looks; I love trying out a new scent; I love feeling all virtuous washing my hands fifty-six times a day (a slightly obsessive habit I developed when I gave birth to a) protect my newborn from germs and b) protect myself, because I was so devastatingly exhausted that had I managed to catch a cold on top of it all I would have just given up, handed Kendrick our offspring, and crawled under the changing table until spring came along).

Anyway, Method's hand wash (in the Cucumber or Sweet Water scents) is what I've been using for...oh, years now. Ever since I first spotted the bottle on a drugstore shelf and picked it up figuring it would be way too pricey for my taste, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was adorably packaged, totally didn't smell like Clorox misted with raspberries and sparkles (as a lot of hand washes can, no?), and affordable.

And! Every Method hand wash is formulated without triclosan (a chemical found in many comparable products that's presently under FDA review, and that Method believes is unnecessary - and potentially harmful - overkill), made with biodegradable, naturally derived ingredients, and contain Vitamin E and aloe.