Over the years here on Design*Sponge, you may have heard me blather on about my Grandma Margie. Margie was an Avon lady during the 1970s, so quirky soap sets, soap shaped like animals and soap-on-a-rope were a big part of my of my childhood. Outside of the Avon world, the smell of Dove soap still […]

Over the years here on Design*Sponge, you may have heard me blather on about my Grandma Margie. Margie was an Avon lady during the 1970s, so quirky soap sets, soap shaped like animals and soap-on-a-rope were a big part of my of my childhood. Outside of the Avon world, the smell of Dove soap still reminds me of my mom and how I always liked to plop the bar of Dove in the bathtub to see if it actually did float like the commercial said it did. That was back in the day, before the squirt of liquid soap in all the flavors of an ice cream menu became our go-to method of hand cleansing. I still use bars of soap today — not gels, foam or other liquid versions. It’s become a meditative moment for me, one when I can feel one hand cleaning the other and sort of zone out on the smoothness of the bar in my hands. Most people prefer soap they can pump because of the mess that bar soap can leave in a soap dish, or because multiple users might mean dirt or germs on the bar in a common space, but I will never give up my bar soap — and I tuck it away so only I use it. You should try it!
If you’re looking to add this quiet ritual into your life, I recommend starting...