Detox Your Home Boston

I think people who love hosting parties inherently have a bit of control freak in them. That’s certainly the case for me anyway; I think a lot about assembling a good mix of people, food, and drink, I inevitably fret over the RSVPs, and I want everything to look perfect yet effortless. And last week, at my Method Detox Your Home Boston party, I had the odd and delicious experience of enjoying the benefits of a fabulously assembled party, with all of the hard work done for me.

A couple of months ago, the folks over at Method (purveyors of green cleaning products) contacted me about working together on their Detox Your Home campaign. Hitting a handful of select cities around the country (the program launched in Seattle, and I believe New York and Minneapolis are the next stops), they opened a temporary store at 329 Newbury Street to teach folks about detoxing their homes chemical-free, doing so via the storefront itself and through cool themed parties.

Agreeing to connect with Method on this event was an easy decision for me, given my passion for green living and my belief in their product line and lifestyle philosophy. It also didn’t hurt that the team of folks I worked with on the event are fun, energetic people with a hilarious addiction to Brain Age (I'm convinced that my Ph.D. in psychology was the real draw; they insisted I try the test and it turned out that I do, in fact, have a freakishly low Brain Age...). So last week – on one of the season’s first truly gorgeous spring evenings - I played hostess to some of my family, friends, and colleagues for an evening of socializing at the bright and stylish 329 Newbury Street temporary store. Method provided a yummy spread of beverages and food, an opportunity for folks to learn about chemical-free cleaning and turn in their toxic cleaning products (to be disposed of safely), and a fabulous behind-the-curtain lounge space with all the supplies needed for a craft session with environmental lifestyle guru Danny Seo.

Danny Seo is an absolute nugget (the highest descriptive rating on my adorable scale), and I’m not just saying that because we look related (click thumbnail above to enlarge). He’s cute, amusing, and has a passion for crafting...what's not to love? He was on hand to answer eco-friendly lifestyle questions, and then engaged us in a project where we transformed old plates (think mismatched items you have at home, or inexpensive pieces picked up at the Salvation Army) into décor pieces by cutting out silhouettes from adhesive paper, sticking them onto plates, brushing the plate with glaze paint, then removing the adhesive so the silhouette remains (the last step is baking the plate at home to set the glaze). He also showed us a way to turn old or inexpensive ceramic tiles into cute coasters by applying the same type of glaze paint onto the tiles using wood grain rollers (to create a ridge pattern), then attaching felt feet to them. This photo (click thumbnail above to enlarge) shows a collection of some of the plates created during the evening (sadly, I didn't manage to get a shot of everyone's plates before people started to leave).

As for the product itself, it's a shame that the beautiful Newbury Street store will leave after this week. Since you can find Method in lots of major stores, paying rent on Newbury long term obviously isn’t part of a keen financial model, but the current space is truly inviting, the “cleaning confession booth” hilarious, and the ability to smell and try out products in a bright, stylish, and dedicated space terrific. Method treated all of my ladies to a generous goodie tote, but many folks also were excited to pick up additional cleaning or personal care products (the prices were a bit less than what you’ll find in external stores). And as I mentioned in my quick post last week, the mamas were very interested in checking out samples from the new baby care line that launched this week. Truly, I have never seen so much hubbub over diaper cream.

It was refreshing and unusual to be so relaxed and duty-free before a party (I even had time to pop into a few boutiques beforehand), and it was a pleasure to work with Method in spreading the green message. Definitely check out their line if you haven’t yet had a chance to do so; the products are effective, the scents terrific, and the cool product design will actually inspire you to spring clean.