One Product, Many Uses: 25 ways to use 8 of our zero waste products
This post first appeared in our weekly Make Waves Mondays email series on March 18, 2024.
Hey there, friend!
I am seriously SO excited for this week’s blog post…
This is a topic that I’ve mentioned a few times in the EcoWarrior Pod, but I’ve never done something like this before, and I am truly so pumped to put it all together.
Today, we’re talking about all the ways to use one product for so many different uses.
Okay, okay. It might sound a bit mundane but hear me out!
If we think about the 6 Rs of Zero Waste, the first three are rethink, refuse, and reduce.
What better way to do all three than to use one product for multiple uses around our home??
Rethink the way we use the products we already own.
Refuse to buy a new, superfluous product.
Reduce our overall consumption.
It’s like…the epitome of zero waste!
So without further ado, let’s get into it 🥳
Dish Soap Bar
Hand-Washing Dishes. The “intended” use for a solid dish soap bar. It sits by your kitchen sink, you rub a dish brush or loofah sponge across the top, and wash your dishes as normal. Easy peasy.
Cleaning a Glass-Top Stove. I don’t do this every time I use my stove, but every couple of weeks or so it needs more than a quick wipe-down. In this case, I do basically the same thing as if I was washing dishes. Rub a dish brush or loofah across the top until I get a good lather going, then scrub-a-dub-dub the stovetop. Then I grab a Swedish dishcloth and use that to wipe off all the suds. Sparkling stovetop complete ✨
Cleaning a Bathroom (or Kitchen) Sink. I’ve seen so many TikToks of people using all these different cleaners or some combo of baking soda and castile soap and vinegar and lemons and salt and who knows what else, but it’s all so unnecessary. Lather up a dish brush or sponge and give your sink a quick scrub and it’ll be streak-free sparkling in seconds. I know it might feel weird to use a dish soap bar to clean your bathroom, but trust me — it’s magical.
Cleaning Eyeglasses. If you wear glasses, you know the constant struggle to keep them clean. While most days I settle for a quick lens cloth wipe-down, some days I just want to be able to see unobstructedly 🤓 On these days, I run my fingers under lukewarm water then rub them on top of the dish soap bar to get a little soap on them. Then I rub my fingers on my lenses in a circular motion until they’re nice and clean. I rinse my glasses under some lukewarm water and dry them with a handkerchief. It’s honestly the cleanest I’ve ever been able to get my glasses.
Laundry Detergent
Machine-Washing Clothes. The “intended” use for our refillable laundry detergent. Add the detergent to the drum, toss in the clothes, turn it on, viola! Laundry comes out clean, even in cold water. (I’ve even successfully washed car oil rags with this detergent and they’ve come out clean!)
Hand-Washing Clothes. For the more delicate items you can’t just toss in the washing machine, fill your sink or a bucket with warm water and sprinkle in ½ to 1 tablespoon of laundry detergent and stir until it’s dissolved. Add your delicates and gently wash as you normally would by hand, then rise clean with fresh water. Who says you need special hand-washing detergent??
Stain Removal. Got a spill or a tough stain that needs a little extra TLC? Mix a small amount of laundry detergent with a bit of water to create a watery paste, then apply the paste directly to the stain. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes, then toss in the washer and wash as normal.
Tub Scrub. This tip comes from EcoWarrior Vanessa in our EcoWarrior Pod! I haven’t tried this one personally, but Vanessa shared with me that she uses our laundry detergent to get soap scum off of her tub! She fills the tub with a couple of inches of hot water and sprinkles in about half a cup of the detergent. After letting it soak for a while, she uses one of our loofah sponges to scrub the tub clean. If you try this one, I’d love to hear how it works for you too!
Shop Refillable Laundry Detergent
All-Purpose Cleaning Concentrate
Cleaning Surfaces. Probably the most common use for our refillable all-purpose cleaning concentrate. Just mix half an ounce with 16 ounces of water and you’ve got a great, plastic-free surface cleaner.
Cleaning Mirrors and Windows. When we say this cleaner is “all-purpose,” we mean it. Give your mirrors or windows a spritz with the cleaner mixture above and wipe clean. Pro-tip: the secret to streak-free mirrors is in the drying! Make sure the mirror is completely dry before walking away.
Cleaning Floors. I just mopped all of my [hard wood] floors with this cleaner on Saturday and holy moly does it work SO well! I don’t typically measure this one out — I just pour an ounce or so into a bucket and add enough hot water to cover my mop head, then mop as usual. Once upon a time there was even a post on the zero waste subreddit about how someone refills their Swiffer WetJet with our all-purpose cleaner! To this day, I have no idea who posted that, but it still makes me smile 😄
Shop Refillable All-Purpose Cleaner
Revitalizing Skin Serum
Nightly Skin Serum. The “intended” use for our refillable revitalizing skin serum. After cleansing (and toning), apply a few drops of serum to your face and neck and blend into your skin with your fingers. I’m obsessed with this stuff, and can tell a clear difference in my skin if I skip just one night of it.
Cuticle Oil. My cuticles have been a battle my entire life (I have an anxious habit of picking at them constantly), so one night I decided to rub a couple drops of this skin serum across my cuticles just to see what would happen. The difference here — I’m serious — was absolutely astonishing. When I woke up in the morning my cuticles looked a bajillion times better and didn’t even have anything to pick at because they were so healthy. Just in one night. Again, I’m ~obsessed~.
2025 Krystina Note: I recently got a manicure and, for the first time ever in my life, my manicurist told me — unprompted — that I have great nails. In that moment, I looked at my partner sitting next to me and said, "It's the skin serum!!"
After-Sun Care. Obviously, sunscreen is important and we should all be wearing sunscreen all the time. But sometimes, we still get a little too pink after a day in the sun. And lemme tell ya — our skin serum is the MVP of after-sun care products. If you’ve spent a little too much time in the sun, apply just a couple drops of this serum to your sunburn every few hours. It’ll soothe your skin AND prevent peeling!
Repairing Dry, Cracked Skin. My hands get so excessively dry in the winter, and this serum has been a godsend. Before bed (or randomly during the day if they’re super duper dry), I’ll add a couple of drops to the backs of my hands and rub it in. After just one or two applications, my hands are healed and hydrated like nothing happened. Seriously. This stuff is magical.
Shop Refillable Revitalizing Skin Serum
Witch Hazel Extract
Daily Facial Toner. Honestly, I can’t even say this is the “intended” use for our refillable organic witch hazel extract. It’s great for so many things! But, it is the main reason we stock it in the shop, so I’m listing it first. After cleansing, add some witch hazel to a cotton pad and apply to your face and neck. It’ll remove excess dirt, any residue from the cleanser, and minimize the appearance of pores. Personally, when I’m using it as a toner, I like to add a few drops of tea tree, grapefruit, and sometimes juniper seed essential oils to the bottle. It’s basically a copycat version of Lush’s tea tree toner (which I used to use daily before I stopped supporting Lush).
Bug Bite (and Other Skin Irritation) Relief. If you’re prone to mosquito bites like ya girl, a little spray bottle of witch hazel is gonna be your best friend. Instead of itching, grab the bottle and give the bite a little spritz instead. It also works with other types of skin irritation and inflammation the same way!
Razor Burn and Ingrown Hair Prevention. I just recently learned that witch hazel can also be used to prevent razor burn and ingrown hairs! Similar to the bug bite scenario, just spray a little witch hazel on sensitive areas after you’re done shaving!
Linen or Room Spray. If you’re still spraying artificially-scented room sprays all over your house, give this a try instead! Add a favorite essential oil(s) to a spray bottle of 50% witch hazel and 50% water and give it a spray wherever you want some added freshness.
Shop Refillable Organic Witch Hazel
PVA-Free Dishwasher Pods
Cleaning Dishes in the Dishwasher. The “intended” use for our PVA-free dishwasher pods. Just pop one in the detergent compartment of your dishwasher and wash as usual! Pro-tip: add some white vinegar to the rinse aid compartment to get your dishes sparkling!
Cleaning Sinks and Countertops. This tip comes from EcoWarrior Renee in our EcoWarrior Pod! I haven’t tried this one myself, but Renee shared in the EcoWarrior Pod that she dissolves our PVA-free dishwasher pods and uses them to clean her sink and counter tops! I think this is just brilliant and I never would have thought of it on my own. If you give this one a try, let me know how it works for you!
Dropps Dishwasher Pods
Cleaning Dishes in the Dishwasher. The “intended” use for our Dropps dishwasher pods. Just add one to the detergent compartment of your dishwasher and wash as usual!
Laundry Oxygen Booster. If your laundry needs a little extra ~oomph~, drop a Dropps dishwasher pod in the drum alongside your laundry detergent and it’ll act as a natural bleach alternative to get whites whiter and colors brighter. I don’t do this often, because I do find that our laundry detergent powder works wonders on its own, but every once in a while when I find myself with an exceptionally dirty or stinky load of laundry, I’ll toss one of these in just for a little cleaning boost!
Shop Dropps Dishwasher + Oxi-Boost Pods
Unpaper Towels
Normal Everyday Towel and Paper Towel Stuff. The “intended” use for our reusable unpaper towels. They’re meant to be a replacement for all the things you’d normally use paper towels for around the house. Messy hands, messy counters…whatever that may be! They roll up on a paper towel holder so they’re always ready to go when you are.
Swiffer Pads. Okay this…is…GENIUS. This tip comes from EcoWarrior Christina in our EcoWarrior Pod. Instead of buying boxes of disposable Swiffer pads, Christina wraps our unpaper towels around her swiffer and uses those instead! The snaps hold them in place and the terrycloth collects dirt, dust, and hair just like a Swiffer sweeper pad would. And if she’s mopping instead of sweeping, she’ll use our refillable all-purpose cleaner instead of Swiffer solution. It’s freaking brilliant and I love that she got so creative with it!
Shop Reusable 100% Cotton Unpaper Towels
Okay seriously friend, how cool is all of this?!
I know I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to things like this but, hey, let’s be honest…if I didn’t nerd out like this over the products we sell, it’d be quite the red flag, wouldn’t it?
You know I’m right. 😉
And I’m sure there’s so many more uses for these products and the other products in our online shop!
So do me a favor and if you use any of our products in ways that they might not be “intended” for, comment below and brag to me about it! I would LOVE to hear all about it 💙💙
I hope you have an absolutely wonderful week and get to enjoy some sunshine, too! 🌞
Related:
5 Sustainable Alternatives to Plastic Trash Bags
7 Creative Ways to Reuse Old Toothbrushes
A Minimalist, Zero Waste Skincare Routine (For All Skin Types)
The Ultimate Eco-Friendly and Zero Waste Cleaning Guide
The Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Cleaning
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