SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT REVIEW #5 {DIY Window Cleaner, Reusable Keurig KCups, + Kjaer Weis Mascara}

Every month I think I’m going to do a sustainable product review and then I don’t. I think I need to start a list of all the things we try. Part of the problem is that we’re buying less/bringing less into the house, so aside from clean beauty, there isn’t always tons of new things to try. I’m also not one to keep trying things once I find something I like. Alas, this month led to a few fun tries, including the reusable Keurig KCup, a DIY window cleaner, and a refillable mascara tube!

DIY window cleaner

Ok. This one is a little different than normal, but all with reviewing sustainable products, it feels as though a review of a DIY cleaning product fits well enough!

Since getting the Simply Living Well book months ago, I’ve been testing out some homemade DIY products and I’ve really enjoyed the few I’ve done. I started with the stone counter spray (get that “recipe” here) and now don’t feel the need to try anything else.

I’ve also tried toilet pods and now window cleaner. The window cleaner is made with rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, cornstarch, and warm water. The crazy part is that you can make this in bulk (i.e. to fill the whole spray bottle), but the cornstarch will settle between uses, so you need to shake it before spraying – not tricky at all!

As for my review…yes, it works! I have found that much, much less goes the same distance, so instead of spraying an entire window or mirror, I start out with one skimpy spritz at a time.

My book also recommends using newspaper or a cotton rag to wipe and dry the glass. I haven’t tried either of those yet, so I do see some ‘lint’ but nothing that doesn’t look infinitely better than the toddler-loved glass that we had before! 

You can reuse any spray bottle (I used my old glass cleaner bottle the first time I did it) or you can buy new bottles with nozzles and then add your own DIY label!

Reusable Keurig cup

So we don’t actually have a Keurig at home, but my mom – a non-coffee drinker – has one at her house and we are there weekly! So after years of using k-cups (and recently learning how to properly recycle them – rather a headache), I recently took my own advice for how to drink coffee sustainably and decided to try out the reusable Keurig cup.

The great (GREAT!) thing about it is that you can just add your own coffee grounds! It’s great because you can use whatever beans you want (like supporting local coffee roasters)!

Because my husband and I like our coffee QUITE strong, I was hoping that I could add more, fresher coffee grounds, but alas – it was a no go.

If you put too many grounds in the pod, the water won’t flow through easily and the machine will stop working because of “water pressure.” It’s basically a build-up of water on top of the grounds.

To fix it, you just have to open the lid, remove the pod, close the lid, and try again – but it doesn’t always work perfectly the next time. And then your coffee is chilling between ‘brews.’

I do think it is a great and easy sustainable kitchen swap, however, and well worth not creating all that trash, or composting your grounds and then rinsing before recycling the plastic properly.

Kjaer Weis Mascara

I want to keep these sustainable product reviews varied in terms of type of product, so it’s been a bit difficult not to just do clean beauty reviews. I’ve been really trying to buy less and refilling + buying bulk as often as possible, so my new products tries aren’t as numerous as you’d think.

The Kjaer Weis mascara caught my eye a while back because it’s refillable (and the outer casing is made from aluminum and therefore recyclable)! You buy the casing and product the first time and then you can just order an insert each time!

The Kjaer Weis line of beauty is all organic and clean. The mascara comes in a volumizing formula and a lengthening formula. I tried the volumizing formula…

When I first got the mascara, I was a bit turned off my the small, plastic, pointy wand. It’s a common style of wand, but it isn’t my favorite. I did get used to it, however. The wand is also a little shorter than I’m used to, but again, easy to get used to.

The funny thing was that the first few times I used it, I felt that the formula got hard on my eyelashes, which is something I can’t stand. Not too long after, however, it didn’t feel like that anymore.

All in all, I liked the concept of the refillable mascara container. The formula was absolutely fine to use, though I didn’t have much luck layering to get a true volumizing. I would absolutely try it again, but I just bought the ILIA mascara one to try next!