Upcycle/Recycle – squeakycleansoapco

Participating in the Etsy forums gives you an opportunity to reach out and meet other sellers.  I have been admiring Andi from squeakycleansoapco‘s work over the last couple of weeks and she was nice enough to provide some insight on her upcycled/recycled items. She uses recycled molds for her Espresso Yourself Soaps.

The inspiration for the Espresso Yourself Soap was my other passion: coffee. I initially bought myself a Keurig so I could have hot fresh coffee in the morning before heading out for my various volunteer responsibilities. After making and wasting an entire pot each day I started going to everyone’s favorite coffee shop and that was really making a dent in my wallet and the waste from the cups was beginning to pile up. So making my own coffee, one cup at a time was not only convenient but made good economical and ecological sense. BUT there was some waste: the actual K-cup. I started searching for other ways I could use them, and there are MANY (seedling starter pots, popsicle containers, jewelry organizers etc) but when I started to think of ways to reuse them while sipping my coffee one afternoon, inspiration struck and the Espresso Yourself Soap was born!

I love that k-cup is used as a mold and again as the packaging for the soaps and that since all the prepping for soap mold use is done before the customer receives their soap, they can actually just recycle the container when they are finished with it.

The challenge of using K-cups is that they have to be disassembled. Each K-cup is sealed with a foil lid and contains a filter and of course, the coffee. The seals are a challenge because if you dont remove them just so, you end up spending a LOT more time peeling off the edges still attached. And its messy. Sometimes, REALLY messy. My daughter likes to help with that! 🙂

My inspiration comes from my own children but mostly my customers. They challenge me to find new and exciting ways to make their event special. My personal motto is “I can do anything” and when it comes to making soap, I relish a challenge. When a customer asks me if I can make something for them and I spend time talking about what they would like, it builds not only my understanding of their wishes but a great customer relationship and that is always my first priority.

These soaps are fantastic exfoliants because they contain real espresso grounds. The coffee acts as a deodorizer for strong odors like garlic or even dirt. I use them at the end of the day to remove any extra fragrances or soap from my hands. Coffee lovers enjoy the novelty and the invigorating aroma and the chefs in my life report it removes all kinds of kitchen odors. And how fun to have an espresso you can’t spill!

Check them out for yourself.