Disclaimer: I purchased all these items on my own, no items were sent to me for free for review. Any free items received were as a result of a company promotion, not sent to me in order to post. All opinions are my own. Some links in this post may be affiliate links, please read our affiliate disclosure for full details. Any prices listed below were accurate as of the time of posting.
What is something you hear about constantly but have never actually tried out? If your social media habits are similar to mine, you’ve probably seen a LOT of ads for Grove Collaborative. In the middle of podcasts, on sponsored videos on my Facebook feed, and in banner ads galore, I haven’t heard the end of Grove Collaborative for the last year or so.
To be honest, I was both annoyed and intrigued by the commercials. I wrote Grove off in my mind as having cool products, but as probably overpriced and unnecessarily chemophobic. So for a year, I ignored it. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about my impact on the environment. I decided to research some more reusable products/eco-friendly companies to buy from. Lo and behold, who should pop up but Grove Collaborative? I decided to try them out.
I ordered my first order on Monday the 10th of February. They arrived incredibly promptly on the morning of Wednesday the 12th. I only have had the products for a couple days now, but I wanted to share my first impressions & some mini-reviews of the products I received.
First off, my haul:
- Mrs. Meyer’s Hand Soap in Lemon Verbena (free with the 5-piece starter set)
- Mrs. Meyer’s Dish Soap in Lemon Verbena (free with the 5-piece starter set)
- Mrs. Meyer’s Multi-Purpose Cleaner in Lemon Verbena (free with the 5-piece starter set)
- Grove Collaborative 2-piece Walnut Scrubber Set (free with the 5-piece starter set)
- Grove Collaborative Bubble Up Dish Soap Dispenser & Brush Set (free with the 5-piece starter set)
- Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle & Glass Concentrate (free with a $19.95 purchase)
- Grove Collaborative Modern Stoneware Tray (free with a $39 order)
- Seedling by Grove Jumbo Tree-Free Paper Towels ($3.45 for 2, or $1.73 each)
- Seedling by Grove 3-Ply Jumbo Roll Tree-Free Toilet Paper ($3.95 for 4, or $0.99 each)
- Grove Collaborative Reusable Snack Bag, Blue Pattern ($5.95 for 2, or $2.98 each)
- Grove Collaborative Shower & Tub Cleaning Kit (paid $21.99, $32.14 value)
- Grove Collaborative Grunge Buster Grout & Tile Brush (individually $6.95)
- Grove Collaborative Tub & Tile Cleaning Concentrate (individually $6.95)
- Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle with Silicone Sleeve, Periwinkle (individually $14.95)
- Method Daily Shower Spray (individually $3.29)
- Full Circle Tater Mate Potato Brush with Eye Remover, Green ($5.99)
In total (with tax), I paid $44.84. Shipping was free with a 60-day free trial of Grove’s VIP membership. You do not need a membership in order to use the site. The VIP membership opens up free shipping, the option to ship immediately, free gifts with purchases, and Grove’s price matching ability. (Full disclosure: I have emailed Grove about a price match for the E-Cloth Microfiber Mop, which I found on Zulily for $23.99 and is listed on Grove for $39.99. So far I have not heard back, but it has been less than 24 hours. Because of this, I cannot review or vouch for the quality of Grove’s price matching. I will update this post with further details once I hear more.)
Below is a screenshot of my order:
So far, I am enjoying the products! Here are some mini-reviews for the products I’ve used so far:
- Mrs. Meyer’s Hand Soap, Dish Soap, and Multi-Purpose Cleaner in Lemon Verbena–I love the scent! I have been using Mrs. Meyer’s products for years, but had been all out for awhile, so I am glad to be able to restock. They are very good quality. The Multi-Purpose cleaner is great at getting daily dirt & grime off surfaces. However, I have noticed it does not perform as well as heavier-duty cleaners on harder things to clean. Our bath/shower combo or the kitchen range are both not fully clean after just using this.
- Grove Collaborative 2-piece Walnut Scrubber Set–These arrived slightly damp, which was odd, with a noticeable scent. They’re definitely not scrubby enough to get really burnt or caked-on messes off of my cookware/dishes. (See: the nightmare of a time I am having trying to clean my cast iron pan that has burnt-on remains from searing some steaks) They are doing well so far for everyday dish cleaning. They did get some of the residue from Western Potato Rounds (my husband’s favorite side dish to make) off of my sheet pans though, which is usually a nightmare.
- Grove Collaborative Bubble Up Dish Soap Dispenser & Brush Set–I am in the midst of house hunting and trying to move, so I took this out of the box & admired it, but packed it back up. I plan to use it in my new kitchen, once we move. (Full disclosure: Full Circle sells the Bubble Up Dish Soap Dispenser & Brush without the Grove brand for cheaper prices elsewhere. I have found it on Amazon for less than $10, and at Sur La Table for $13. I got it for free with this order, however, so it was definitely a good deal!)
- Modern Stoneware Tray–The same goes for this as the Bubble Up set–we definitely plan on using it in our new place (provided we find a new place), but there is just no room for either in our current tiny kitchen setup.
- Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle & Glass Concentrate, Orange & Rosemary–I tested this head to head against Windex and can’t notice a difference, other than the fact that the Grove brand one smells a lot more fresh & better in general. I have a huge amount of Windex in my house right now (my husband’s old roommates moved out & left two 2-liter jugs of Windex behind), but once I use all of that, I will most likely switch over to the Grove concentrate! I never thought about it before, but the reason they send concentrates instead of pre-mixed formula is to save the weight of the water being shipped. This keeps the cost of fuel & shipping lower, and it’s super easy to mix up at home! I also hear they have a recycling program for the tubes of concentrate and will send you a prepaid return envelope if you request it. I haven’t tried this out yet, but I plan to!
- Seedling by Grove Jumbo Tree-Free Paper Towels–I used these when I tested Windex vs the Grove Window Cleaner head to head. I also used my Member’s Mark (Sam’s Club house brand) paper towels with them, side by side. In both the tests with Windex and the Grove brand cleaner, the Seedling towels cleaned better & left less linty residue on the window. They are not as good as picking up spills as the Member’s Mark brand, though, and tend to not rip off the roll well (if you just grab & tear, rather than pulling down carefully, they tend to rip off in chunks.) I do not plan on buying these again, as I am planning on moving to non-disposable options altogether–microfiber towels, bar mop towels, etc.
- Seedling by Grove 3-Ply Jumbo Roll Tree-Free Toilet Paper–my husband says these are fine in his mind, but I will NOT be buying them again, unless they are changed. They are textured on one side and “flat” on the other and (TMI or not)… they just feel WEIRD. Not a fan. I am trying to move towards toilet paper made with post-consumer paper, though.
- Grove Collaborative Reusable Snack Bag, Blue Pattern–I am disappointed that I don’t see anywhere that these are freezer-safe, but they didn’t advertise themselves to be, so I won’t knock the product for it. I wouldn’t put anything wet or oily in them as they need to be hand washed, but these are great for dry snacks like nuts and crackers. In general, I have been trying to use less bags and more reusable plastic/glass containers when packing lunches/snacks, however, because they’re less likely to be crushed. I continue my search for reusable freezer bags, though.
- Grove Collaborative Grunge Buster Grout & Tile Brush–This is very thin, and fits into the INCREDIBLY ANNOYING gap between my tub & the vinyl walls of our shower enclosure. This gap is the bane of my existence. I do not understand why, if you would wrap a tub and shower enclosure in vinyl, you would leave a half inch gap between the walls and the tub. This gap CONSTANTLY gets filled with water that does not dry or drain, so it is Mildew Metropolis in there. I shudder to think of what the apartment walls are like behind that, but hopefully it will soon no longer be our problem. Anywhoo, we try to clean it as much as possible, and this thin brush will hopefully help us out some (there’s no solving the issue, unfortunately.
- Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle with Silicone Sleeve, Periwinkle, and Tub & Tile Cleaning Concentrate, Lavender–LOVE the scent of this, and the bottle is so cute. I have yet to do a head to head comparison of this vs. my usual tub cleaner, but I will update this post when I do.
- Method Daily Shower Spray–I’ve been wanting this for a while so it was so great to get it in this set! It won’t help with the aforementioned Tub Gap Of Doom, but definitely makes my bathroom & tub area smell and look cleaner when I’ve used it these last few days!
- Full Circle Tater Mate Potato Brush with Eye Remover, Green–I have been eyeing this for years and never pulled the trigger. Literally! It has been sitting in my Amazon wish list for a very, very long time. As I mentioned earlier, my husband LOVES making Western Potato Rounds (and lots of potato dishes), but he drives me INSANE by using a spoon to scoop out the eyes of the potato and basically losing like 20% of the potato in the process. I am hoping the eye remover side of this cute little brush solves this problem once and for all.
Things I plan on buying in the future:
- E-Cloth Deep Clean Swivel Mop
- Grove Collaborate Floor Cleaning Concentrate Set & All Purpose Cleaning Concentrate Set (both come with 2 tubes of concentrate and a corresponding glass spray bottle)
- (Possibly) Grove Collaborative Daily Shower Cleaning Set–we’re going to see how well the Method brand performs over a long period of time, but I do like that the Grove brand ones come as concentrates to save the cost of shipping the water. I might try this one out if I’m not totally happy with the Method brand bottle over the long term.
- Grove Collaborative Replaceable Head Dish Brush
- Grove Collaborative Universal Wand + different heads (the Glassware Cleaning Head and the Bottle Brush specifically)
- Grove Collaborative Sink Caddy
- Real Simple Clean Cutting Board Oil
- Method Heavy Duty Degreaser
- Alba Botanica AcneDote Face & Body Scrub (I’ve bought this before from TJ Maxx and LOVED it)
- BullDog Skincare for Men Face Wash (for my husband)
Things I don’t plan on buying from them:
- Glass Hand Soap Dispenser or Foaming Hand Soap Dispenser. If either comes in a package deal free with something else, I will definitely get them. For the listed prices, though, I can find 2 packs of even bigger glass hand soap bottles/foaming hand soap bottles on Amazon. The ones on Grove are their proprietary brand, so they do not apply for the price match.
- Grove brand Microfiber Cloths–they are around $4 per cloth. I can find comparable quality ones on Amazon for about $1 per cloth. (There are ones on Amazon that are quite a bit cheaper than that, as low as $0.35 per cloth. The cheap ones on Amazon are of lower quality–everything depends on what you’re looking for, though!) The E-Cloth brand is a different matter, however; if I am looking for specifically E-Cloth products (like the E-Cloth microfiber mop, which comes highly recommended) I would buy them on Grove with the price match.
- Wool Dryer Balls–I had an existential crisis the other night when I realized I was staying up late watching dryer ball reviews. I clearly have made it to the boring point of adulthood. However, I did learn what I should be paying for wool dryer balls, and $6 is not it. I found a set of 6 on Amazon (the Woolzies brand) for the same price ($17.95) as the set of 3 on Grove. (And, if you were wondering, the dryer ball reviews came up inconclusive. I am going to buy both wool and rubber dryer balls and see which ones produce the best results.)
The deal:
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