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My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers.

I’m a huge fan of subscription services for household goods. I’d rather not devote my (limited) brain space to figuring out whether or not we have soap or toilet paper on hand.  A good subscription gives me one less thing to think about and one less trip to make.

Plus a good subscription saves me money: online prices are often better than what I can find in the stores, and subscriptions save me from the phenomenon that is The Target Run, where I drop in for toilet paper and walk out an hour later and $100 poorer, wondering what on earth I bought that totaled three figures. (I know I’m not the only one.)

My friend Crystal of Money Saving Mom is a whiz at saving time and money, so when she told me about ePantry, a new subscription service that offers a variety of green and sustainable products at a discount, I had to check it out.

My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers. | Modern Mrs Darcy

ePantry is similar to Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program (which I love), but focused on high-quality, eco-friendly household goods. It’s a small, high-touch San Francisco-based startup that prides itself on its amazing customer service and the fact that nearly half its staff are female, which is pretty novel in Silicon Valley.

They offer discounted prices on my favorite high quality, eco-friendly brands like Mrs. Meyer’s, Method, Yes to Carrots, Tom’s of Maine, and Seventh Generation. ePantry says the average customer saves 26% vs. their local grocery store.

My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers. | Modern Mrs Darcy

I tried out the service myself this month and was really impressed. I ordered:

• Hand soap, dish soap, and tub and tile cleaner from Mrs Meyer’s. (I love their stuff so much that I asked for—and received—some as practical, clutter-free gifts two Christmases ago.)
• Body butter and daily moisture lotion from Yes to Carrots. (I started using their body care products a year ago, and find they do well with my sensitive skin.)
• Method body wash (in magnolia, which smells divine).
• a soy candle from ePantry & Co. in eucalyptus and spearmint. (I’ve been burning this every night in the kitchen after dinner.)

My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers. | Modern Mrs Darcy

My order arrived a few days later. It’s worth noting that everything was packed very securely. (I’ve had messy problems with previous orders from other companies, and was pleased to see everything taped, sealed, and tightly secured in my delivery.)

I highly recommend the service, especially with the great deal going on right now.

This week ePantry has a special deal just for MMD readers: get a free $10 credit PLUS ePantry will give you a free Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap (retail value $5.59) when you give their service a try.  

My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers. | Modern Mrs Darcy

To use the $10 credit, your first order must be $30 or more (that’s $20 out-of-pocket). That means—with the free hand soap—you can get more than $35 worth of ePantry products (which are already discounted) for twenty bucks. That’s significantly cheaper than Target’s greatest sales. After the first order there are no minimums, and shipping is always free.

If you’re on a tight budget, this is a great opportunity to buy high-quality products at a discount. For those who want to splurge a little, use that credit to buy something you wouldn’t normally buy. (For me, that was the soy candle. I usually wait and buy mine during Anthro’s clearance days.)

I’d also recommend using that credit to stock up on sweet-smelling soaps and cleaners for the kitchen and bathroom before the holidays arrive, both for your own home and as hostess gifts.

My favorite household goods from a new service, and a big discount for MMD readers. | Modern Mrs Darcy

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for an account through this linkYou’ll get a free $10 credit plus a FREE Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap (retail value: $5.59). This deal is good through Monday (November 3, 2014) and is only for MMD readers.

2. Answer a few quick questions about your household. (This took me sixty seconds.)

3. Choose whether you want ePantry to automatically select your products, or if you want to select your own. (I selected my own.)

4. After making your selections (or letting ePantry do it for you), edit your cart as desired. No worries here; I found their site’s workflow to be very user-friendly.

5. To get $10 off, your order needs to total at least $30 before the discount. (If you don’t use all your credit, you won’t lose it: any unused amount will carry over to your next order.) Check out and you’re done.

If you have any questions at all, use ePantry’s live chat feature. Their customer service team is wonderful. Also good to know: in the past they’ve given customers free $1 and $2 credits for checking out the FAQ page, telling them a joke, and other unexpected things. So keep your eyes open!

(UPDATE: When you click over to ePantry, look for the little pop-up at the bottom left of your screen that says “tell us what’s in your garden and get $2 off this shipment.”)

For subsequent shipments, ePantry will suggest items based on your household’s needs and habits. You’ll get a reminder email from ePantry 7 days before each shipment is scheduled to go out. Their site is super-easy to use: it’s a breeze to log in and modify your order or cancel your subscription at any time.

I’m so happy to share this deal with you. If you’re interested, don’t wait—the free $10 credit plus free Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap are only available through Monday, November 3. Happy shopping!

I’ll be placing another ePantry order soon, so I’d love to hear about your favorite eco-friendly products (and scents!) in comments. What do you recommend?

This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting MMD.

35 comments

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  1. Stefani says:

    Ug. Just went to ePantry to try it out, and got to the finish and pay portion. (I figured I should see it through the end to make sure my initial assessment was correct–it was.) Disappointed in the choices given. (I don’t need them to assess my house–I’ve already done that.) I use Seventh Generation products… but only their dish pacs and rinse aid (didn’t see either of those there). I use Method hand soap… but not the gel kind… the foaming kind. Amazon’s Subscribe and Save has been changing their available inventory, so I was really hoping this would work, but I guess I’m too picky. 🙁

      • Hi Carrie! I’m Jordan one of the co-founders of ePantry. So sorry for the confusion there – it wasn’t our intention to hide anything from you, but I totally see what you mean. We like to show you a more curated/recommended bundle of products when you initially go through the site, but those products are not all that we carry. By clicking “add products” on your dashboard (or for those that haven’t signed up yet, the screen right before the checkout page), you can access all that we have to offer. We were just hoping to make it a little easier for you in the upfront. Thanks for sharing, Carrie. Have a great week!

    • Anne says:

      They’re adding new products all the time so I would keep checking. (Also: I can see Method foamy hand soap in their inventory. Is that different from what you’re looking for?)

      • Stefani says:

        Okay, I see the foaming handwash now (although, their feature to search for more products and see the information is a bit annoying–and it doesn’t list the complete information–like the scent on the foaming handwash). So, then I was googling around to see if all the Method foaming handwash refill scents had the same packaging (and if they were all non- anti-bacterial) and I discovered the Target now offers a subscribe and save option. Looks like I’ve got some choices! 🙂

        • Hi Stefani! Apologies for any confusion/frustration here. We do scent selection a little differently and after reading this feedback, looks like we need to do a better job explaining 🙂 So you can change the scent of a product after you add it to your shipment. You’ll see that when you add a product to your shipment that it creates a little product tablet. On that tablet you see a scent drop-down where you can specify which scent you want for that product. Also, regarding the Seventh Generation products you were looking for, those are arriving and will be available this Wednesday. Hope this is helpful. Thanks Stefani!

  2. Anne says:

    Wow. I will click over soon. I am almost out of my Mrs. Meyer’s AP cleaner. Plus, I buy off the shelf green personal care products at Kroger for a fortune. Maybe this will be better! I’ve never tried Amazon subscribe and save.

  3. Emily says:

    In the past, I’ve been really disappointed in the quality of “Eco friendly” products. Maybe I’m trying the wrong ones? I’d love to know what everyone uses that you think is as good or better than conventional products.

    • Anne says:

      I hear you, and I’m really picky about what brands I use for that reason. My go-to lines are Mrs. Meyers and Method when it’s cheaper or more readily available. I love the whole spectrum of Mrs. Meyer’s products. I like Method’s soaps but haven’t tried their other stuff.

  4. Tim says:

    Don’t take away my Target run! Where else can I walk the aisle and be so pleasantly surprised by an end cap that I say aloud, “Hey look! Pringles a buck a can!”?*

    Tim

    *Admittedly autobiographical anecdote.

  5. Tammy says:

    You have no idea how happy you’ve made me with this referral, Anne. I seriously check on Amazon once a month to see if they’ve added my favorite Mrs. Meyers products to their line of Subscribe and Save, only to be disappointed. I am in love with the notion of not having to think about buying my cleaning products. And their prices are pennies above Target’s (infrequent) sale prices. So thrilled!

  6. 'Becca says:

    The site is fine, but as a long-term hard-core user of eco-friendly products living a few miles from a great co-op store, I didn’t find enough that I’d buy to make the deal worthwhile. I’m probably not their typical customer….

    Products I saw there that I recommend:
    *Green Forest facial tissues (We usually use cloth hankies, but these are the tissues we keep on hand for guests and donate to the school.)
    *Seventh Generation toilet paper
    *Seventh Generation dish detergent for hand dishwashing (haven’t tried the dishwasher kind, after reading bad reviews)
    *Seventh Generation liquid laundry detergent
    *Method foaming hand soap (The soap in it is fine. The foamer can be refilled for years using a concentrated liquid soap such as Dr. Bronner’s diluted 1:8 with water.)
    *Diva Cup. I raved about it here.

    Products they don’t carry (or I didn’t see them) that I recommend:
    *Biokleen powder dishwasher detergent
    *Biokleen Bac-Out stain and odor remover
    *Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap (for showering, baby washing, hand washing, and mixing with baking soda to make a paste for household scrubbing)
    *Ecos and Ecover dish detergent for hand dishwashing
    *Ecos liquid laundry detergent

    • Anne says:

      I love Dr Bronner’s and Biokleen. Glad to hear the good stuff about Seventh Generation and Green Forest facial tissues. And the Method foaming hand soap—I want to try that! And yes, I was very surprised, but pleasantly so, that they had the Diva cup for sale.

  7. Holly says:

    Done, thanks for getting me some good quality stocking stuffers and gifts! And of course I’ll probably keep some for myself.

  8. Thanks so much for this! My daughter uses Mrs. Meyers lavender soaps and cleaners. I was introduced to these products when I went to stay with her after our first grandchild was born. I will always associate that scent with a most special time of my life. Can’t wait to fill my own home with this aroma! I had no problem ordering just what I wanted. Awesome!

  9. Rachel Jackson says:

    Super cool & practical & helpful! 🙂 And I sent this link to my sis-in-law who buys this stuff too! Great post MMD!

  10. Jenn says:

    I just placed my order and I was having some problems with the $10 credit (which was completely my antiquated computer’s fault). I called and was promptly helped and the young man was very pleasant. I love Mrs. Meyer’s and can’t wait for my order! I also liked that they had some scents that my local store doesn’t carry.

  11. I just placed my first order! I didn’t see anything about the free hand soap, but maybe it’s a fun surprise in my package? Either way, I picked up some laundry detergent, facial scrub, sponges, and a toothbrush (I always forget to buy one at the store!). I logged in to check my order, and I earned $2 for telling the chat box my favorite book. I love how FUN this website is and easy to use. So, I’m a big fan (and that’s coming from an Amazon Prime member). I see a need for both. Thanks for sharing this!

    • Laura says:

      I also didn’t see any mention of a free soap – will this just come with the order automatically or was there something I was supposed to do? Thanks for the referral!

  12. Melanie says:

    I’d love to hear more when they start shipping to Canada. The website seems to hint it might be a possibility in the future.

  13. Laura says:

    Hi there, your article mentioned that shipping is always free but on their FAQs, it says always $2.99 per shipment. Did you get a particular deal? Thanks, Laur

    • Anne says:

      Shipping should be free through that link. Check in with customer service live chat if you have any trouble. And I’ll contact ePantry to clarify.

      • Laura says:

        Ok before you go to any trouble, I did order and it was free. Not sure why the FAQs say $2.99 flat rate, unless you negotiated a free shipping deal just for us MMD readers! 🙂 Thanks!

  14. Laura says:

    What scents does everyone recommend for Mrs. Meyer’s products? I saw several I didn’t even know that they had. Thanks!

    • Anne says:

      Hard to choose! I’m loving the rosemary I have now, and I love honeysuckle and geranium. Lemon verbena is their wonderful standard scent. Iowa pine is great for the holidays. I still need to try bluebell.

  15. Dorothy K says:

    Thank you so much for the recommendation! I thought the website was fairly easy to navigate and since I’m not much for other people telling me what to buy, I poked around the entire site to customize my order for products I actually will use. Not sure if I’ll keep the subscription, but I thought they were pretty accurate with the products and amounts that my family of 3 adults would use. BTW, I love Target runs, too, but with my jam-packed schedule (student, full-time employee, mom’s caregiver, wife, etc.), this is really a helpful service.

  16. Michelle G. says:

    Hi, I just signed up. 🙂 The 10 dollar credit is still good, just no free soap. I also got a 2 dollar credit for saying my favorite holiday movie. So, no free soap, but still an excellent intro price for this service. I got Mrs Meyers dish soap and hand soap as well as yes to Carrots face wipes (love those things).

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