Soap Nuts - Natural Laundry Soap

Laundry in our household has just gotten cheaper and greener as we have made the switch to soap nuts.

So what exactly are soap nuts? Soap nuts are the dried shells of soapberries. The shells contain a substance called saponin, which creates a soaping effect. It has been used for centuries across the globe for cleaning laundry, for personal hygiene, and for several other cleaning purposes. They are hypoallergenic and naturally fragrance free.

For laundry, measure out 1/2 ounce of soap nuts (4-5 shells), place into a drawstring bag and tie it securely. Toss the bag into your washing machine prior to adding in clothing then wash using warm or hot water. Once the washer has completed all cycles, remove the drawstring bag containing the soap nuts (don't leave it in your washer). Air drying the soap nuts is not necessary if you have another load of laundry to do. If you wash with cold water (which I usually do unless I'm washing kitchen rags or cloth diapers), simply soak the drawstring bag containing the soap nuts in a cup of hot water for 3 minutes, creating "soap nut tea". Remove the bag and pour tea into your washing machine. Again, allow the drawstring bag containing the soap nuts to air dry.

Soap nuts can be reused 4-7 times. They are no longer effective when they turn light tan or grey or when they become thin and/or mushy. Spent soap nuts can be composted!

Stain Remover

I have a toddler and a white microfiber couch so you can only imagine what I have to deal with on a daily basis. My couch has seen everything including chocolate, crayon, pen ink, and tomato soup to something I could only WISH was chocolate (gag). So, what's my secret to keeping my couch looking new and stain free? Why, a bottle of rubbing alcohol of course! After cleaning up the bulk of the mess and blotting up as much liquid as possible, I squirt the area with rubbing alcohol then scrub with a clean and dry white cloth. It really is just that easy.

Turning Bar Soap into Liquid Soap

Use this method to make your own hand soap, body wash, face wash, and even dish soap! For dish soap, I recommend using a bar of antibacterial soap that contains no moisturizers, such as Dial antibacterial (see below for price breakdown). For a good multipurpose soap, use Dr. Bronner's. It's organic, fair trade, made in the USA, and can be used for everything from washing yourself, your floors, your carpet, your pet, your dishes, or even your clothes.  

Personally, I'm a big fan of Dr. Bronner's. Although a little does go a long way, it is still insanely expensive. I used to buy Dr. Bronner's liquid soap in both the 16 oz size and the 32 oz size (for those of you who don't know, Dr. Bronner's famous liquid castile soap comes in a plethora of sizes). If only I knew then what I know now. I could have saved so much money, saved the world from all those plastic bottles, and still enjoy the same exact product. Let me give you a break down of their prices:

Dr. Bronners Magic Pure Castile Liquid Soap

*prices gathered from Dr. Bronner's website as of December 23, 2012

**price per ounce has been rounded to the nearest cent, except in the case of the bar soap

By now you're probably thinking one of two things. 1. "Wow! That is a remarkable savings!" OR (if you are a Dr. Bronner's snob) 2. "I dilute my Dr. Bronner's liquid soap to a 1:10 ratio, so I'll just keep spending a little more to save myself the hassle." Well, I have news for you, soap snob... the liquid soap made from a bar is much thicker than the store bought liquid soap and it too can be diluted. It's the consistency of egg whites (FAR thicker than the premade liquid soap). I use about 1-2 tablespoons of homemade liquid soap to a quart of water to clean my entire kitchen (floors included). Also, the process of making liquid soap from a bar is far from being a hassle. It's so easy a child could do it and it takes just a few minutes of your time.

Want to go even cheaper? Here's a breakdown of various dish soap prices versus the liquid soap made from a bar of Dial Antibacterial. The liquid soap made from the bar is also a great choice to use as hand soap and even body wash.

*prices gathered from Walmart's website on December 23, 2012

**price per ounce has been rounded to the nearest cent, except in the case of the Dial bar soap

Now that I've thoroughly convinced you with these shocking prices, let me show you just how EASY it is to turn ANY bar of soap into liquid soap. 

Homemade Glass Cleaner

I've been using homemade glass cleaner for the last two years now and it is every bit as good as the store bought cleaner and is a fraction of the cost. I keep my cleaner in an old store-bought glass cleaner bottle to make it all the more obvious as to what's inside. Now, onto the recipe!

I suggest mixing the ingredients in the spray bottle you'd like to use as this saves time. A funnel is very helpful for this. Also, if your bottle is exactly a quart (32 ounces), you won't have to measure out the distilled water. Simply add the alcohol, ammonia, and the tiny squirt of dish soap to the bottle then fill with distilled water.  

• 1/2 c. rubbing alcohol
• 2 tbsp ammonia
• 1/4 tsp dish soap
• 3 1/2 c. distilled water

Homemade laundry soap

I set out to find the perfect homemade laundry soap to use for cloth diapering and what I ended up with was soap so good I use it for everything. This is a pretty strong statement as I used to be a devoted Gain user. This soap also works wonders on cleaning bathtubs and removing stains from clothes. For stains, I like to dissolve a little bit of soap in a bucket of just enough water to cover the clothing item and soak overnight.  Now, onto the recipe!

The contents of my laundry room cabinet.

 

• 6 cups Borax
• 6 cups Washing Soda
• 3 cups Baking Soda
• 1 bar Fels-Naptha, grated

Mix well and keep in an empty ice cream bucket. Use one tablespoon per load or two tablespoons for heavily soiled or large loads of clothes. It really doesn't take much of this stuff to get your clothes clean since it lacks all the fillers commercial laundry soap has. I like to leave a measuring spoon in the bucket at all times to make life that much easier.