Self Reliance Tip #62 - Soap Nut Review July 3

Well, it is time for a "Soap Nuts" review. I love them. What other laundry detergent can give you four washes with the same scoop?

Pro's: They are a space saver They are a money saver They work great They can actually be used for several different things...not just laundry.

 Here are some things other people have used them for (mostly by making a "tea" with the nuts): mosquito repellent shampoo multi-purpose cleaner Soap Nut seeds can be planted to produce more trees! That is a self-reliance biggie! They also double as a fabric softener, but they are safe for cloth diapers. They don't fade clothes like commercial detergents do (this commercial shows you how...warning...extremely cheesy and not a well made commercial, but it does prove a few points... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIx-9nEi8kQ&feature=related

Con's: The little bag of soap nuts can get lost going from the washer to the dryer. If you like fragrance, this removes it all...that might be a "con" for some people who like super fragrant laundry. Fact: They smell a little like apple cider vinegar - they do NOT make the clothes smell like that. After I'd read several reviews, I must agree that they just smell "clean"...how exactly do you describe that? :)
Warm water washes work better than cold water - if you must do a cold water wash, soak your baggie of soap nuts in some water before doing the laundry.
Stains must still be pre-treated.

  Fiction: Some sources say that if the soap nuts still contain the seeds, they will stain an entire batch of clothes...this is false. I washed 5 loads before I even read that and nothing of the sort happened. "Soap nuts without the seed work better" - false - they work equally well. In my opinion, I think they want to remove the seeds to replant them, otherwise the seed would be wasted.

Personal experience: I have a towel that several months ago I had to use to clean up some oil. I have tried so many ways to get this towel "clean" again. I'd soaked it in soapy water, "simple green", washed it a million times etc etc with no luck. This towel was in the first "soap nuts" batch I did. Guess what...it came out clean! I can use this towel again instead of just throwing it back in the wash :). I was able to get a solid four (4) washes out of a baggie of five(5) soap nuts. I have been looking for more and more reasons to do laundry so that I could experiment some more! I even asked my kids to jump in the mud so I could keep doing laundry :) (ok, not really...but I almost did). This video has a few more laundry tips using soap nuts..

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFkzIv6Pfl4&feature=related

I bought mine here (scroll down to "soap nuts":
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/s.html

If you're still not sure if you're ready to invest, get a small 4 oz bag and see if you like them. It is only $2.50.

...And another thing....
 From Heavenly Father's Medicine Cabinet....

Did your mother ever get after you for playing in the mud? She'd be proud of this kind of mud. It is called Bentonite Clay. I use bentonite clay all the time. Bentonite is a "magnetic" clay that is a drawing clay. It pulls junk from your skin. I have used it for bruises, acne, bug bites and slivers. Once I was in "the wilderness" far away from home. A funny looking caterpillar fell from a tree and landed on my sleeping bag. A natural reaction was to sweep him off with my hand. Several of his spikes stuck deep in my finger. It soon began to swell up and hurt like a mugga. When we got home, I wrapped it in a clay poultice. Within minutes it felt better. I did a few poultices that day and by the next day I could pull the spikes out. Ahhhhh! I love that stuff!