DIY Powdered Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent Recipe

by Amanda on

Powdered Soap Nuts Detergent Recipe This recipe is great for clothes and cloth diapers and does not contain borax! I am personally a-okay with borax in my detergent but many readers have asked for another solution and this is it. In addition, it uses Eco Nuts Soap Nuts, not manufactured soaps, making it even more natural, earth & skin friendly. I hope you enjoy it!

You can find my original Laundry Detergent Recipe & Cloth Diaper Detergent Recipe here. If you would like a liquid soap nuts recipe you can find it here.

Large Batch Recipe

Reminder: Soap Nuts are not actually nuts, they are a dried berry shell that looks a bit like a nut. They are completely safe for those with nut allergies. Learn more in my post, Cleaning With Fruit: Let’s Talk Soap Berries.

You will also need:

A blender or food processor with a good seal (grinding the berries can be dusty!), a hand towel (to help contain the dust) and a trash bag or large bucket with lid.

Make it!

  1. You will need to first grind up all of your berries. Do so by adding half of the berries with half of the baking soda. Pulse until finely and evenly ground. Repeat with the second half of the berries and baking soda. Holding a hand towel on the top of the blender will help keep the dust to a minimum. Wait for the dust to settle before opening the lid.
  2. Pour all of the ingredients into a trash bag or bucket with lid and shake/toss/massage until well blended.
  3. Pour into a bucket for storage & scoop out a jar full to keep by your washing machine!

This detergent will dissolve best in warm water. To help, you can swirl a tablespoon or two in a cup (I like to use a jar) of warm water before tossing it into your washing machine.

Small Batch Recipe

How to Use:

Use 2 tablespoons per standard load and just 1 tablespoon per HE load, you can add more depending on soil level. As with any detergent, be sure to pretreat any tough spots. Be sure to check out my DIY Pretreater Recipe for that.

Remember that this detergent will dissolve best in warm water. Swirl your tablespoon or two in cup (I like to use a jar) of hot water before tossing it into your washing machine or simply use warm water (though cold will save electricity!)

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I have an app!!!

by Amanda on

Sweeps Grand Prize Bundle Okay, we have an app, and by we I mean Green Child Magazine!

We’ve been working on developing our own iPad app for a while now and a great partnership with Better Press made it happen! They are so great to work with and we couldn’t be more excited. To celebrate, Green Child Magazine is having a massive Reader Love Sweepstakes sponsored by Earth Mama Angel Baby, Thirsties, Badger, Sage Spoonfuls, Vine.com, Eco Nuts, Squooshi and so many more amazing companies!

The grand prize is the fabulous prize bundle seen here, and there are more than $2,000.00 in prizes total!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to Green Child’s page and enter to win one of these amazing prizes – and be sure to give the sponsors a big thank you too, they rock!

ReaderLoveNewsletter

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Homemade Liquid Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent

by Amanda on

Soap Berry Liquid Detergent Recipe I love my soap nuts, but I love the ease of liquid even more. I like convenience, what can I say?!

Soap nuts are a super affordable and non-toxic way to do laundry. If you are concerned about nut allergies, have no fear : these little cleaning wonders are actually a berry, not a nut! They are extremely allergen friendly. If you would like to read more about Soap Berries, be sure to check out my post, Cleaning With Fruit: Let’s Talk Soap Berries.

Homemade Liquid Soap Nuts Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Eco Nuts* berries (approx. 2 oz)
  • 4 cups Water
  • 1/2 cup Vinegar (natural preservative)

You will also need: Measuring Cups, a Mesh Strainer & a Water Tight Storage Jar

Soap Nuts Detergent Recipe Liquid Instructions:

  1. Measure and pour all ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce to a med-low heat to simmer with the *lid on* for 30 minutes. Stir and mash the berries occasionally with a slotted spoon.
  2. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to simmer at a low heat for 30 more minutes to remove excess water. Continue to stir occasionally.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat, strain into a clean glass bowl with a mesh strainer and let cool.
  4. Pour into a water tight jar for storage.

Using this recipe I was left with approx. 2.5 cups of liquid which will give me approx. 40 loads in an HE machine or 20 loads in a standard washing machine. Your yield may vary depending on heat settings and how much you use per load.

To Use:

Once your detergent is made you will use 1 tablespoon per HE load, or 2 tablespoons per regular load. You may need more on heavily soiled loads, and as with any detergent, you will want to pretreat tough spots. Check out my great DIY Laundry Pretreater Recipe for that!

Storage:

A water tight jar is perfect! This laundry detergent should last you a while on the shelf but you won’t want to make up a year’s supply at once if you plan to store it that way.  If you want to create a larger batch of detergent, freezing is a great option. Wsing ice cube trays, you can store this indefinitely and simply pop out a cube each time you need to do a load of laundry. (For reference, an ice cube is generally two tablespoons.)

Super Savings:

I recommend the use of Eco Nuts berries because they are carefully selected to contain high amounts of quality soap, are certified organic, and are the only brand that I am aware of that actually sterilizes their berries – making them extremely safe to handle. You can purchase a large box of Eco Nuts for $30 which will yield approx. 400 HE loads or 200 standard loads.

If you are looking for deeper savings, you can purchase bulk soap nuts from Private Label Soap Nuts. A 5 lb bag costs approx. $45 with shipping. Please Note that while these soap nuts are much cheaper, the quality of these berry pieces will also be less so than the Eco Nuts brand. You will likely need to use 3-4 oz of product per batch to achieve results similar to those above.

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It’s Official : We’re Moving!

by Amanda on

Old Railroad Trestle Ohio - Photo by Amanda Hearn I was born in the corner of Ohio that no one has ever heard of. It’s rural, generally boring and about two hours from the nearest city, but it’s beautiful and my home. The photo to the right is of an old railroad trestle – just one of the magical pieces of history I have had the pleasure of enjoying here. I was born in this area, moved around as part of a military family, moved home, left, swore I’d never come back… and then I moved back again, settled down and started a family. I have grown to love and appreciate this area in a way that I never thought I would, but I am ready to start a new journey with my family.

We’ll be headed about three hours west of here to an area just outside of Cincinnati Ohio. We’ll miss our family in Southeast Ohio, but we are looking forward to new opportunities, a new community and more time spent with my husband’s siblings, our niece and nephew, and friends from years past.

I’m no moving pro, but I am enjoying finding sustainable ways to package up our belongings. We’ve done a considerable amount of downsizing (which feels great!) and I’ve been saving boxes and other packing supplies for months. Blankets, stuffed animals and soft household items also make for great packing supplies. Short of packing tape, we’re actually doing pretty well so far. Thanks to some of the great reader suggestions on my Facebook wall, I’ve been working to pack up items a box or two at a time – trying to involve the kids when they are willing. We won’t be leave for about a month, but these tips have already helped make this transition so much less stressful for all of us.

Here are just a few of the helpful moving tips that have been shared:

  • Let the kids help pack their own things. This helps the little ones know that their things are not gone but just put way. Take them with you to see the homes you are considering. It is not always easy to have them with you, but in my experience it helps them not to feel so scared. - from Elise
  • Don’t buy expensive packing material. Use your towels/dish towels to packing breakables. - from Melinda
  • If the move involves a road trip, check out dogfriendly.com to find dog parks along your route. - from KD
  • Sell. Trash and Donate. You will quickly realize that you have too much stuff and it cost to move stuff that you don’t really want, but yet not ready to move. Its a cleanse process. - from Melinda
  • Let the kids decorate a box or two that has the sheets, pillows and blankets for everyone’s bed and towels for each person. - from Kate
  • Pack one box of must haves… Sheets and pillowcases for each bed, shower curtain, kiddos favorite cup, dog bowls. After moving everything else in, you will not want to search through ten boxes just to find the things you need to get in bed! Open one box and leave the rest for tomorrow! - from Ashley
  • Keep the path of packing things you can live without. It gets easier and easier to live without stuff. Then. Moving day put everything in the car you’ll use immediately to come out first. – from Heather

I want to thank you all so much for the moving tips – please continue to post more below if you have them! If you happen to live in or near Cincinnati, I’d love to hear any tips on finding natural living resources, areas, shops, etc. I am so excited about our new path and excited for my first post from Cincinnati!

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