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By Emily

August 28th, 2010
greener living organic soap nuts

greener living organic soap nuts

If you’ve been following my blog for very long you know that green living and using eco-friendly products is important to me. You probably also know that I am in college, and so is my boyfriend. Meaning, we don’t have tons of cash flowing around. So although I am always looking for ways to be green, I am always forced to decide if I can afford to go green based on the cost. Most ways of going green are expensive, or at least a bit more costly than the less eco-friendly ways. I love finding ways to go green that actually saves money. Love isn’t really even the right word for it. I REALLY love that! I was thrilled to get the chance to try out some soap nuts. What are soap nuts? Soap nuts come from a tree that is found in south asian countries that contain a natural soap-like ingredient. The nuts grow naturally and are not treated in any way. They are simply laid out to dry.They can be used for many things, but I used them as an alternative to traditional laundry detergent. Instead of pouring a cap or scoop full, you put a few nuts in a small bag and throw them in with your laundry. 4 nuts in a small bag will last for 4 or 5 washes. The nuts will become soft and grayish when they are ‘used up’. Their 1.1lb bag costs 22.00 and will last for 150-200 loads of laundry. Meaning, if you do 1 load of laundry a day, the 22.00 bag will last you for 6 months! Seems how I just do laundry for Ryan and I, I only do 2-3 loads a week. So this bag will last us over a year! A years worth of laundry for 22.00? That’s the kind of eco-friendly that I can afford!

So it all sounded great, but I was naturally hesitant of how clean my clothes would come out by using these nuts. After doing my first load, I was in love. The soap nuts aren’t like flowers or perfume, so you won’t open the dryer and take in a breath of wonderful smelling air. However, if you intentionally smell a shirt that you pull out of the laundry, it will have a slight smell that smells clean, which is all I need, anyway.
I was also sent a bar of soap for review. The soap bar is made from soap nuts and works great as well. Sometimes my boyfriend gets dry or irritated skin from soaps, but he’s had no issues with this. I really love both of the products that I received from buy soap nuts and I will definitely be returning once our bag of nuts runs out, in over a year.
You can also turn the soap nuts into a liquid detergent which can be used for a large variety of needs including mosquito repellent, shampoo, window cleaner,pet cleaner and more.

The only downsides I can come up with about this product is I have a hard time remembering to grab the soap nut bag out of the washer, before putting my clothes in the dryer.

soap nuts bath bar

soap nuts bath bar

Every time I’ve used the soap nuts I’ve moved the clothes over to the dryer without searching for the little bag. So then a few minutes after I start the dryer I remember and have to pull the clothes out of the dryer to search for the little bag. Also, both the soap bar and the soap nuts themselves have a strong, slightly strange smell before being used. It almost reminds me of a vinegar like smell, which some people may find unpleasant. However the smell is not present in my clothes after the have been washed with the soap nuts and the soap doesn’t stay on me after bathing with the soap bar. Overall I really love both products and plan to continue using these in the future.
Buy it: You can purchase soap nuts and other soap nut products online at buysoapnuts.com.
Win it! One lucky winner will get a 1.1lb (150-200 load) bag of soap nuts and a bath bar.
To enter: Visit buysoapnuts.com and tell me one thing you learned. Be sure to leave your email address.
Extra entries: Only count if the mandatory entry is completed. Leave each entry in its own comment. Leave proof of your entry whenever possible.
Entries:

This giveaway is open to the US and Canada and will end September 17th at noon est. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 2 days to reply before a new winner will be selected.

Disclaimer – I received a bag of soap nuts and a bar of soap for the purposes of this review. No other form of compensation was offered or accepted. All opinions are my own.

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