The ultimate earth-friendly laundry detergent.

Soapnuts have been used for everything from removing lice to silver polish. They are actually helpful for sewer systems, and can be reused for several laundry loads.

The pouch is made from recycled tea towels (colors vary) and can be tossed in with a load of laundry and dried out to wait for the next washing. Soapnuts have no smell so you can add your own favorite essential oil such as rosemary, musk or amber.

More uses of soapnuts are discussed here.

This is a very important item we should all be using for the health of the earth.

Each pouch includes 5 soapnuts which can be used for at least 5 loads of laundry.

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Some of you may be wondering where I disappeared to for so long…it all began with Canadian Thanksgiving which is a week before my birthday. Thanksgiving kicked off an eating binge that lasted about three weeks and left me in a state of indigestion that has lasted another month! Prior to Thanksgiving we had been eating a mostly flour (and other refined items) free diet, the three week eating binge wasn’t so much a binge but just ended up being way more gluten than my sensitive digestive system could handle–it ended up knocking me right out.

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I first came across soapnuts when I was living in Myanmar/Burma in 1999. I was working at a remote hotel on the shore of the mystical Inle Lake in Shan State. My oven was made from a large barrel and was wood-fired, whenever the kitchen staff noticed me making a move to try to get the fire under the oven going myself, they would quickly send the kitchen’s expert fire-maker to take over. They had already learned the hard way that they would be completely smoked out of the kitchen if they let me attempt it myself.

The staff at the Inle Princess Resort were really a fun bunch of people, we would go to the five day farmer’s markets early in the morning and stuff ourselves with treats of fried Shan tofu and cups of sweet, strong and delicious Burmese tea, on the walk home the girls would always amaze me with their taken-for-granted knowledge of nearly every plant and it’s medicinal benefits that we passed by. They would rave to me about the wonders of the traditional Burmese shampoo. The next time we were at the market they showed me bags hanging from strings full of a yellowish liquid with these soapnuts, tamarind pods and various other herbs in them. I gave it a try and was soon a convert. Although the shampoo didn’t suds up quite as much the shampoos I was used to, my hair was soon gleaming with a healthy shine.

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I’ve been using soapnuts for just about everything lately. They are especially handy for doing laundry. All you have to do is tie up 5 berries in a muslin or net bag and toss it in with your laundry. I like to add a few drops of musk oil, and a bit of hydrogen peroxide to remind me of the perfumed laundry soaps I have grown up with. One bag of five soapnuts will be able to wash about 5 loads of laundry, or more, just keep an eye on your soapnuts, and as they break down you can add some more.

I also found that you can make them into a liquid detergent which I have described and detailed in my Cradle to Cradle Dish-washing instructable. This liquid can also be used for washing out the fridge, cleaning tables, the floor or anything else that need cleaning. It can be used for shampoo and as a spray for house plants to help to protect them from insects or fungus.

I also have found that keeping a bag of soapnuts in the toilet tank will help to keep the toilet smelling fresh and keep it clean.

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