I know you're probably wondering what soap nuts are, anyway. When you buy a bag of soap nuts, you're really getting the shell of the berry from the sapindus mukorossi tree found in the Himalayas. When introduced to water, a natural soap called saponin is released.
Many people simply put the soap nuts into a small burlap sack and toss that into their laundry. I was doing this myself for a long time, but found the small bags a real pain to open, especially when wet. I also had a hard time keeping track of how many times I'd used each bag since you only get about 5 washes out of each bag.This is why I decided to see what else I could do with my large sack of soap nuts when I got to the point where doing laundry was too much of a PITA to do. That's when I came across some other blog posts discussing making a liquid from the soap berries that could be used for laundry AND dishes, skin care, fertilizer etc. I experimented with different recipes, but found that the liquid didn't last long before going bad. I didn't feel like making laundry detergent once a week. I have a toddler. Come ON!
I had also read that you can use the Young Living Thieves Household Cleaner for laundry, too! Ding, ding, ding! Mix the two! Now I have a huge container full of economic, eco-friendly, skin & fabric friendly soap that is also anti-microbial and lasts a long time! Huzzah!
What you will need:
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Measuring Cup (liquid)
- 8 Cups water
- Approx. 30 organic soap nuts(berries)
- 1 Capfull of YL Thieves Household cleaner
- 1 64oz container for your detergent
- 1 funnel with straining device
Step 1:
- Pour 8 cups of water into the large pot and bring to a boil
- Add approximately 30 soap nut shells into the boiling water
Step 2:
- Bring the heat down to medium and stir
- Set timer for 30 minutes
- Stir intermittently during the 30 minutes while mushing the berries against the side of the pot
- When the 30 minute timer goes off, add an additional 2 Cups of water to the pot and set the timer for 10 minutes
- Continue boiling for 10 minutes and stirring/mashing as before
- When the 10 minute timer goes off, add an additional 1 Cup of water to the pot and set the timer for 10 minutes
- Continue boiling for 10 minutes and stirring/mashing as before
- 8 cups- 30 min
- 2 cups- 10 min
- 1 cup - 10 min
Step 3:
- When the final times goes off, you know that the liquid is done. Turn off the heat, and set the pot aside until it cools down enough to touch
- Place the funnel into the top opening of your large bottle
- Using the measuring cup or ladle, transfer your soap from the pot into the bottle while ensuring the berries don't get in
- Once you have emptied the pot into your bottle, remove the funnel and dispose of the used nuts in the garbage disposal or compost
- Pour 1 capfull of the Young Living Thieves Household cleaner into the bottle
- Place your pump or lid on the bottle and shake gently to mix
- Do your laundry, ya slackah!
Step 4:
A great thing about this entire process is that you don't have to CLEAN anything! All you have to do is rinse out the pot, measuring cup, spoon etc. and dry. This process is self-cleaning!
