Seasonal Tip:
Eco-Friendly Tip of the month:
- Soap Nuts are one of earth's truly sustainable natural soaps - a laundry soap and fabric softener made by Mother Nature! Soap nuts contain saponins, a natural soap, and are harvested from trees in India and Nepal, where locals have been using the soap nuts for centuries as a safe and effective way to clean their clothes.
In actuality, soap nuts are a fruit - of the Rittha tree (sapindus mukorossi), also known as the Chinese Soapberry tree. When ripe, the fruit falls from the tree and is harvested to remove the inner fruit from the outer shell. The shells are then dried in the sun, using no chemical or manufacturing processes. They have a protective waxy coating that contains the saponin.
When soap nuts are added to the wash, the saponin acts as a water surfactant, reducing the surface tension of the water and releasing the dirt and oils from the clothes.
For use in the laundry, place 2-3 whole soap nuts (or 4 -6 halves) in a re-usable cotton bag and place it in your wash. Double the number of nuts if using cold water or if you have particularly dirty clothes.
Soap Nuts can be reused 2-3 times if you wash in warm water - twice that if using cold water, by simply allowing them to air dry between use. They are also low-sudsing, making them ideal for use in front load washers. Plus, soap nuts will eliminate the need for fabric softeners.
You can also place your bag of soap nuts in your dishwasher cutlery tray to clean your dishes.
- For an all-purpose liquid cleaning solution, put 7 or 8 nuts in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, and let simmer 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove the nuts and strain for an eco-friendly cleaning solution that will last for about 3 months – longer if you keep in the refrigerator.
This liquid is ideal for use in spray bottle because of its low-sudsing characteristics. It can be used to wash your hair, clean floors, carpets, bathrooms, cars, pets, etc.
Once the soap nuts have been used to their potential, simply add them to your compost.
Soap nuts are multifunctional, environmentally-friendly, sustainable, bio-degradable, renewable, hypoallergenic, anti-microbial, and phosphate-free. Check them out in Canada at;
http://www.buysoapnuts.com/
http://www.morethanclothdiapers.com/soapnuts.html
http://www.lyndhurstnaturals.com/
http://www.fluffybottombabies.ca/item_94/Ecoideas-Soap-Nuts.php
http://www.earthsberriesoapnuts.com/
- It's no secret that brand name household cleaners are a health hazard. Scientific studies have shown a potential link between many of these cleaners and a rise in asthma rates and certain forms of cancer. People are starting to realize that it is possible to get a fresh & sparkling home by using everyday household ingredients such as vinegar and baking soda. Try these simple recipes. . .Earth friendly household cleaners.
Did you Know...?
Somewhere between 500 billion & a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.
- Less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled. It costs more to recycle a bag than to produce a new one.
- Most plastic bags end up in an ocean fill.
- Bags get blown around, into our seas, lakes & rivers. They also find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes.
- The effect on wildlife can be catastrophic:
- Birds become terminally entangled.
- Nearly 200 different species of sea life including whales, dolphins, seals and turtles die due to plastic bags (after ingesting plastic bags which they mistake for food).
IF WE USE A CLOTH BAG... We can save 6 bags a week.
THAT’S: 24 bags a month, 288 bags a year, 22,176 bags in an average lifetime!
If 1 out of every 5 people in our country did this..... we would save 1,330,560,000,000 bags over our lifetime!!!!!!
Please say NO to plastic bags....
