Soap Nuts – Soap In A Berry

Soap nuts are the central ingredient in my house cleaning and laundry practices. But with the holidays my fine china, linen table clothes and napkins, and the fine silver gets used and often abused.

Polishing my silver flatware has always been an odious task for me. Probably going back to childhood when I was forced to clean the silver for my paternal grandmother as a regular task when I visited them. Cleaning silver was never easy, but with soap nuts it is a breeze.

I’d read that soap nuts have been used for centuries as a chemical free jewelry cleaner, which I hadn’t tried, but for some reason I never thought about polishing my silverware with soap nuts before this.

After a dinner party on December 24th, for my mate’s birthday, I had tons of dishes and silverware to wash. I was dreading it, especially since I recently decided to abandon the dishwasher and do my dishes by hand. So when it came time to clean that huge pile of silverware I thought I’d be at it for days instead of hours.

Much to my own surprise cleaning the tarnish off the silver flatware  with soap nuts liquid was so easy I am thinking of using the silver more often. I use soap nuts liquid for cleaning many things, and since I started handwashing dishes I use it as my dish liquid. All it took to clean the silverware, even the stuff with food caked to it in a crust was a few squirts of soap nuts liquid on a sponge and a tiny bit of rubbing with the abrasive side of the sponge. Wow chemical free silverware polish, what a joy!

With very little effort I have sparkling clean and very shiny silver flatware. Now here’s really great part of this is that the silver is my mother’s wedding silver. Actually I have two sets, one is Mom’s and one belonged to my father’s parents. Over the years it has been neglected and often cleaned in a way that has scratched the surface causing even more tarnish to build up. I thought we were destined to have tarnish on this beautiful silverware forever because of the damage already done to it.

You’ve probably read somewhere that toothpaste is a good homemade way to clean silver. I warn you against it though because toothpaste, by its nature, is abrasive and it will cause fine scratches in your silver that will actually encourage more tarnish over time. If you want a homemade silver cleaner, then try soap nuts liquid.

I really should do some before and after pictures on this one because the results astounded me. Cleaning with soap nuts has made my life so much easier and healthier but to have more soap nuts uses makes me even happier.

Once again soap nuts exceeded my expectations, made a nasty cleaning experience into a happy one. I am thrilled that I did it all chemical free with no harm to me or the environment and without having to buy a special product just to do this one occasional task.

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Soap nuts are the answer to “How can I be greener this year?”

Many of us have been trying to make our lives greener in the past months. But for many it poses a challenge, because terms like natural and green are so commonly thrown about by companies who are first and foremost manufacturers of chemicals.

While is it not impossible for a company that produces chemical cleaning products to be greener than their competition. The truth is that most if not all so-called natural detergents, natural cleaning products, and natural personal care products simply are NOT natural, and they are rarely green.

So what is green cleaning exactly? Well, again opinions vary about that, hours spent on the internet searching may not provide an answer that makes that clear.

I’ll share my own version of green cleaning here:

• Derived from a naturally occuring substance with little or no alteration
• Sustainable
• Limited use of fossil fuels to get product to market
• Environmentally friendly packaging (at least recyclable or reusable packaging)
• Limited negative environmental and human impact when used
• Reduced packaging
• Biodegradable
• Multiple uses from a single product

Soap nuts are all of those things and here are the finer points on each aspect from the list above.

Derived from a naturally occuring substance with little or no alteration - Soap nuts are ready for use exactly as nature produced them and require NO alteration (except drying) to be useable.

Sustainable – Soap nuts trees grow naturally in areas of the world where few things will grow because they are drought resistant trees. Each soap nut tree will produce soap berries for up to 90 years. At one time the trees were cut down for lumber, but as the demand for the soap berries has increased the trees are now a source of a product for many decades instead of for lumber. In fact in some areas soap nuts are being plantation grown, again in soil that would grow almost nothing else.

Limited use of fossil fuels to get product to market- Soap nuts are hand harvested by the indigenous peoples in the impoverished areas of the world. The deseeding is also done by hand and they are then left to dry naturally. So basically zero fossil fuel consumption to get them ready to market. Now of course fossil fuels are used in getting them from source to end-consumer, but a major segment of the production chain is zero fossil fuel consumptive.

Environmentally friendly packaging (at least recyclable or reusable packaging) – While this is not true of ALL companies that sell soap nuts, NaturOli hand packs the plain muslin soap nuts bags. Additionally there is no ink or printing on NaturOli’s packaging because in truth they see it as a waste of materials and resources. The tags with the use instructions are printed on recycled paper using soy inks. Only true of NaturOli’s soap nuts. Oh and the bags can be reused for all kinds of things which makes the packaging reusable.

Limited negative environmental and human impact when used - Soap nuts are sold as nature grew them, they are not treated in any way, and because the soap berries are naturally antimicrobial they are even being used to remediate toxic soil in some parts of the world. The trees themselves are resistant to pests and fungus which means that there is no need to treat the trees to protect them from parasitic invaders. Soap nuts actually are used in various forms in Aryuvedic medicine which would lead us to believe they have positive impact on humans.

Reduced packaging- I actually cover this earlier in this post, but soap nuts (as sold by NaturOli) have the most minimal packaging possible. The muslin bag and the tag. NaturOli doesn’t even take the extra resources to attach the tag to the bag, because most of us will just pull it off to read it anyway so why waste the materials to attach it in the first place. Some soap nuts suppliers put a plastic liner inside their muslin bags. They tell us it’s to keep the soap nuts fresh. On the contrary it holds moisture inside and can often cause the soap nuts to begin to pre-release saponins making them VERY sticky. This is not what you want, but it’s off topic and I’ll cover that in another post soon.

Biodegradable – Soap nuts can be tossed on the compost heap once you’ve used them and will biodegrade. If used properly there’s virtually nothing left of them because they’ve almostly completely dissolved before you dispose of them.

Multiple uses from a single product – Many people seek multiple purpose cleaners these days. Hey it’s easier to buy one product and do many clenaing jobs with it. That’s also a green approach becausse the fewer products you buy the less production (in theory) and the less packaging to dispose of or reycle. But in the case of soap nuts the uses are pretty limitless.

Take some time to visit previous entries to see all homemade chemical free cleaning products this one single completely natural product can be used for to clean everything from your toilets to your toenails, your carpets to your cars, your laundry to your linoleum, your pots to your pets, and everything in between.

So, are soap nuts green? I’ll leave the final decision to you, but in my house soap nuts have made green cleaning easy.

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Soap nuts may never again be made SO simple to understand. The following is some fast paced, straightforward talk about what the heck soap nuts are and what they do. This article cuts right to the chase. It lifts the cloud of mystery about them. It is so simple. Soap nuts are a better way to clean. Period. But FIRST – we MUST change the way we think.

What a number P&G, Colgate and other corporate giants have done to our heads. It is absolutely amazing. We have been so brainwashed. After generations of advertising, they have made even the NOTION of a DIFFERENT way to clean very, very tough to grasp. Well let’s break through. Let’s clear our heads. We can think for ourselves. THEIR way does not need to be OUR way. As much as THEY do not want us to realize it – WE HAVE OPTIONS! Soap nuts are one of those options.

All the little nuances that create confusion are intentionally being sidestepped. Some statements will be technically wrong – but SO true in getting to the heart of the matter. The purpose of this article is to help us change HOW we think – to clear the parts of our brains that have been clouded by generations of advertising and programming by some of the largest companies in the world.

So, what are soap nuts? Soap. Is THAT simple enough? And what does soap do? It cleans things. Now, we have just connected soap nuts to cleaning. We are on our way to a paradigm shift! So, what must soap nuts do? Clean things!

Think of soap nuts this way: They are soap that Mother Nature produces. It doesn’t come out of a big factory. She just grows it on trees. Huh? Hey, Mother Nature can do what she wants. She just does not get a paycheck, nor does she advertise. No differently than the accidental discovery of fire, ages ago someone found a fruit that made soap. So what did man discover about a soap nut? It cleans things. Hence, man discovered soap.

I thought it was a detergent? For the purpose of changing HOW we think, this does not matter at all. What DOES matter is that our brains start realizing that soaps, detergents, cleansers and cleaners DO NOT need to be manufactured. Are you getting it? The ONLY really important question is: What does it do? And the answer is: IT CLEANS THINGS!

Where do they come from? Trees. Simple. For the sake of even more simplicity, let’s not get hung up on the whole “nut” issue. For the purpose of this article, who cares exactly what it is? Also, let’s just call them Soap Trees. (Getting easier?) Trees produce seeds that allow them to grow baby trees. Right? Who cares if it is a fruit, nut, berry, acorn or whatever? If you take a handful of whatever they are – and can start lathering up with them – would it be like soap? Of course! Well, THAT is EXACTLY what soap nuts do. I hope that you are asking, “You mean there are trees that can GROW soap?” The answer is – YES!

Have we changed a little regarding HOW we think? Do we realize that all soaps and detergents don NOT need to be manufactured? Do we realize that Mother Nature has her own ready-to-use soap out there just waiting for us to find it? Do we realize that natural soaps were around that would clean our bodies and everything else, ages before there was ever a soap processing plant? BTW: Mother Nature has provided us many little gifts that clean things. Soap nuts just do it extremely well.

So, where have they been all this time? Again, Mother Nature does not work for profit – and THAT is WHY they are new to us – particularly those of us in the USA and Canada. Relatively speaking we are new kids on the block. It is mainly ancient cultures that understand soap nuts. People had already figured out how to make and sell other kinds of soap long before Columbus ever set foot on the shores of the West. If Mother Nature was profit oriented and had an executive and marketing team, her natural cleaning products would fill store shelves all around the world.

As an Asian Indian gentleman explained (surely similar to many from ancient origins): His family knows soap ONLY as soap nuts. They grew up with them. Be it to bathe, wash clothes, clean jewelry, or whatever their cleaning needs were – when they started cleaning, they broke out the soap nuts.

So, go get some soap nuts. Put a bunch of them in a wash bag or just wrap them in a washcloth. Get them totally wet with warm water and start scrubbing. Or take some and put them in warm water, let them soak a bit and shake them up. Guess what? You are going to start to see suds. And what do suds do? You got it. Try some in a wash bag for a load of laundry. Clean a window with some of that solution you just made. You WILL be amazed.

So, what is a soap nut? It is a fruit that grows on a tree that makes soap. It cleans things. That is what soap does. Understand THAT and you are home. You have just broken though and changed HOW you think. This article is by no means intended to convince you that soap nuts are the BEST way to clean. It is intended to show you another option you have. It is aimed at de-programming you from a lifetime of advertising. You have choices that very few know about. Soap nuts faded away into history – and that is exactly what many wanted.

Now we are in the beginning of a new – GREEN – age. More and more people are embracing the importance of finding a natural equilibrium with our world – to find a harmony with it once again. There are many age-old – and much greener ways – to do many of the things we do every day. Cleaning is only one of them. However, since cleaning is such a big part of our lives, understanding all our options is very important. Soap nuts are a fantastic one to know about.

So, what is a soap nut???? What does it do????

Chris – Founder NaturOli Beautiful, LLC

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Soap nuts are a major curiosity – a natural green gift right from the hands of Mother Nature. Given that they are so unique – and work – what could be cooler as a green gift idea?

The point of this article is this, we have an opportunity to share the green benefits of using soap nuts – and do so VERY economically – PLUS have some real fun in the process! “No, mom, they are not lumps of coal.” LOL! I can hear it now.

What are important issues in this year’s gift giving? Inexpensive and affordable are certainly high on our list. Practical and useful are up near the top, too. Green is “in”, so that is definitely an imperative. Given those criteria, soap nuts, hands down, make for a very great green gift idea! 

Soap nuts are very affordable, practical, and thoughtful PLUS can literally change people’s lives and our world for the better. Not only are soap nuts an environmentally friendly gift, they are loads of fun to give! (I could not resist the pun.)

Not a day seems to pass that I don’t explain what a soap nut is to someone. People are absolutely astounded that such a wonderful natural thing even exists! I’ve written plenty of other articles about what soap nuts are and all their benefits. For the sake of focus and brevity, I’m assuming you know at least a bit about them.

For those of us that use soap nuts we realize they are a dream come true. Not ONLY are they earth friendly natural detergent, but also they can replace 90% of the everyday chemical cleaners around our homes. To understand soap nuts is to love them. We veterans realize that to use them is the only way to fully embrace their wonders. So, this season we can share these little gems from Mother Nature with our loved ones, friends and co-workers! Little healthy, green gifts to better people’s lives! Sure beats chocolates, don’t you think?

The simplest, most inexpensive way to share soap nuts and spread the word in a much bigger way: Little green gifts and stocking stuffers! You can get soap nut samplers for under $3. But you save a LOT MORE by simply getting a regular bag (however many ounces you think you’ll need). You will use about a half ounce of soap nuts per gift. Get as many wash bags as you’ll need. Add some ribbon or a bow and you are good to go! You just made LOTS of very inexpensive, environmentally friendly gifts that are SURE to be a big hit!. How cool is that?

So, take a bunch of these great little green (actually reddish brown) beauties to the holiday work party, to family get-togethers, block parties or whatever occasion! Have some fun with them! One thing is for sure – EVERYBODY is curious about soap nuts. Many are skeptical, but still very anxious to try them. They are SO new of a concept and SO unique to people. Soap nuts are truly a timely rediscovery for environmentally friendly detergents and cleaning products. People are actively seeking new, better earth friendly products. What could be better than soap nuts as gifts?

If your friends, family and co-workers are like the people I talk with every single day, you’ll be amazed at the responses. Everybody, wants to see, touch, feel and try them! People are literally amazed by them. So, we can spread (and even save) some green this season – and all the year through. Enjoy and have fun!

Happy holidays and my warmest wishes to you all!

Chris – Founder NaturOli Beautiful, LLC

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