I Like Clean Clothes and I Cannot Lie

My sisters are a wellspring of information and ideas for me in this blog. G suggested I try using soap nuts for my laundry. I looked up some options on amazon but couldn't justify the cost and the shipping and I didn't know if they would work. So I didn't get them. Which was a bit of a bummer because I was using some laundry pods that Josh and I had left over, and I was feeling weird about the A) amount of trash and B) having no idea what was in them. I was still very interested in figuring out a good swap for my laundry.

I have a small wardrobe so taking care of the few clothes that I do have is very important to me. Using laundry pods didn't feel in line with being a good steward of my possessions.

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Today I went to bulk barn to pick up some pasta and a shampoo/conditioner soap bar that comes without any packaging. While I was looking at the soap I found some soap nuts right by them! They were a bit cheaper then the ones on amazon, I didn't have to pay shipping, and I didn't have to wait for them to come! In order to use soap nuts you need a small bag, which I didn't have. Lo and behold right beside the shampoo bar was some soap nut bags for less then a dollar! Best day ever!

My only concern is that I won't like the smell, or it won't fully clean my clothes, or that it will just be super annoying. I did a test run with some towels and it turned out amazing! It smelled lovely and was beautifully clean. I am really happy about it! Even better is that I can easily compost the soap nuts once I have used them up. I can also compost the bag I have my soap nuts in if it wears out. My building will be getting a composting system soon and I plan on taking full advantage of that.

There are a few downsides to using soap nuts. You have to wash in hot water, which uses more energy then washing. in cold water. It is also requires smaller loads in the wash, it really doesn't matter to me currently because my washer is so small but for someone with a larger washing machine that may be annoying. Some people said that the soap nuts left stains on their clothes. I will keep you updated about how they work .

I am very excited about my laundry set up. I use wool dryer balls in my dryer to reduce the amount of trash I would be making if I used dryer sheets. Which is also less expensive then dryer sheets, and I don't have to dig around in my laundry to find an annoying sheet. And now I am using these soap nuts which are compostable, save money, and I feel better about what I am putting on my skin.