No. Mobius 8 Organics is not just about worms. It's about helping people make greener choices...

It's been a while since I have written anything other than a Facebook post or comment. I've been thinking about this blog and how I could really get people to think about the things we do everyday in our lives and our households. Saving money and/or making money usually gets and keeps peoples' attention. If it benefits the planet, that's a bonus for everyone!

I always felt that it is personal responsibility as a consumer in our daily lives what will help to save the planet. However, I have found if we were to purchase the greener replacement products, they are often more expensive and unattainable for some people and their families, causing them to keep purchasing the cheaper, more harmful products out there in the markets.

Let's face it, I admit it, in some ways I am frugal. Really, really frugal. I had no choice because I had to stretch a dollar to make all ends meet with a large family and a challenged budget and work schedule due to some really extreme circumstances. If I wasn't making money, I had better be saving it everywhere I could. I have found over the years, emulating my post-war immigrant/refugee parents' ways has saved me tons of money in areas where other people are literally throwing money away and creating more waste and doing more damage to the environment. I realized by emulating my parents that there are ways of "going green" that doesn't mean buying the more expensive environmentally plastic packaged replacements.

Here is one of the products I had found and have used over the past four years...

Click on the image or here to connect to the Amazon link to purchase your own Amson Naturals Soap Nuts

(Yes, I receive a commission from Amazon for every purchase made through this link. Thank you!

If you don't shop online, you can find these and other products I list here in Health Food Stores, some major all natural retailers, and sometimes I have found them in bulk food stores. Sometimes the same brand or under brand names. EcoNuts is another brand I also choose).

FYI - I only recommend products I use myself and believe in.)

I started researching laundry alternatives that were more economical and greener choices for the planet. Sure there are lots out there that are organic, biodegradable, eco-friendly, but still are highly processed, shipped from all over, and often bottled in plastic. Or were manufactured with plastic - referring to those plastic balls that tumble around in your washer and magically loosen dirt from your fabrics. If I wanted my towels to be soft, I still had to purchase more fabric softener of some sort, in turn meaning more packaging, more processing, more waste. (Or more magical balls, but this time over packaged, over processed, sheep's wool).

I don't remember exactly how I came across Soap Berry Nuts, but I knew immediately I had a breakthrough in finding ways to save money on laundry and still be environmentally conscious!! We were spending a minimum of $30/month on laundry products alone equalling over $360+/year. NOW... I only spend approximately $40/year. That's right, for you guys in the back row... That's FORTY dollars per YEAR! Not because I do less laundry, but because I found a much cheaper, greener, more efficient choice.

Highlights of Soap Berry Nuts:

- No harsh manmade toxic chemicals

- Grown on trees (Create a demand for a product that is harvested from trees and more trees get planted)

- Little to no negative effect on grey waste water. (Less to process out to clean our drinking water).

- Safe for tree nut allergies

- Can be used for all types of laundry, including delicates, and children's clothing

- No extra fabric softeners are required because Soap Berry Nuts does that too!

- Save massive amounts of money over the year at 300 loads per kilogram. Approximately 6 nuts, (or a handful), will do 10 loads of laundry!!!

- Used nuts can be composted in your garden, or in my case, my worm composter

- No fragrance. None. If you like to add a little fragrance, use a few drops of your favourite essential oil. I use peppermint, not because it's my favourite but because of it's many beneficial qualities. (Read more on that in a future blog entry).

- Usually comes in packaging that is environmentally friendly, reusable, can be repurposed, (ladies, you can put your delicates in the bag it comes in and toss in the laundry), compostable, or recyclable.

- Not packaged in plastics like other products that claim to be environmentally friendly.

- As pointed out by a mom close to me who is currently teaching her 12 year old to do laundry... When teaching kids to do laundry, they are no longer able to indulge with their addiction to pod form laundry detergents, (ya, you know what I am talking about), or overindulge in their generously dousing the dirty laundry liquid or powder detergents and fabric softeners, in turn causing damage to the machine and waste loads more money. I'm sure I don't have to keep hammering away at the environmental impact this little learning curve itself has).

Uses of Soap Berry Nuts:

In the Laundry - For laundry in a top or HE front loading machine - use 5-6 Soap Berry Nuts in a small unbleached cotton drawstring bag, (usually provided within the packaging). I often lose the bags when washing fitted sheets so I will use those odd socks we all have in our households when this happens. (Eventually I do find the bag again tucked inside the fold of fitted sheets). If your laundry is extra dirty, use two bags of Soap Berry Nuts for that load. Wash your laundry like you normally would. Leave the bag/s in for the next 9 loads. They are usually good for up to 10 loads, but you might be able to stretch it out for a few more. You know they are done doing their job when they feel papery inside the bag. Just dump the used nuts into your composter, and fill the bag again.

Fabric Softeners - No need for extra fabric softeners, including vinegar. If you hang dry your clothes, just give them a little shake to get the stiffness out when you are taking them down from the line or the drying rack. If you are hang drying, you are probably already doing this any way. (I have a blog post coming up about hang drying and an alternative for machine drying, so stay tuned for that too). For those of you who can't fathom life without your machine dryers, you don't have to do anything unless you want to add a few drops of your favourite essential oils to a cloth or a rag and let it tumble with the rest of your laundry in the dryer for a fresh, clean, non-toxic, beneficial fragrance. If you want your whites to be extra bright, use white vinegar as your greenest choice in the wash. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, use a few drops of lemon essential oils to mask it a bit.

Body Care - (Yes! You can go nuts with this stuff on your own self! I've only used it for laundry thus far, but I will be trying the many different ways they can be used in the future.) Soaking the nuts themselves in a jar of boiling water then straining it when cooled, then using the water as a shampoo and body wash is another use for these Soap Berry Nuts!!! (Again, add your favourite essential oils if you want a touch of fragrance). The used water logged nuts can be ground down in a blender or food processor and also used as a natural body scrub or household cleaning scrub. (Yes! I know it's hard to believe, but this is possible!)

Household Cleanser and Cleaner - If you have a blender or food processor that can grind grain into flour, you can grind the dry nuts down and make a paste by adding a few drops of water to use as a dry powdered cleanser. You can also use the powder to soak in water like with the shampoo and body wash to make an all purpose cleaner. Just strain it and put it in a spray bottle!

There are more uses for these amazing little nuts that aren't really nuts, but its nuts that we don't all know about these nuts yet and aren't going nuts with using them everywhere!

Now off you go with one of the best greener choices you've made for yourself, your family, your wallet and our planet.

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Here are a few more links for you if you want to pick up a couple of my favourite essential oils. Just click on the images to purchase them on Amazon.ca. They aren't the best priced but these are the products I use and recommend. If you want to bargain shop around, please send me your links to the deals on the products you have found. If they fit into my criteria, I will add them to this post.

Peppermint oil is great in laundry for a fresh natural stimulating scent that does so much more than you think! Watch for future posts about this amazing little bottle of magic! A few drops in your laundry will do more than make you tingle!

Lemons are amazing for many things, including clearing our minds and making our homes smell clean and fresh. Essential oils can be used for many things, but are known especially for their anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties. Adding only a few drops to our laundry can make this small bottle last for months. (Please don't ingest ANY essential oils as they can be toxic in their concentrated forms).

Please share this blog with your friends. How else can we all make greener choices together and make a faster positive global impact?!

Until next time guys! (Hopefully sooner rather than later)

#laundry #econuts #soapberry #soapberries #green #water #fabricsoftener #laundrydetergent #greenerchoices