Can't Get More Green Than Dried Fruit {Giveaway & Review}

So remember when I wrote about laundry detergent alternatives a little while ago? Well I recently heard that the term “derived from coconut oil” is a fancy way of saying “now it’s really a chemical”. This article goes into more detail on that.

Great, so the detergent I was all excited about isn’t really all that great. Well, there were other things that I found so maybe I should revisit them.

One of then was soapnuts. Now as far as I can tell there really isn’t anything fake about them. Soapnuts are a dried fruit, that’s it.

Soapnuts are supposed to be great for people with allergies and skin conditions like eczema, are biodegradable, are antimicrobial and low sudsing, which makes them great for HE machines (that’s what we have).

I also mentioned trying them once before and not having the best of luck. But seeing as I’m too lazy to make my own laundry soap, it seemed like a good idea to give them another try. Hehe

So the best thing to do, I thought, was to go with a different brand then I tried the first time. I found out about LaundryTree online and really liked their site.

They have different package sizes you can buy from trial sizes to stocking up, there’s lots of info about soapnuts, how to use them, how to tell good ones from bad ones and other cleaning uses for them.

I also really liked that you can get scented oils that you can add to your wash, my mom’s a big fan of scented laundry.

So I contacted LaundryTree about their soapnuts and they sent me their starter kit, which contains a 100-gram bag of soapnuts, wash bags (to put the soapnuts in for washing), a 1oz bottle of essential oil (I chose the Energy Blend) and an extra sample bag for you to give a friend to try.

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LaundryTree says that’s enough to wash about 40 loads (not including the sample bag I would think). Not bad, I thought.

Seeing as I have 2 boys and a husband, I always have lots of laundry to do, so I was ready to put those babies to work as soon as they came. So I opened up the kit and checked the back of the bag to see how many I would need and how to use them. It said that all you need to do is put 3-5 soapnuts in a bag and toss into the machine…unless you want to was on cold. Well you know I wash (almost) everything in cold so I went to LaundryTree’s site to see what I needed to do to wash them with cold water.

It turns out I had to make soapnut soak which is very easy but takes a full night, so no laundry the first day. This oddly saddened me.



So now that I had my soapnut soak ready I was set to go. The directions say to use between ¼ and ½ cups of soak per load. I split the difference and went with 1/3 cup. Now, LaundryTree also says that soapnuts don’t require additional fabric softener. Hmmm….now I’m starting to get skeptical. But I want to be fair and try them the way they are intended to be used.

So I pour my soak into the detergent dispenser, add a couple drops of oil and hope for the best.

Now before I say anything else I think I should make it very clear that I like soft clothes. I hate crunchy towels with a passion and would never wear a stiff shirt. And don’t even get me started on static! *shiver*

With that being said, I pulled the first load out of the dryer, my husband’s work clothes and a couple of my shirts, just in case and……. they were soft without a bit of static to be found!

It was incredible, jeans, soft; towels, soft; everything, soft! So not only are soapnuts really natural, by using them I no longer need any kind of extra fabric softener. Love!

I did 5 loads of laundry and have at least 5 loads left with the soak I made. I tell you right now, I will never use anything else, I love these so much, I don’t even have words.

Actually I have the perfect word: Giveaway!

That’s right; LaundryTree is giving one (very) lucky reader a SoapNut starter kit!

For the main entry go to LaundryTree and leave a comment here telling me one thing you learned about their soapnuts.

As always there are additional ways you can enter:

• Follow @easyecotogo on Twitter and leave your @name (1 entry)
  
• Follow LaundryTree on Twitter and leave your @name (1 entry)
  
• Write a blog about the contest or email 3 friends & cc me on the email easyecotogo at gmail.com (3 entries, please leave 3 comments)
  
• Tweet about the contest (Get naturally clean with @LaundryTree & @easyecotogo! http://bit.ly/9N1Wcg #giveaway) (1 entry, can be done once a day. Please leave a comment for each tweet)
  
• Follow my blog in Google Friend (1 entry)
  
• Subscribe to Easy Eco To Go (2 entries, leave 2 comments)
  
• Add my button to your blog (leave your site with your comment so I can stop by and say hi!) (2 entries, please leave 2 comments)
  
• Add my blog to your blogroll (1 entry)

Separate comments must be left here for each additional entry!

Also, please include your email with comments or if you’d rather, after you leave your main entry comment, email me at easyecotogo(at)gmail(dot)com so I will have a way of contacting you if you win. You will have 48 hours after I contact you to send me your info or else I will choose another winner.

The contest will run from Monday March 22, 2010 thru Monday March 29, 2010 at 11:59 pm PST. Sorry, but the contest is only open to US residents.

And as always the boys will help me pick a winner which will be announced Tuesday the 30th.