I'm on a journey to find health and happiness through a more holistic and green lifestyle.

I find the world to be abrasive. =) That is to say, I feel the need to armor myself, physically and emotionally, in order to face life. Don't we all? Maybe. For whatever reason, it has become a priority in my life to rid my immediate environment of irritating things. And I'm sensitive! So there is much work to be done. But. I have thought for a long time that the things I come in contact with every day, and the stuff used to clean and maintain these things, need to be gentle and non-toxic. I have had eczema my entire life. For a long time I just dealt with it, and accepted that sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it's not, and that it will fluctuate a lot. Gradually over time I have come to find that certain things, fabrics, cleansers, materials, are more irritating to my skin than others. Stress can exacerbate it. In more recent times, I have realized that every aspect of my life improves when I improve conditions for my skin. Hah! What a concept! Thus my (long time) interest in going green, and my more recent desire to live a more holistic lifestyle. (I think I've felt a desire for a long time to live in a harmonious way with myself, my surroundings, and nature, but didn't have a name for it.) Anyhow, this blog is a journal of my trials and errors, and basic crooked path to find a balanced and peaceful existence for myself and my family. Thanks for your interest! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Soap nuts trial 2 - Liquid Form - Update


Here is the soap nut liquid I created after 5 hours of boiling in the crock pot. Not as dark as I might have thought, but it was tea colored. From that I made some ice cubes...



I am now doing a load of laundry using three of these cubes. I have read that one will do in a normal sized load of laundry, but I am skeptical. Mine aren't very dark so I figure they're not very concentrated....what do I know. So far I don't see any sudsing in my laundry, but that's ok too.... Anyhow, I'll let you know how/if it works. I also plan to try the liquid (there was a lot, so some became cubes and some stayed in liquid form) in the dishwasher. The results of using the soap nuts in the dishwasher has been so-so. Most of the dishes are cleaned, but some are not, which isn't good enough, is it? So I will try the liquid in the soap holder thingy, with vinegar in the rinse aid thingy, and see how that works. Failing that, it's no more soap nuts in the dishwasher. =)




I'll test the liquid and cubes in other areas of the house and report back.

No comments:

Post a Comment