Have you heard of soap nuts?  I hadn’t until about a year ago.

There’s a genus of plants called Sapindus that creates a fruit that can be used as soap!  And HAS been used as soap much much longer than Dial, Softsoap, and Tide have been around.

And guess what?  These little fruit pods called Soapnuts are MUCH less expensive than any of those name brands anyway!  And by “MUCH less expensive”, I really mean MUCH less expensive!

They are about 10¢ each, and just 10 of them will make enough soap nut liquid to last you a WHILE!  Then you can use that soap nut liquid for all kinds of things like shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, laundry detergent, & cleaning!

Here’s how to make the soap nut liquid:

Put about 10 soap nuts in a small cloth drawstring bag and tie it closed (typically a drawstring bag comes with your order of soap nuts).  Then put the bag into 8 cups of boiling water.  Boil for around 20-30 minutes until it makes a semi-thick liquid (it should be a cloudy yellowish-brown color).

And that’s it.  Yep.  Now you have soap nut liquid… for only around $1.

So what can you do with this soap nut liquid?

Shampoo

Have you priced organic shampoo lately?? $25 per bottle or MORE?

Here’s how I make organic shampoo for A LOT less!

I like to add to my plain soap nut liquid a little bit of lavender essential oil, lemon juice (to keep it fresh), and a little bit of homemade vanilla extract.

Then use just a LITTLE bit of it on your hair.  If your hair is especially dirty, you can also use some baking soda mixed with the soap nut liquid.

Follow it with either apple cider vinegar (which is super helpful if you have any dandruff issues), or a little bit of coconut oil.

Body Wash

Same recipe mixture as above, just use it like you would any other body wash. Again, you don’t need much, and while it won’t foam up like regular body wash, it does the job!

I would also recommend using coconut oil or olive oil to re-moisturize your skin afterwards.

Toothpaste

You can forgo the lavender oil for this one.  Just mix the following together right before you brush:

1/8 tsp. soap nut liquid
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 drop peppermint oil

I’m happy with just that recipe above, but some people prefer to sweeten it with a little Xylitol, or add a little bit of vegetable glycerin.  I’d prefer to keep my costs low and use as few ingredients as possible.

Laundry Detergent

Use the same mixture that you made for the Shampoo or Body Wash and use a couple of Tablespoons instead of your regular laundry detergent!  Your clothes come out super soft, but if you want to add some white distilled vinegar in the rinse cycle, then that also acts as a fabric softener too.

And I love it that my clothes smell like lavender vanilla!

NOTE: You still will need to pretreat your clothes for any stains!  And, from what I’ve heard from others, soap nuts do not work very well for cloth diapering.

Household Cleaning

Take a couple of Tablespoons of your soap nut liquid and add it to a spray bottle along with water.  You can also put a little bit of vinegar in there too to help kill bacteria.  Then use it on your countertops & table like you would any other cleaner!

Mix it with some baking soda to use while cleaning the bathroom, or any other area that needs some extra cleaning power.

You can buy great quality soap nuts over at Nutz4Soap!

The following is a guest post from Sarah at Renaissance Mama!

Be sure to check all of the Getting Rid Of Chemical Intruders posts!!

Powerful enough to melt plastic, your mosquito repellent is a neurotoxin! Duke University Medical Center pharmacologist Mohamed Abou-Donia says that exposure to DEET causes neurons to die in several parts of your brain, including areas that control muscle movement, memory, concentration, and learning. Rats exposed to DEET in the lab had trouble walking!

We all hate mosquito bites, and a bite, in some areas of the world, can lead to serious disease and even death. Thankfully, we have natural alternatives to DEET that are proven to be even more effective!

Mosquito repellent isn’t the only product we use that exposes us to nasty chemicals. Your toothpaste, lotions, shampoos, sunscreen, and baby care products also harbor chemicals you don’t want on your skin!

Our Skin – A Sponge

Did you know that, according to naturopath and skin specialist Ananda Mahony, our skin absorbs up to 60% of whatever is placed on it and that our underarms and other sensitive places, absorb 100%? Artificial fragrances have a 100% absorption rate.

With those sorts of absorbance rates, it’s REALLY important to be careful about what we put on our skin.

The BigBadUglies

What sort of toxic chemicals are found in products we might use every day?

Oxybenzone, Zinc Oxide, & Titanium Dioxide

Oxybenzone, Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are common ingredients in sunscreen that could be more dangerous than we think. While they may block the sun’s rays, Oxybenzone is a known endocrine disruptor that builds up in the body over time. Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide are nano-particles that concern scientists because of their acute ability to penetrate the skin and possibly cause internal damage.

To Avoid: Take Vitamin D! Studies have shown that people who are deficient in Vitamin D burn easier. You can also find natural sunscreens without those ingredients – we really like Badger Products.

Aluminmum

Aluminum is a common ingredient in deodorant and antiperspirant (So common it can be difficult to find one without it!) The World Health Organization says that there is a suspected link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been linked to brain disorders and is a possible risk factor in breast cancer. Dr. Mercola explains that aluminum works in deodorants by clogging our pores, thus trapping toxins and sweat inside our bodies! These toxins then build up and are trapped in our lymph nodes. This buildup can lead to cell mutations and cancer.

To Avoid: Read ingredient labels closely and avoid any with aluminum as an ingredient. You may try a liquid roll-on like Naturally Fresh. You might also try making your own Cocount Oil Deodorant!

DEET

We’ve already talked about the dangers of DEET in mosquito repellent (see above).

To Avoid: Make your own Mosquito Repellant or use a natural, chemical-free alternative like Dr. Mercola’s Bug Spray (shown to be more effective than 100% DEET!)

Parabens

Parabens can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants, topical pharmaceuticals and toothpaste. They also mess with our hormones (it mimics estrogen) and could be linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer. In addition, Dr. S. Oishi of the Department of Toxicology, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Laboratory of Public Health reported that exposure of newborn male mammals to butylparaben “adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system.”

To Avoid: Read labels carefully and only choose paraben-free products.

Sulfates

Sulfates – Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is found in shampoos. During its production, petrochemicals are added and it may retain potentially carcinogenic contaminants. While the amount absorbed each time is small, repeated exposure (every time you take a shower!), creates problems over time. I noticed that my husband’s once-severe dandruff has disappeared since we eliminated SLS from our shampoos. Yay! I was tired of buying expensive dandruff shampoos that didn’t really work!

To Avoid: Choose shampoos that don’t have sulfates in their ingredients! You can even make your own! I like the Whole Foods brand shampoo and conditioner but there are lots of others to choose from. You may also try “No Poo”!

Phthalates

Phthalates – According to Ananda Mahony, phthalates are found in artificial fragrances, deodorant, perfume, nail polish and certain plastic food packaging including articles such as baby bottles. These could be linked to a higher incidence of breast cancer, likely because of the disruption they have on our hormones.

To Avoid:

• The Daily Green tells us to look for the names DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate), DEP (diethyl phthalate),
DMP (dimethyl phthalate).

• Stay away from products that contain “fragrance“, which is used to denote a combination of
compounds, possibly including phthatates.

• Choose plastics with the recycling code 1, 2 or 5. Recycling codes 3 and 7 are more likely to
contain bisphenol A (BPA) or phthalates.

Propylene Glycol

Propylene Glycol is used to keep products from melting or freezing. Its Material Data Sheet (for cleaning up chemical spills) says that it can cause eczema, dermatitis, and allergic reactions as well as kidney and liver problems. It also causes problems with healthy cell growth. Propylene Glycol is found in ALL KINDS of products including hand soap, deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash (and also as an additive in some pharmaceuticals.)

To Avoid: Choose a natural product that doesn’t use propylene glycol. I’ve found replacements for my toothpaste, deodorant, and hand soap that are all propylene glycol –free.

Tricky, Tricky

As manufacturers catch on to the fact that we as consumers want more natural ingredients, they begin to advertise their products as “All Natural”. It is SO important to note that a natural starting material does not necessarily equal a natural ingredient at the end of the manufacturing process. I know of one large-scale corporation that has begun marketing “plant-based” products. Their materials began as a plant, but once the processing was finished, they had turned it into a toxic chemical! I was so mad to discover that the ”all-natural” products I thought I was buying weren’t that at all! Please read the ingredient labels carefully and research products online to be sure of what you’re using.

To read more, check out The Cosmetic Chemicals Guide: What you ought to Know Before You Buy, by Tamara Laschinsky

Sarah graduated from Baylor with a major in bioinformatics and is now making that degree work hard by raising her two kiddos and keeping her husband relatively well fed.  In her quieter moments, she can be found riding her horse and blogging at Renaissance Mama (though not usually at the same time)

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

The following is a guest post from Sarah at Renaissance Mama!

I’m all about killing bacteria. I read enough Robin Cook novels in high school about viruses decimating populations that I was all for any cleaner that would wipe them out. My numerous science classes and labs in college only strengthened that resolve.

Then, I learned that, while these cleaners might kill germs in my house, they were probably also slowly killing me. (Dramatic? Definitely. But accurate? Unfortunately so.) The EPA says our greatest exposure to toxic chemicals is at home.

A Canadian news channel, CBC, reported in their show called The Nature of Things (2002), that “on a typical cleaning day in a typical home, levels of chemicals in the indoor air can be hundreds, even thousands of times higher than the outdoor air in the most polluted of cities. In fact, indoor air pollution levels would be high enough to trigger an inspection by health and safety authorities in any workplace setting. Many chemicals contained in household cleaning products are the same as those used in industrial settings. Many scientists are now becoming concerned that long-term low-level exposure to chemicals may be just as dangerous as short-term high-dose exposures. They also worry that we do not understand the impact of exposure to the cocktail of chemicals found in household air and dust.”

Toxic Chemicals in Cleaners

What sort of cocktail might they be referring to? Here is just a smattering of examples found in ordinary cleaners (from the LessToxicGuide.ca).

Acetone

A neurotoxin that may cause liver and kidney damage, and damage to the developing fetus. Found in nail polish remover, spot treatment cleaners, mark and scuff removers, and other products.

Diethanolamine (DEA)

Suspected carcinogen, a skin and respiratory toxicant, & a severe eye irritant. Used in a wide range of household cleaning products.

D-limonene

Also listed on labels as citrus oil and orange oil. Used as a solvent in many all-purpose cleaning products, especially ‘citrus’ and ‘orange’ cleaners. D-limonene is the active ingredient in some insecticides. This chemical is produced by cold-pressing orange peels. The extracted oil is 90% d-limonene. It is a suspected carcinogen, a sensitizer, a neurotoxin, a moderate eye and skin irritant, and can trigger respiratory distress when vapors are inhaled.

Ethoxylated nonyl phenol

Nonyl phenols are hormone disruptors & some contain traces of ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen. They are eye and skin irritants. Used in laundry detergents and other cleaning products.

Formaldehyde

In lab tests, formaldehyde has caused cancer and damaged DNA. Formaldehyde is also a sensitizer, with the potential to cause asthma. Several laboratory studies have shown it to be a central nervous system depressant. Exposure to formaldehyde may cause joint pain, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and loss of sleep. Used in a wide range of products, including some toilet bowl cleaner, kids shampoos, furniture polishes [and no-iron bed sheets!!!] It’s also cloaked under several different names, including methylene oxide and urea.

This list could go on and on…and on. I’ll spare you. For a list of products that contain these ingredients, check out the US Dept of Health and Human Services Household Products Database.

The oh-so-ordinary SuperCleaner

You’ve perhaps heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. In this case, I was doubtful about trading in my high-powered cleaners for something oh-so-ordinary. Little did I know that the oh-so-ordinary was actually Superman in disguise!

Studies indicate that this super cleaner kills the majority of bacteria, including e coli and salmonella. It’s also completely non-toxic. SuperCleaner is a natural organic bi-product of fruits, vegetables, and grains and can be used to clean almost anything in your house.  You can read more about Vinegar on Wikipedia.

Have you guessed SuperCleaner’s true identity?

White distilled vinegar.

You can find website after website touting its usefulness – Reader’s Digest featured it in their series on Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things – with 150 examples of ways to use it in your house!

So I encourage you – dump your expensive and toxic cleaners, and spend $2 on a big jug of distilled vinegar.

*As with most good things, there is a counterfeit. Read the ingredients on the vinegar you purchase to insure that it is made from fruits, vegetables, and grains, and NOT petroleum.

Sarah Falk graduated from Baylor with a major in bioinformatics and is now making that degree work hard by raising her two kiddos and keeping her husband relatively well fed.  In her quieter moments, she can be found riding her horse and blogging at Renaissance Mama (though not usually at the same time)

The following is a guest post from Sarah at Falk Family Fun!

**Please note: If you buy DE to consume internally, BE SURE you get food grade as other types can contain arsenic. Yikes!**

Diatomaceous earth.

Seriously.

Do any of you remember studying diatoms in science class? It’s basically dirt that’s composed of finely crushed fossilized diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. DE is approximately 3% magnesium, 33% silicon, 19% calcium, 5% sodium, 2% iron and contains many other trace minerals such as titanium, boron, manganese, copper and zirconium.

Isn’t it pretty under the microscope?

We sprinkled it along our window edge where the ants seemed to be coming in. By the next morning, we had just a couple of brave souls. By that afternoon, they were gone! I cleaned up the dirt a few nights ago, and we are still ant-free!

I am so excited to have a natural alternative to use in place of a heavy-duty chemical. Many of the heavy chemicals we are accustomed to using have natural alternatives that are just as effective at their jobs, if not more so.

Not Just For Ants

Diatomaceous earth is a heavy-hitter. It has applications for bugs, parasites, and in aiding in bone and joint repair. In addition to ants, it has also been used for bedbugs, silverfish, box elder bugs, scorpions, crickets, and many others. (Thankfully, not at my house. Other people got to test it on those creatures.)

I’ve heard a couple of different reasons for why it is so effective against bugs. One is that the microscopic particles are actually really sharp, like broken glass. The bugs get cut up when they walk through it, so they stay away. According to Wikipedia, DE even absorbs the liquid from the bugs’ exoskeletons and dehydrates them. It’s so absorbent, in fact, that the US Center for Disease Control recommends it for cleaning up toxic waste spills.

For Our Pets

DE can be used as a flea and tick repellent by sprinkling it in the yard or on their bedding. It can also be used as a dewormer for both pets and livestock. Arbico Organics says that “DE may be fed on a continuous basis to larger livestock for both parasite control and mineralization. [It] is an excellent source of organic silica and a few trace minerals. The animal’s digestive system is not harmed by its passage; in fact, it has been proven to aid in the absorption of calcium and magnesium.” The WholeDog.com says you can just sprinkle DE on their food.

Hooray for a natural organic dewormer, especially since parasites are becoming resistant to commercial dewormers.

For Us

Our naturopath doctor recommended DE for internal parasites. He gets all the credit for introducing us to this very robust product. DE is approved by the FDA for internal and external use as a Food Grade Chemical (a non-toxic, organic ‘chemical’ at that). We add 1 tablespoon to about 4 ounces of orange juice, and drink it up. It does take a bit of getting used to…

In addition to being powerful against parasites, good ole diatomaceous earth delivered a surprise. A friend started taking D.E. for the parasite cleanse as mentioned above, and found that his chronic knee pain had disappeared. He had been told that the only alternative to relieving his pain was surgery, and he was both shocked and thrilled at the relief he experienced. When he quit taking it, the pain came back. A return to a regular dose of DE provided incredible relief for his knee pain. It turns out that silica is needed for collagen formation. The added DE supplement enabled his knee to heal itself!

You can buy a big, food grade, bag at the feed store for around $15. You can also get it online on Amazon if your local store doesn’t carry it (and the prices there look to be pretty good too).

Have you ever used diatomaceous earth? What sort of success have you had with it?

Sarah graduated from Baylor with a major in bioinformatics and is now making that degree work hard by raising her two kiddos and keeping her husband relatively well fed.  In her quieter moments, she can be found riding her horse and blogging at Falk Family Fun (though not usually at the same time)

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE IS NOT INTENDED OR IMPLIED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. PLEASE CONFIRM ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OR THROUGH THIS WEB SITE WITH OTHER SOURCES, AND REVIEW ALL INFORMATION REGARDING ANY MEDICAL CONDITION OR TREATMENT WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS WEBSITE. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, OR CURE ANY DISEASE.

The following is a guest post from Sarah at Falk Family Fun!

**Rachel’s thoughts:  While there is certainly disagreement in the scientific community over whether some of these chemicals and substances truly are harmful for our health, the more that I read and look into it the more I would prefer to err on the side of caution.**

Lately, my house has been invaded by ants. Every few hours, we find a new swarm of them on the kitchen counters. I squish them, my husband squirts them with soap, and I’m finally researching a natural way to get rid of them. I share my ant story with you because, for me, getting rid of chemicals in my house and in my food has been a lot like squishing ants.

I do it a little at a time.

You might be the mass exterminator type. You’ll go through your house, and in one fell swoop, get rid of every cleaner, every body product, and every bit of food that has yucky ingredients.

Or you might be more like me. You’ll do a few mass killings, and then do another few rounds as products appear.

Both ways work. The important thing is to get it done. If you missed my first post in this series on why you should ‘get it done’, check out Chemical Intruders – Introduction.

The Big, The Bad, and the Ugly

There are a few chemical ‘Big Bad Uglies’ to look out for as far as food is concerned. I’ll list these out for you, and give you a few examples of places where I found these offenders in MY pantry.

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup

A study at Princeton University found that rats given HFCS gained significantly more weight than rats given table sugar. Professor Bart Hoebel says, “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.” Obesity rates in the US have doubled since the introduction of this sweetener and the rate of diabetes has increased by 33%. The average American consumes 60 pounds of HFCS a year!

I found HFCS in my cereal, yogurt, bread, ketchup, mayonnaise, applesauce, pop tarts, jelly, canned fruit, colas, oreos, ice cream, and chocolate syrup, to name a few. My husband found me quite entertaining during this period – I was horrified every time I found HFCS in something new. Coke and cookies, I expect it. But yogurt, bread and mayo?

2. Partially Hydrogenated Oils

Frank Lipman explains in his book, Spent: Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Feel Great Again that hydrogenation has serious health consequences because it creates trans fats.  These trans fats increase the level of bad LDL cholesterol in your bloodstream and lower your level of good HDL cholesterol.  Hydrogenated oils are already banned in Europe, by the way.

I found partially hydrogenated oils in my cereal, frozen pizza, flour tortillas, peanut butter, chocolate cake rolls, and boxed brownies, to name a few. Yuck!

3. Monosodium Glutamate (aka MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, etc, etc. )

MSG is BAD stuff.  Dr. Russell Blaylock (a professor of neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi) exposes some of the dangers of MSG in his book, Excitotoxins, The Taste That Kills, including weight gain, brain damage, chest pain, allergic reactions, seizures, and many more unpleasant side effects.

I found it in salad dressing, dipping sauces, bread crumbs, soup, Hamburger Helper, and chips, to name just a few. MSGTruth.org has a comprehensive list.

4. Aspartame

Also in Excitotoxins, The Taste That Kills, Dr. Blaylock quotes an Italian study that found that aspartame increases the mobility of cancer cells, which contributes to metastasis.  And Dr. Mercola, a well respected authority in the natural/organic movement says that “aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods.”  I highly recommend reading more about the dangerous consequences of aspartame.

Aspartame is found in diet drinks, gum, and even Koolaid, to name a few.

5. Food Dyes

The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that food dyes pose a rainbow of risks, including hyperactivity in children, cancer (in animal studies), and allergic reactions. These dyes have already been banned in Europe.

Lots of candies, ‘fruit’ snacks, macaroni & cheese, red velvet cake, and virtually anything ‘colored’ contains food dyes.

Now What?

If you feel overwhelmed after reading that list, I understand! I wanted someone to actually walk with me through the grocery store and show me what I COULD eat! Since I can’t go the store with each of you personally, here are a few suggestions to get you started.

1. Eliminate the candy and soft drinks.

2. Simple is good. Pick the products with the fewest ingredients on the label.

3. Learn to make some meals at home from scratch. Heavenly Homemakers was a great resource for me.

4. Remember that the choices you make while shopping send a message to retailers and food companies. I’m already seeing less HFCS and more ‘natural’ options on the shelves.

While making changes can feel difficult and overwhelming, the small steps you take will, over time, can have a large impact on your family’s health.

Sarah graduated from Baylor with a major in bioinformatics and is now making that degree work hard by raising her two kiddos and keeping her husband relatively well fed.  In her quieter moments, she can be found riding her horse and blogging at Falk Family Fun (though not usually at the same time)

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.