Going Green - Intermediate

 

"Make your own soap" 

Sapindus mukorossi, the Indian Soapberry ould grow in our climate if one were so inclined to add a 30-50' tree to their urban overstory.  Most preparations as laundry detergent call for throwing a few dried berries in a sachet and washing as normal.  You could get 2-3 washings out of them.  Birtwhistle in Clean & Green notes that powder detergents do not have adequate time to dissolve in short cycles (with cold water).  This detergent cast on dark fabric is my main, if only occasional, laundry complaint with Charlie's Soap.  I thought soapberries might also be more efficacious if they were in a liquid format as well.  At a minimum, it would give me the option to clean things besides laundry with my soap.      

On a stove, I boiled 200 mL water with 12 soap nuts.  This should cover roughly 7 loads of laundry, which amounts to a week-long experiment for us.  I was delighted to return to the pot to the berries obscured by froth, with bubbles climbing almost to the lid.  I removed from heat, allowed to cool, strained into a mason jar, and discarded the nuts into the compost.  

If I were doing this again, I would have doubled the recipe to thoroughly submerge the soap nuts.  However, I am not sure I would make an attempt as husband objects to the smell of the boiling berries.  Birtwhistle's book contains similar recipes for Hedera helix (English ivy), an institutional/commercial property favorite ground cover around here.  I've planted my own drift, but might have to pack scissors and borrow some from my business neighbors.  She also recommends "conkers" or horse chestnuts, but I believe our climate zone is too high to have many of these specimens.   

 

"Make your own laundry detergent"

Following Birtwhistle's guidance, we dole out 2 tablespoons of soapberry syrup and 1 tablespoon of washing soda (the advantage being it softens hard water).  So far, no discernable difference (better or worse) in its cleaning power.   

"Make your own all purpose cleaners, window cleaner, floor cleaner."  

My go-to all purpose cleaner is white vinegar.  I use it for windows and counters.  If something is really caked on, I use baking soda as a mild abrasive.  The team that refurbished our hardwood floors insisted the best cleaning approach was a damp mop of warm water.  If something really sticky (or slippery) got on the floors, I spot-clean that area of the hardwood with Bronner's soap (or soap berry syrup).