Buy your soap nuts in bulk, put five nuts in a bag or old sock. Wash your laundry up to 3 times. Allow the old nuts to dry. When you have a few cups saved, break up the nuts and throw them in a cook pot (as long as you wash it well after you should be fine.) boil in a qt of water until the water turns dark brown and silty. Remove nuts and allow to cool. Pour the liquid and silt into a bottle(we use an old dish liquid bottle.) It smells bad cooking and otherwise but rinses away with no scent. If this bothers you add up to 10 drops essential oil of choice directly to the bottle after removing the solids and shake. We find that lavender is relatively neutral and covers the smell well. Do not use tea tree if you have sensitive skin and might use this as shampoo. This can be used to wash delicates, dishes, or your hair (if your skin is not very sensitive and your hair is either very dirty or very oily-most of the time we use plain goat soap). It does not foam much but the naturally occurring saponins remove dirt and odor very well. It can also be diluted 1 part liquid to five parts water as floor soap.
Tub scrub
you will need a blender, immersion blender or food processor.
After making the wash you will want to blend the still squishy soap nut carcasses with the blender until as smooth as possible, add 1/2 cup baking soda , 10 drops essential oil, and 1/4 cup salt. mix well. store in well labeled jar in fridge.
