Atlanta - March 12, 2008

Bubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Maggie’s Soap Nuts

Out damn’d spot! Out!

Maybe it wasn’t Lady Macbeth’s guilt keeping her up after all. Could be that the girl was struggling with the inefficiency of her Dark Age detergent.

If only those Fates had sent her Maggie’s Soap Nuts. Made from the sapindus mukorossi (a.k.a Chinese soap berry tree) the natural detergent seeds get out every last spot.

The bleach-free buds are good for multiple loads and safe to use on colored fabrics, wools, and silks. Simply toss a handful of the dried shells into the included fiber pouch before adding to the wash.

They even work in high-efficiency (laundromat-grade) washing machines. And since everything down to the dried-in-the-sun scent they leave behind is 100 percent natural, you can recycle the used nuts to compost piles or gardening soil.

It’s always smart to bury the evidence.

Available at Nuts ‘n Berries, 4274 Peachtree Road, Brookhaven (404-237-6829); online at maggiespureland.com.