Review: Dry & Soften Your Clothes Without Chemicals!

Hubby and I, since we first started discussing a future family, decided to take baby-steps toward being as chemical free as we can.  It started with our cleaning products and then, a more challenging task, our food.  But it is worth it.  Every time I pull a homemade cleaner from the cupboard, I feel better knowing that we aren't inhaling anything unnecessary.  When I grab the organic milk out of the fridge, even though I know it cost me more, I can't help but be proud of the better choices we have been making.

It definitely isn't easy all of the time.  But we are trying!  Today I want to share with you one switch I recently made.  And it IS an easy one!

Dryer sheets contain unnecessary chemicals (Go here for more info on that).  After I learned this, part of me wanted to just stop using them.  But I absolutely hate how staticy (yep, I know, that isn't a real word...) and stiff my clothes are without them.  I'd seen how you could make your own with fabric softener and old t-shirts (or something like that) but I still have reservations about any cleaning product that isn't made by me.  I may be a little paranoid, I know...but the more I learn, the more I don't trust....

And then...in my research on cloth diapers, I stumbled across the wonderful invention that is Wool Dryer Balls.  :D  You use them as an all-natural alternative to chemical-ridden dryer sheets. 

Shortly after I discovered them, I happened to win a set of 6 from Woolzies via a blog giveaway (I wish I remembered which blog but it was before I really got into blogging myself...).  

Each one is about the size of a large orange or a small grapefruit.



I've had this set for quite awhile, but just started using them when we moved into our new house.  And I love them!  Really love them!  For the short list, I'll give you 3 reasons why:

1. They are SO much quieter than I ever anticipated.  We had plastic steam things (only 2) that I used for awhile to cut our drying time and they were SO loud and obnoxious.  With 6 dryer balls (and 2 foil balls to cut down on static) I barely even notice them!  Yes, it is louder than using a fabric softener sheet...but definitely not anywhere near as loud as I expected.

2. I always hated that the "Energy-Saver" setting on our dryer didn't actually fully dry our clothes - I always had to add more time.  With the Woolzies, they come out dry every time on the "Energy Saver" setting - even a full load of jeans!  I'm actually tempted to set it even lower the next time I dry clothes.  This might be my favorite perk (besides the fact that I know I'm not adding any nasty chemicals to my cleaning regimen).

3. When I add just a couple drops of essential oils to one or two of the Woolzies (my preference is lavendar), my clothes come out smelling like heaven!  They have a wonderful, chemical free smell that is way better than any dryer sheets I've ever used.  :)  Plus, you can make them smell like whatever you choose!  The possibilities are endless.  Hubby wants me to try Peppermint, which is what I put in a lot of my other homemade cleaners, but I just don't know how I feel about peppermint smelling clothes.  haha.  ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever used wool dryer balls?  What is your favorite thing about them?

I did not receive this product as a promotion or as payment.  All opinions and words are my own.