Product Spotlight - Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls are one of those products I just love and highly recommend making the switch over dryer sheets. Not only do they meet my SEE-it-to-buy-it requirements, but the benefits of using wool dryer balls are pretty amazing.

Let's start with the basics and benefits. Wool dryer balls are, just what their name implies, wool balls meant to go into your dryer to hep reduce wrinkles and static just like a dryer sheet.

Buy on Amazon

Big Picture Benefits:

• Cheaper than using dryer sheets
• Free of harsh chemicals
• Shortens drying time
• Reduced electricity use by shortening drying time
• Environmentally responsible in production
• Compostable after full use
• Scents can be customized with essential oils
• Reduces wrinkles and static

Let's break it down by the numbers. In a typical large load of laundry I use 5 to 6 balls per drying cycle. I'll typically use 2-3 for smaller loads.  The set that I bought here contained 6 dryer balls for $16. By comparison to the cost of dryer sheets with Aldi brand:

$16 = 6 wool balls = 1000 loads of laundry (roughly, mine have lasted WAY longer)

Aldi dryer sheets = $1.99 per box = 80 loads (if you only use one per load). 

For that same 1000 loads of laundry, you would need 12.5 boxes of dryer sheets. So the total cost for 1000 loads with Aldi brand is $25. Name brands like Bounce are about double the cost of Aldi dryer sheets. 

$16 for wool vs. $25 to $50 for dryer sheets. Your call.

And since saving money is a big part of why I write this blog, can we just talk about electricity saving for just a minute?

In our home we do roughly 15 loads of laundry a week. I know that seems like a lot, but that's for two adults, one toddlers, towels, cloth diapers, and dog blankets. Dolly the basset hound is an old girl, and well, when you get old you tend to lose your grip a little bit. So making it outside in time only happens on good days.

By using wool dryer balls we have cut our drying time nearly in half. Seriously! Next to line drying, which sorry, I'm a busy mom and I just haven't made that switch yet, this is the best way to lower the amount of energy used by your dryer. 

It might just be me. I might just be hypersensitive to chemicals now that I use far less than I used to, but dryer sheets smell and feel chemically to me. Yes, I know they are loaded toxic chemicals, and yes that might be the reason they smell and feel chemically. Still, that chemical smell and feel just doesn't compare to the fresh feeling and perfectly blended scents ( thank you lavender and lemongrass) that my clothes now have when I open that dryer! 

If you're looking for some nice blends of essential oils to try on your wool dryer balls, give these blends a try:

• Lavender and Lemongrass (my fave!)
• Lavender and Sweet Orange
• Ylang Ylang and Vanilla
• Rose and Lavender

One or two drops per ball really does the trick! 

And talk about chemicals?!?! Read this short article from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science about how dryer sheets affect your indoor air quality, and I promise you'll never go back. 

So go get your wool dryer balls, and enjoy your new cheap and easy, chemical free, low energy use, delicious smelling balls!


And as always...

When in doubt, fling it. 

SEE it to buy it

As with all products I buy before I make a purchase, I ask myself a few simple questions: Is it safe? Is it economically feasible for my family? Is it environmentally responsible in it's production?

So, began the SEE it to buy it mentality. The SEE part is an acronym for the questions above. Is it Safe, Economical (in feasibility), and Environmental ( through conscious production)? It's also a literal question. Can I see me using this? Can I see my my family benefiting from this product? 

If one of those answers is no, then I will almost never buy that product. Occasionally, that may mean spending more on another, similar product or doing without. The is step one for me in conscious consumerism. Decide whom you wish to support with your dollars. Decide what values matter to you and your family, and then put your money where your mouth is!

While I can judge for myself and my family whether or not a product is economically feasible based on our family's budget, determining whether or not a product is environmentally responsible takes a little more work. When it comes to researching products, I start with Better World Shopper. Their rating system helps me know whether or not a company is doing more harm than good for the environment. I also try to use B Corp Certified companies whenever possible. Lastly, I shop locally and seasonally. I have individual posts about  Better World Shopper, B Corp, and shopping locally and seasonally. But that's a good start to help you decide if the products you're buying are worth the investment. 

When I began to look at my money as an investment rather than something to be spent, my whole paradigm changed. My family of three lives on about $2,000 a month. I can't afford to be frivolous or wasteful, but I won't be apathetic either. Yes, there are times when the product is safe and environmentally responsible, but I just can't afford to invest in it. Wasteful spending is still waste in my world. Even  if I can afford a product that meets all my criteria, if there is a cheaper options that ticks the same boxes, I go with that. No waste whenever and wherever possible.

One of the problems, I have found with this whole hipster movement is just more consumerism masked as "waste-free" or "greener options". Seriously? I am not paying for a case of lunch sized Mason Jars when I go through a jar of peanut butter a week. I am selective in the kind of peanut butter I invest in, meaning that even the packaging it comes in needs to meet the SEE it to buy it criteria. I end up with good, reusable jars that I didn't spend any extra on! But kudos to the guy who knew that 20-somethings would spend more money on glass jars in order to look like they are saving the planet. That dude is making bank off their vanity, not their conscious consumerism.

Conscious consumerism according to hipsters: $0.50 bar of soap + $8.45 funny label 

But the glass is recyclable. Yes. So is plastic. Waste-free doesn't mean I don't use products that are disposable. It means I dispose of those products in an environmentally conscious way. It means when given the choice between a one-time use product and a multi-purpose or multi-use product, I choose that product. 

I don't suggest anyone just go and overhaul their homes looking for products that they need to replace with SEE approved versions. The key to sustainability is small, consistent changes. They add up! When you run out of dryer sheets, invest in the dryer balls. When it's time to pack your lunch, make it at home and use containers you have on hand. Start by replacing products as you need them. Simple steps towards a more environmentally and economically conscious lifestyle. 

SEE it to buy it!

And when it doubt, fling it.