Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Balls. I've Got Them

Dryer balls, that is.  I came across this little gem at One Good Thing by Jillee last week and thought, I can do that!
So I went out in search of 100% wool yarn.

That was no easy task, let me tell you!



I went to Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart and finally ended up at a fabric store where they carried ONE BRAND of 100% wool yarn. But hey, they had it in three different color patterns. I love chocolate brown, so that's what I picked up. It was about $9, but you'd pay that for two or three boxes of dryer sheets, right? And these last much longer and you're not polluting the environment with a bunch of used dryer sheets.

The process is simple.

Take 100% wool yarn, roll it into a ball slightly larger than what you want.
Tuck in the ends.
Roll another ball.
I got four balls out of one skein.

Once you have your balls, put them in pantyhose one by one, tying off after each ball. Then wash in the hottest water you can.

Dry the balls. Take them out of the pantyhose and put them into another pair, trying off after each ball. This is because the balls shrink (wool shrinks, remember?). Then wash and dry again.

And you're done!

Now you can put a couple drops of essential oil on each ball and toss them in your dryer.

No more dryer sheets! None. And the clothes come out smelling fantastic, and take less time to dry as the wool soaks up some of the moisture.

Genius!
I use Lavender and Cedarwood essential oils, two drops of each on each of the four balls. My laundry smells like the great outdoors on a mountaintop! I love it.

8 comments:

  1. What is this "pantyhose" of which you write?

    Just kidding. I vaguely recall wearing the things before pajama pants became my daily "office" attire.

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  2. LOL. I agree...comfy pants are the way to go!

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  3. Dammit, Rave, that song is STILL stuck in my head.

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  4. I wish I had known this when there was 7 of us doing laundry in this house. Still going to steal the idea because it's clever and because I'm allergic to perfume but not lemon, vanilla or orange oils. I can't use the dryer sheets!

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  5. Perfect! Glad you can get some use of it!
    And I stole the idea, too. So it's all good. :)

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  6. When you say wash, are you meaning like a full wash cycle in the washing machine?

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