Dryer Balls

What the heck? Right? I am 99% confident that is what you were thinking. :)

Since our transition to less chemical-laden products, we are now using dryer balls. Kyle recently told me to add dryer sheets to the grocery store list and we both wondered if there was a better way. I immediately took to Pinterest to find a way to make my own. We thought we could save money and be better about what we are using for our clothes.

Well, let me tell you that most of the DIY versions are still FULL of crap. You are basically buying the chemical filled fabric softeners or something else to soak your sponges or rags or whatever you are using for the "dryer sheets". I told Kyle, no way, these are just as bad as what we have now! I changed my search criteria and found dryer balls.

After reading reviews and how to make my own and more, we decided to purchase a set from Etsy. These things are supposed to last about a year or around 1,000 loads of laundry. And they dry your clothes faster and more efficiently and there are less wrinkles. I just wanted to save money and not have chemicals on my clothes.

We were a bit skeptical about the drying faster and saving energy, but they do! Some loads (i.e., pants, towels) required a second round in our now 8 year old dryer. With the dryer balls, one round does the trick. And since they are balls and bouncing around, nothing really gets stuck together so there seems to be less wrinkling.

We spent around $15 plus shipping for 6 dryer balls. That is $15-$20 per year to reduce static cling, assist in drying our clothes and we are actually saving money because we don't have to run the dryer as much. You can even add essential oils to your dryer balls if you like a scent to your clothes. We are a free and clear type of household so we just use the dryer balls as is. By far it is the best money spent on cleaning and household products. We just leave them in the dryer so no need to remember to add the dryer sheet or fabric softener to the wash.