Eco Friendly Clutter Free Mother’s Day Gift Idea

You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t use dryer sheets with your micro-fiber towels or other delicate items that you launder on a regular basis. Also, that the use of dryer sheets can cause a film to form over your lint screen that could potentially catch fire and that they can leave chemicals on your clothes that some people are sensitive to. So, if you would like to discontinue the use of dryer sheets what’s an eco-friendly alternative? Wool dryer balls may be the solution you are searching for.

They are quite easy to make. Start with a skein of 100% wool yarn (be sure to read the label)

I found this at Michael’s for $5.99 a skein.

Start by winding the yarn around a couple of fingers…

and then take the yarn off your fingers and continue wrapping alternating directions often (I put my yarn in a can so it didn’t roll all over the place while I was working)

until it’s about the size of a tennis ball. (With one skein I was able to make 2 wool balls).

When you get to the end use a crochet hook to pull the end through to the middle so it won’t unravel.

To felt them I boiled them on the stove for a while.

Then I placed them up in a pair of nylons and ran them through the washer and dryer with my clothes a couple of times to felt them some more.

They work great and supposedly help your clothes dry faster too which could decrease your electric bill.

Before & After shot

I’m excited about never having to buy dryer sheets ever again.

I'm giving away a bunch of them for Mother's Day & some upcoming birthdays.

Eco Friendly Wool Dryer Balls

I'm running low on dryer sheets and was contemplating alternatives to purchasing another box. When I took care of my friend Jessica in NYC in January I noticed she had reuseable plastic dryer balls and was intrigued with this solution. They seemed to work well and she said they lasted a long time so I thought that might be the way to go but wasn't completely convinced. Then I noticed some etsy listings for reusable dryer sachets that are like beanbags made from recycled tshirts and are filled with herbs like lavender and are reusable. That sounded like a step in the right direction. And then this past weekend the answer was given to me. My aunt clipped out a newspaper article from the Salt Lake Tribune that pointed out concerns about the chemicals that dryer sheets and even these reusable dryer balls end up leaving on our clothes. The author recommended using wool dryer balls. She said they last for years, absorb static cling and prevent the waxy buildup in your dryer and on your clothes. While I was out yesterday I stopped at Joann's and purchased a skein of wool yarn with my 40% off coupon. I was able to make 4 balls from the yarn and they are currently in the dryer with the sheets for their first load. I can't wait to see how they work. I took lots of pics along the way and am contemplating writing up an in depth ehow article on them since the current articles are vague and don't include pictures.