The calendar reminds me that today is the second Monday of the month, the day when we rally together to report on our Pinterest successes and failures. I hope you have had a chance to dust off some pins and try them out. No sense just "collecting" great pictures, right?
Have you had many FLIPS or mostly just FLOPS? Now's your chance to share the results.
Lately, I've been on a bit of a "make my household cleaners from scratch" kick. Don't ask me why. Maybe it's for the sake of frugality. Maybe it's more about health. It's probably a bit of both.
After reading up on the ingredients found in the average dryer sheet and recognizing the neurological risks of slathering our clothing...and eventually our skin...with these seven highly toxic chemicals, The Announcer's Wife and I got together to whip up a few homemade dryer balls, all-natural dryer-sheet alternatives.
At the risk of sounding quite indecisive, I'm gonna go ahead and call these pretty little balls a FLIP with a small disclaimer.
Flip: DIY Wool Dryer Balls
These homemade woolen balls DO prevent most static cling and DO keep fabrics soft and comfy, as I had hoped. However, they naturally lack any fragrance or freshening agent leaving clothes scent-less, unlike the flowery garden smell that we have come to expect with dryer sheets. Do our clothes stink? Nope. Do they smell all that inviting...well, no.
That being said, while I do enjoy the smell of "mountain breeze" (whatever THAT's suppose to smell like), I much prefer healthier bodies. So, I plan to continue using these easy-to-make laundry balls, with hopes that no one will mind our clothes smelling like CLOTHES.
To make wool dryer balls you will need:
- 3 skeins of 100%, non-washable wool, any color
- a large-eyed yarn needle
- an old sock or pair of nylons
Directions:
Begin by wrapping the wool around three fingers ten times. Remove your fingers. Then wrap the center of the wad with ten more passes of wool forming what looks like a bow tie of wool.
Continue wrapping the wool around the oblong "bow tie" until you have a small ball of wool. Keep wrapping until the ball is about the size of a tennis ball.
Cut the yarn from the skein and using the yarn needle, weave the short tail in and out of the ball to secure it.
After your wool balls are complete, place each one in the toe-end of an old sock and tie the sock to prevent the ball from slipping out of it. Wash and dry each ball inside the sock three or four times to "felt" the wool. (This can be done with other laundry as 100% wool yarn does not bleed color.) Remove the balls from the socks and begin using as homemade re-useable dryer balls. (The original blogger suggests using 6 balls per medium load. I've only used 2 for every large load and have been satisfied with the results.)
Now it's your turn
Got any recent pinterest successes or failures to report? Save us all some time and money by giving us your two cents of those "picture perfect" pins you've been dying to try. Link them up here or at any of these lovely blogs:
I have done many crafts and goodies via Pinterest. Most were all success. There is one I that stand out that don't work. It is where you transfer a picture to say a piece of wood using nail-polish remover. It is a stinky business and it does NOT work.
ReplyDeleteGood to know. It definitely sounds like something I'd mess up. Now I've been warned! Thanks.
DeleteThe company I'm a consultant for sells wool dryer balls, so I'm interested to hear how these continue to work for you, how long they last, and how much they cost. I have heard that if you miss having a scent, you can put some drops of essential oils on the balls.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that too. The problem is, the scent does not withstand the heat of the dryer, so you have to put the scent in after the load has dried for an additional 10 minutes of no-heat dry time. Since, my daughter does the laundry and our machines are all the way in the back recesses of our basement, that might get a little too much to ask of her. We shall see. So far, I'm fine smelling like clothes.
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