At a young age (10ish) he was exposed to strong pesticides as he sprayed crops, as well as when the crop dusters would spray the fields directly behind his home, lifting up only as they started passing his home. He had these awful chemicals eating away in him and at a young age (42) was forced to retire when his body could no longer function as it should and he battled Hairy Cell Leukemia. He's beaten the demon and continues to work on his health despite roughly 16 surgeries, many related to cancer and chemicals destroying his body.
I truly believe that chemicals, plastics, convenience foods.....all play a part in our health and possibly had more detrimental effects than we had expected. As a result, I'm on a mission to de-chemical our home asap.
One of the first and easiest steps is the dryer. Dryer sheets are a new phenomenon that we honestly can easily eliminate. Wool is a natural material, not man-made like dryer sheets, created of "fake" materials. Ever seen a wool dryer ball? Similar in looks to an oversized tennis ball with some good heft to them. Dryer balls help your laundry dry faster by bumping around between your items inside the dryer and creating space that the hot air can get in. Static isn't entirely eliminated but that's a compromise I can tolerate. Oh! Almost forgot the other great thing about dryer balls...softness! As they bounce around among your clothing, they soften that sometimes stiff feeling left in towels and jeans. And yes, they will get "pills" but that doesn't deter from their effectiveness or long life (years potentially).
One thing I love to do is add essential oils to the dryer balls....I'm all about scent. You don't want to put the oils on as you toss the balls into the dryer with your clothing - you could get oil spots on your items and that is a drag. Instead, as you start your laundry and are loading items into the washer, put 3-4 drops of essential oil onto each dryer ball. By the time you toss your wash into the dryer, the oils have soaked in and you will not be chancing oil stains. Instead, the scent will be released slowly throughout the laundry tumbling.
My absolute favorite scent to add is lavender. My kids associate the smell of lavender with laundry and have been known to swear they will always use lavender laundry scented products. Orange and lemon are nice as well. Mix scents up. Look at the shelves at the store and check out the scents. Your imagination is the limit.
If I'm going to use my dryer, dryer balls are my choice, no more dryer sheets in this house. Of course, outdoors with the scent of fresh air and sunshine is my favorite method of drying!
Get your dryer balls here.
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