Wool dryer balls are an all-natural alternative to fabric softener or dryer sheets and, when scented with essential oils, can deliver a subtle scent to your laundry that’s safe and non-toxic.
It’s no secret that we’ve been on a mission to live a more simple, natural and healthy way of life. I’ve chatted many times about how we’re choosing to live more intentionally, making conscious and concerted choices in how we choose to nourish our bodies, our home and our family.
We eat far less meat and processed foods not only to nourish our bodies more fully, but to lessen our impact on the earth.
We work hard to not overschedule our lives, avoiding the constant rush from here to there and squashing that ever present fear of missing out.
We try to encourage hobbies for ourselves and our son that help to exercise both our brains and our bodies.
We are very conscious and intentional about what we bring into our home – this includes everything from clothing and toys to food and cleaning supplies.
Sometimes we eat a gourmet vegan dinner and sometimes we snack on chips or chocolate bars, or even that dreaded mac + cheese from a box (well, some of us do anyway).
Sometimes we spend our evenings skiing or mountain biking or even curled up with a book on the porch and other times we all just veg on the couch watching a movie and snacking on something totally unhealthy and terrible for our bodies.
Sometimes we have a headache or sore muscles or a terrible, nasty flu (which we’ve been lucky enough to battle twice this Winter!) and we can tough it out with some essential oils and a warm rice bag. Sometimes that’s just not enough and all that will make us feel better is a bit of real medicine and a lazy day on the sofa.
Life is busy and hectic and totally out of our control so much of the time. But, we do the best we can with what we’ve got because really, that’s all we can do.
The truth is: we make the changes we can to live our best life as much as possible. Even if it’s just those little things to start, it all makes a difference.
If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you’ll be well aware that there’s nothing more calming to me than a clean + clutter free home (you can read more about that journey here).
In our effort to live a simpler, more natural way of life, adjusting my cleaning routines has been a huge part of that. One of the first changes I made to my cleaning routines has been to the way I do our laundry.
Have you ever stopped to think about the impact that one simple chore can have on your entire family? We sleep on our sheets each and every night, we wear our clothes every minute of our days, we dry our hands, wipe our countertops – all of it with the laundry we do each week. Which means that the way we choose to do our laundry and the products we choose to do it with have far-reaching and long lasting effects on our bodies and our home.
Fabric softeners and dryer sheets contain harmful ingredients more often than not – ingredients that can cause anything from allergies + asthma to far-reaching consequences that we don’t even know about yet thanks to fragrances and chemicals, the effects of which haven’t actually been fully tested.
Wool dryer balls are an easy, inexpensive, all natural alternative that not only takes the place of traditional fabric softener or dryer sheets, but they truly do a far better job!
By bouncing around in the dryer, wool dryer balls separate and lift laundry items (works on clothes, towels, sheets, etc.), increasing hot air flow, which helps to reduce static, cuts down on drying time and softens your laundry naturally. Plus, when you add essential oils, you’ll get a lovely, subtle scent on your laundry that’s safe and non-toxic.
Just add a 2-3 drops of your favourite essential oil (find mine here) to each ball and bounce them around in the dryer for a minute or two to make sure the oil has soaked in (you don’t want to risk any oil stains on your fabrics). Then, just throw in your laundry and enjoy the benefits of that subtle essential oil on all of your laundry for weeks to come!
You can choose to purchase your dryer balls and essential oils separately of course, or you can find wool balls that are already scented or even essential oil laundry kits (find my favourite here) to make this all natural switch even easier.
With each load of laundry, I’ve usually got 3-4 wool dryer balls bouncing around the dryer with my clothes.
Wool dryer balls are not only a healthier alternative for your family, but they’re less expensive (lasting for years to come), and far better for your dryer & the environment than their store-bought, chemical alternatives. And even better, when scented with essential oils, they can deliver a subtle scent to your laundry that’s safe and non-toxic.
*Acoustic Guitar 1 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Have you made the switch to wool dryer balls yet?
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
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I’m so happy you put this post together! I’ve been wondering about whether or not I should drop the dryer sheets for a while now, but never remembered to sit down and actually research if it’s worth using wool dryer balls instead. Thanks so much for sharing this tip, I’ll definitely be making the switch!
Oh good! There are truly a zillion ways that dryer balls are better than traditional fabric softeners – I’m so glad you’re feeling inspired to make the switch!
How often do you need to re-apply the essential oils?
Hi Emmi! I re-apply every four-five loads, but usually just onto one or two of the dryer balls.
I’m new to using dryer balls. I read it’s dangerous to use essential oils as it’s a fire hazard. I have a gas dryer and not sure if that makes a difference. Thanks.
Hi Lucia, I can’t speak to the safety of using essential oils in the dryer, particularly gas. I’d suggest doing some research to make sure they’re safe to use in your dryer prior to trying this.
Hi Kristi! I have all the items I need to go all natural with my laundry routine, but my fiancé is a little skeptical. Is there a learning curve with not getting oil stains on clothes? That part is our biggest concern. Thank you!
I was worried about oil stains too, so I used to run the dryer balls on their own for a minute in the dryer after adding my oils just to be sure. Though I haven’t done that for ages now and I’ve never noticed any issues – I think the oil soaks into those wool balls pretty well. Hope this helps!
What are your favorite essential
Oil scents to use?
I almost always reach for this one: https://www.saje.ca/products/sweet-sheets-fresh-laundry-blend?geo=1.