Day 2 of #GreenDecember

I’ve stopped… using dryer sheets!

For at least a year now, I bought my last box of dryer sheets and purchased these adorable dryer balls.

I love these because:

• They’re forever reusable so I don’t have to go out to restock on dryer sheets or fabric softener when they’ve run out, saving money and convenience

• They’re a natural fabric softener so no more of those crinkly feeling clothes or staticky socks that shock you

• They help the heat transfer more evenly through your load so you save on time and energy by allowing your clothes to dry faster

• They don’t leave any fragrance/softener chemicals on my clothes that can cause skin irritation

These particular ones are from the brand Kikkerland purchased from a gift store, but you can find it on Amazon for about $20. I agree that $20 seems like a lot to front for just dryer balls, but remember, a dryer sheet box of 100 costs upwards of $6 each. I’ve certainly saved my money and more by switching. I’ve also heard lots of positive things about wool dryer balls, but their price point seems a bit higher at about $25-30 for a pair.

Why

As mentioned earlier, dryer sheets are non-recyclable, single-use disposable products which is something we should all avoid. I’m sure if I calculated how many dryer sheets I have used per year, it would be quite a shocking number of disposable products that I don’t really need to be using.

Again, being a hard plastic material, the dryer balls are designed to tumble with your clothes and allow better air flow through your load thus, allowing you to save electricity.

To be honest, I couldn’t find a lot of information on the environmental effects on the synthetic chemicals infused in dryer sheets, but if they are harmful, they are likely being leeched back out of your clothes when you wash them again, so I think it’s better to play it safe anyways and refer back to my first point.