Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Earth Day


Happy Earth Day!  

This picture is my new dryer ball.  Theoretically, it bounces around in my laundry and fluffs up the fibers in my clothes so it acts as a fabric softener without fabric softener.  There are a number of them on the market.  When I looked up the ratings, this one, which was $9.99 for two, rated higher than the $25.00 model.  I got mine from drugstore.com, but I've also seen them at greenfeet.com and amazon.com.  I used it this weekend, and although I didn't think my towels felt as soft, I felt no noticeable difference in my clothes.  Maybe I can save money on softener sheets, save paper (or whatever softener sheets are made of), and save some chemicals from being released into the environment and onto my skin.  It's only been 5 loads of laundry, but I see no reason to go back.

So, it's Earth Day.  What are you on your computer for?  Go plant something or recycle something or give back in some way to the great, blue marble in the sky that we call home.

1 comment:

Brink said...

Yet another reason to visit CVS. You can get drier balls in the back area of the store. :)

We've used these balls since we started with the cloth diapers and Charlie's Soap. That soap is something to look into. It works, no muss, no fuss. No perfume. www.charliesoap.com. I bought the 5 gallon bucket that contains 1280 loads worth of laundry. We have used it for over a year and have more than half still left. It's about $150 and we might get 2+ years out of it.

PS. I cleaned my whole kitchen with vinegar today. It was refreshing to clean and not feel like I was covered in chemicals. Thanks for the tip! I did my bathrooms last week and they sparkle. I even tried it on the windows and they sparkle too! This is totally shifting my thinking. I do still have some chemicals, but I will not use them, I'm just going to chuck them. I figure I'll own that guilt, but I won't let those chemicals near Ben or me any more. Next package of diapers will be non-bleached from the crazy guy at the health food store in Lakeville (he always asks me what I'm taking for pre-natal vitamins...I must look pregnant to him all the time).