Woolzies: Review and Giveaway
Can I make a confession? I get really irritated when I’m going down my feed and certain blogs are always “review and giveaway!” I added a folder that someone else made and now I have several blogs that do nothing but reviews and give aways and worry about their blog branding. It is such a different blogging world than when I started back in 2001 on Diary-X. I don’t think the word blog quit existed. It was an online journal. It told a story. No one knew you could get anything for baring your soul in a public venue.
Anyway! I am doing my first ever review and giveaway because this is a product I’ve been wanting to try for years. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get it for free and one of you lucky readers will also get a free set Woolzies.
So what are Woolzies?
Balls of wool for your dryer!
Some of my less natural living type friends are still saying “huh?”
Ok, so you know how you have to use fabric softener or dryer sheets so your clothes don’t get staticky and shoot sparks when you wear polyester pajamas in the dark? Or maybe you don’t know. Maybe you are all good with hanging your laundry out to dry or something. Personally I like a dryer. And I really like dryer sheets. However, I discovered that I am severely allergic to dryer sheets and they are the number one cause of over 20 years of painful hand eczema. I stopped using dryer sheets over a year ago and hardly ever have eczema problems anymore.
So what’s a girl to do if she can’t use a dryer sheet?
Turn to the world of natural living.
Ugh.
I want to be a fan of natural living, but I’m not. I’m just not. I like spot-free dishes, cling-free clothing, and mold-free bathrooms. I know we are destroying our planet and I want to stop, but I can’t quite go to a cleaning system that depends on vinegar and baking soda. My kids are Swedish citizens. They can move to the north pole in twenty years, when it is the only habitable place left.*
Seriously, though, I have tried all the tricks that are supposed to get rid of static cling. I faithfully put vinegar in the fabric softener cycle, I hang dry anything with fleece, I use plastic dryer balls. None of them work very well.
I’ve known about wool dryer balls for a year or so, but they are on the expensive side. I was not prepared to pay that much money for something that may or may not work, especially considering my experience with other dryer sheet replacements.
Good news: they work!
I started using them a month ago and I haven’t had any static cling since. I am finally a happy laundry goddess**!
Those of you who have been reading awhile know that I also have wool allergies, but that has not been a problem at all. I suppose if I rubbed the balls all over my body it would be scratchy, but I only handle them to throw them in the dryer when they fall out. There’s been no itching, redness or eczema. They do not seem to shed on my clothing.
I have a six pack of the dryer balls. They bounce around in the clothes, separating them so the air can get to them more efficiently. This is supposed to reduce drying time up to 25%. I have been trying to figure out if my dry times are reduced (which is one reason it took me over a month of use to do this review), but I am not organized enough to figure it out. My dryer is a fancy digital model that shuts off automatically when the clothes are dry so I’d have to really pay attention if I was going to time it. I’ve tried, but that just isn’t happening.
The only drawback: keeping track of six wool balls. My laundry is in the basement and I do all my folding on the top floor. It is not always easy to make sure all the balls get back in the dryer. I think this is more of a me problem than a Woolzies problem.
Would I buy this product again? Absolutely! But I won’t have to for a long time. They say they last for over 1,000 loads of laundry, so per load I would be paying much, much less than I was spending on laundry sheets or plastic dryer balls that fall apart almost instantly (and aren’t even effective).
If you’d like a chance to win your own set of Woolzies leave a comment telling me one thing you are doing to help the environment. See how I did that? You won’t win if you didn’t read directions. I will randomly select a winner at 10 pm EST on April 23, 2013.
*Joke, people, joke! Well, not really. They are Swedish citizens. However, I use Method cleaners for everything and hope that’s good enough.
**I do not want to be a laundry goddess, happy or unhappy. I want to be a woman of leisure. Somehow stain removing has become my chief hobby. What happened to my robot maid of the future? And my flying car?
Angela said,
April 16, 2013 @ 7:36 pm
I hadn’t heard about Woolzies until now .. I use those blue hard plastic dryer balls and to be honest they’re loud as they clunk up against the inside of my dryer. I often turn on my dryer late at night (because I’ve been told it’s cheaper at night) and it sounds like someone is banging on the wall as my clothes dry. I like the idea of the Woolzies very much! I’ll have to order some or WIN some from somewhere 😉
Let’s see .. what do I do to help the environment besides already using those clunky blue plastic dryer balls? I use fabric bags when I go grocery shopping… did I win????
Helloheather said,
April 16, 2013 @ 7:48 pm
I want these!!!! I had not even heard of them until I read this, but now I am convinced they will solve all of my problems. The idea that I could give up dryer sheets, and maybe my kids’ (and husband’s) eczema would ease up a bit is very enticing.
I TOTALLY help the environment, by recycling, turning off the lights that my kids leave on all over the house, and using my own dishes at parties even when my older family members nag me to use paper plates.
jette16 said,
April 16, 2013 @ 8:04 pm
Oh – R would be so proud of me if I won these. Do you international ship? 🙂 They sound really good. We do actually hang our laundry on the clothesline when we can (although we live in an area called the Wet Coast, so we do it maybe half the year), but even then we put the clothes in the dryer for about a final 10 minutes to lose that stiff feeling. Have you heard anything about how they are with pet hair? It’s the biggest reason I haven’t tried the plastic ones, I just picture them covered in cat.
As for what we do for the enviroment – R is a total tree hugger. We don’t own a dishwasher because it uses too much energy. Our washer and dryer are HE/energy star. We use fabric bags when we grocery shop. We recycle. We compost. We use craiglist/freecycle to find someone who can use our old items vs just throwing them out. Did I mention the clothesline? 🙂
Antropologa said,
April 17, 2013 @ 3:56 am
Haha, stain removal as hobby!
Well, I live abroad, so it’s probably too expensive to ship to me. But we recycle everything into like 18 categories and have to take everything to different places to drop it off and it’s a big old hassle.
Erin said,
April 17, 2013 @ 3:58 am
I’m intrigued! I’ll try anything once.
What I do for the environment? Well, beside the recycling and reusing we do at home. I helped my 3rd graders start a school-wide recycling program. It’s “their” project, but I am the one who oversees it and organizes the 8 year olds. It’s been a lot of work, but the kids love it and they’re so proud of themselves.
DavesAnngel said,
April 17, 2013 @ 7:16 am
These would be great for me! Actually for David…I cannot use dryer sheets or he breaks out in a rash, and while I can use DFPF fabric softener, I’d love to get away from that as well!
Let’s see, my environmental saving efforts include turning off lights, using CF bulbs, using fabric grocery sacks, recycling all I can at home, and combining errands with other trips to save on gas & driving.
Pick me! Pick me! ; )
Northernwalker said,
April 17, 2013 @ 8:12 am
I haven’t heard of these before, but they sound pretty cool. I’d like to give them a try.
My environmental efforts- Buying local produce in season, washing clothes in cold water and walking or taking public transportation.
audiobiblio said,
April 17, 2013 @ 9:19 am
I have never USED wool dryer balls, but I’ve heard of them! I’ve used the plastic ones (and I tried tennis balls before), but the wool ones sounds even better!
What do I do to help the environment? I use as many cloth products as possible (diapers, menstrual care, grocery bags, etc), I’m very careful about how much waste my family produces, I conserve water and electricity, I buy local and handmade when I can, I recycle, and I have good intentions to start composting, lol.
~zandra~ said,
April 17, 2013 @ 9:20 am
Chalk me up as another one who has never heard of them. Interesting idea and now I’m curious about them so I figured I’d enter the contest. You are totally right about it being a different blogging world now- I started in 1999.
To help the environment- we take our own bags to the stores, we use cloth napkins, fabric rags, reusable plates at potlucks, environmentally friendly cleaning products, and we recycle religiously.
Sonja said,
April 17, 2013 @ 11:03 am
I’m so very allergic to dryer sheets, so I just… stopped using them. And I have no static cling issues (at least most of the time). I guess yay for cotton clothing?
That having been said, I’d love to try these wool balls to see if they shorten drying time, because between clothes and diapers, my dryer is on a lot.
As for doing stuff for the environment… I use reusable shopping bags, I compost & recycle, and I drive a Prius. Also – my dad would be proud to know this – I’ve finally learned to turn off the light when I leave a room. Go, me.
Kisha said,
April 17, 2013 @ 12:13 pm
I want to win these! I, too, think they might solve all my problems. We recycle everything that we can, I constantly am turning off lights (sadly, I am the only household member that does this..) and we reuse things well past the time we should throw them out. I also try to avoid buying individually wrapped foods, when possible, because (among many reasons) of all the wasted packaging.
jeanette1ca said,
April 17, 2013 @ 1:48 pm
I tried the wool balls, but I can’t tell you whether they worked or not because the cats stole them all!
Becky said,
April 18, 2013 @ 8:03 am
I love it that you hate all the giveaways – so do I. Some of my favorite bloggers have become all about the reviews, giveaways and branding. And they ask for your opinion, and if you dare to say something, they delete you as a facebook friend. I know if you ask for an opinion, you mean it.
I definitely HAVE to try these. As you know (because unlike some of my bloggy friends who post all the time, you actually talk to people who read your stuff) I have many of the same allergies and skin problems you do. I have the same allergy to dryer sheets but hate the static cling.
Madonna said,
April 18, 2013 @ 10:29 pm
I love the review and giveaway blogs because I learn about new products and I win cool stuff. I admit I don’t want to actually run a giveaway blog. I just blog when I feel like it and sometimes I do review stuff but mostly its just for my own use. I have tried to win some of these woozies for years and its odd because I win stuff all the time and it seems like every other blog is having a giveaway for these and I just can’t win them. 🙂
Madonna said,
April 18, 2013 @ 10:31 pm
oh and my one thing to help the environment is that I have started using green cleaners. Some I make on my own and some I buy. Also we recycle cans. I try to use and reuse items and don’t waste as much.
anne conover said,
April 20, 2013 @ 3:47 pm
I already make my own laundry detergent so this is a natural transition for me to stop using those pesky dryer sheets which I know are full of chemicals. I’d love to win these to give them a ‘try before I buy’ 🙂
Cindy said,
April 20, 2013 @ 3:48 pm
I use reusable bags when I go shopping. No plastic bags.
Rachel Bobalik said,
April 20, 2013 @ 4:32 pm
Would love to try these!
We use as many natural products as we can. Cleaning products, etc. And recycle. We have also switched to mainly using cloth (love not having to buy paper towels constantly!)
Lauren said,
April 20, 2013 @ 4:56 pm
I use cloth diapers for my daughter. I am a stickler for recycling. I clean with vinegar.
Amanda Waldrop said,
April 20, 2013 @ 5:03 pm
I help out the environment by recycling, I use all natural detergents, I make my own cleaning supples instead of using harsh chemicals, & I cloth diaper my son!
Melanie L. said,
April 20, 2013 @ 5:06 pm
I use cloth diapers and wash my clothes in cold water.
Krystal said,
April 20, 2013 @ 6:19 pm
I cloth diaper, recycle, and compost my kitchen scraps.
Celia said,
April 20, 2013 @ 6:23 pm
I also WANT to be a fan of natural living. I have started some things, like cloth diapering. I have to confess that most of what I do like use cloth diapers is because it saves me $
Alissa Apel said,
April 20, 2013 @ 6:50 pm
We keep a compost year round.
I also started cleaning with vinegar, water and steeped lemon peel. That’s a big step because I used to use chemicals.
Crystal said,
April 20, 2013 @ 7:21 pm
I compost, make my own bread, cloth diaper my baby. I like being natural.
Catherine Shaw said,
April 20, 2013 @ 8:26 pm
I live in a city so composting is not really possible. But I recycle like crazy, re-use bags, purchase eco-friendly cleaning agents, and take public transport.
kimberly said,
April 23, 2013 @ 6:30 am
Hurray, I found you again! I can’t access the main blog page, I keep getting error messages but I followed a LJ link here. (did you know it’s showing to everyone, it doesn’t look like it’s friends only?) My computer died and I’m getting restarted on a Mac and it’s like the world is ending.
I try to help the environment – I’ve gotten really good about recycling (got it started at my office too), I don’t buy foods (delicious foods) with palm oil, I try to combine errands, keep an eye on water use.
These balls look cool – I gave up on dryer sheets because I don’t like the smells anymore and I don’t like finding them around the house, and static sucks. These look cool though.
kimberly said,
April 23, 2013 @ 6:31 am
Not an entry! I figured it out – your main page directs to the old blog page.