Do you use dryer sheets?  Do you love that “clean” smell they give your laundry?

I don’t, and I haven’t for a long time!  My quest for all things natural began with food.  Not long after Hubby and I got married, I began transitioning a lot of our foods from processed to natural.  It was a gradual transition.  As I became more comfortable cooking on a regular basis, I also looked for ways to make from scratch and avoid store-bought as much as possible.  I started to pay attention to certain ingredients to avoid:  high fructose corn syrup, high sodium levels, caramel color.  This natural transition started to seep into other aspects of my life:  personal care products and home supplies.  It is definitely a rabbit hole where one could easily get lost!  My best advice:  take it one step or product at a time!  Don’t go through your entire house and throw out anything that may be in question.  Rather, pick a product or an ingredient to pay attention to while shopping.  You’ll slowly make a transition, and you’ll realize that that one ingredient may be in more products than you would assume.  For example, I mentioned in my G-free days that I was surprised at all the places gluten hides in our food:  seasoning mixes, sauces, and just about anything in a box!  This is true for just about anything – as you start to pay attention, you’ll find things hidden everywhere! 

So, as I started transitioning products, I realized that anything not natural smelled fake.  Any chemical fragrances are generally too sweet – just think of walking into a Yankee Candle store!  There’s a reason most people get a headache, and it’s not a good one.  Those chemical fragrances are exactly that: chemicals, and our body does not know how to handle them.  After making this realization, dryer sheets were one of the first things I ditched in my quest for a natural home in addition to a natural kitchen.  I am not a scientist, so I’ll share this article with you that is very informative about how bad dryer sheets really are: 7 Toxic Reasons to Ditch Dryer Sheets.

For years, I’ve just gone without dryer sheets.  Sometimes, clothes come out with a little static cling, but I’ll take that any day over the alternative that is dryer sheet chemicals.  But, I started to hear about safe alternatives to commercial dryer sheets.  Tell me more!  Wool dryer balls are one of the most popular alternatives.  You can purchase these, or, you can easily make them yourself.  (Who am I kidding?  I told my super crafty mom about wanting to make these, and in turn, she used wool she already had to make us both a set of dryer balls!  Thanks, Mom!)  I love to add a few drops of EO to each one every several loads.  This may sound like much, but we actually hang-dry the majority of our clothes, so it’s mostly sheets and towels.  Does it get any better than naturally scented lavender sheets?  I think not! 

Happy Drying!