Just me being me - Pocketful of Joules

Reviewing Woolzies Laundry Dryer Balls

Have you guys heard of dryer balls? They are an all-natural fabric softener alternative to the dryer sheets I would typically buy at the grocery store. Rather than using a scented dryer sheet, you use and reuse wool dryer balls and add some essential oils if you want a subtle scent.

I heard about them in a Facebook Group and decided to give them a try. Also, I like to make my husband giggle when I bring dryer balls up in a conversation…

Some benefits to using wool dryer balls:

They are chemical free
They last for 1000+ loads
They reduce drying time
They get rid of wrinkles and static

I ordered this pack off of Amazon: Woolzies 6 pack XL Dryer Balls. I decided on this particular set because they were $16.95 and had 4.5/5 stars with over 3,500 reviews! I like a subtle scent to our laundry (my previous favorite was lavender scented dryer sheets), so I also bought Woolzies 100% Pure Happy Essential Oil Blend Set .

I’ve been using these dryer balls for every load of laundry I’ve done since August… so that is 4 full months of laundry. Or a billion loads. At least, that’s what it feels like.

Before a load, I’ll add 2-3 drops of an essential oil to one of the balls before adding our clothes. If I’m doing a load with a bunch of towels or sheets, I might add a little extra oil. I haven’t had any issues with static, but I heard that if things get staticky, you can add a safety pin to a couple of your wool dryer balls to get rid of the shocks.

Out of the three scents, my absolute favorite is the Blissful Magic. It’s described as: an exotic floral aroma that can balance emotions and soothe the body and mind. It contains jasmine, neroli, rose, white lotus and vetiver essential oils. I don’t know about balancing emotions… but I love the way our towels smell when I get out of the shower. It also adds a subtle scent to our entire laundry area, which is nice since it is on the first floor of our home.

I love our switch to dryer balls so far. They do a great job with drying our clothes without wrinkles, they smell fantastic and I don’t have to keep adding dryer sheets to our grocery lists! These would also make a really cute Christmas gift… you could include a small basket (for the balls when not in use), a pack of dryer balls and an assortment pack of oils.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Loving Right Now: We are the Champions

Over the weekend, Travis and I got sucked into the most fabulous kind of Netflix binge. A binge of the total weirdness of We are the Champions.

There are only 6 episodes and each episode is about 30 minutes each, so our binge lasted just two nights after Jack went to bed. We are the Champions focuses on some of the must unusual competitions around the world. And when I say unusual… I mean UNUSUAL. Here is the list of episodes that we plowed though:

Episode 1: Cheese Rolling
Episode 2: Chili Eating
Episode 3: Fantasy Hairstyling
Episode 4: Yo-Yo
Episode 5: Dog Dancing
Episode 6: Frog Jumping

I think if I had to rank them, the Cheese Rolling episode was my favorite. Closely followed by the Frog Jumping and the Dog Dancing. It was the perfect show for us to heckle the television. I mean… come on. CHEESE ROLLING. It’s a race where you chase a circle of wrapped cheese down a hill.

In other words, it’s perfection!

Have you watched We are the Champions on Netflix yet? If not… are you adding it to your queue?

Black Friday Shopping Plans

Let me start by saying, I’ve never done the wake up early and camp outside a store thing on Black Friday. And I’m certainly not starting now, in the middle of a pandemic. Instead, I do the majority of my shopping online… and “Black Friday” seems to start anywhere from the week before Thanksgiving to the week after. Basically the deals start coming right near Turkey Day and then keep going and going until Christmas arrives.

With all that being said, I do have a list of stores/items to check out on Black Friday for any super special deals.

Rothy’s: For the last couple years, Rothy’s has released a limited-edition shoe on Thanksgiving. And BOOM it sells out by the end of the day. This year, there are rumors that a plaid shoe is coming and if one drops this week I’m snapping it up because I would love a plaid pair of points!
Olaplex: I’ve been using the Olaplex system for the last few weeks and I LOVE the shampoo (No. 4) and conditioner (No. 5). I’m planning to pop by the Olaplex website and also check out Ulta and Sephora to see if there are any deals so I can score some refills.
Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask: I’m out of my favorite face mask and I’m planning to check if it’s on sale on the Tata Harper site, Nordstrom, Ulta and Sephora.
UGG Cardy boots: I’ve been eying the UGG knit boots lately because I think they’d be a nice, taller alternative to my slippers when the weather gets colder. They’re normally $150 though, so I’m hoping I can find a pair on sale either on the UGG website or on Nordstrom.com
Video Games: Jack has a few different video games on his Christmas list, so I’m going to check out Target, Walmart, Amazon and GameStop to see if any have reduced prices.

Are you planning to do any online Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping?