How To Make Wool Dryer Balls - Why Do It

In my effort to save money and be more environmentally friendly, I discovered that this is a thing!!! WOOL DRYER BALLS. I will tell you the things that I have learned. Information I used found mainly at this site. 

First, what are wool dryer balls?

They are an eco-friendly alternative to dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener.

Second, What are the benefits of using wool balls in your dryer?

• They decrease drying time, saving you money on utility bills. (Especially helpful in the winter months!)
• Commercial fabric softeners and dryer sheets are filled with harmful chemicals and perfumes that coat your clothing, eventually ending up on your skin. These chemicals can be especially harsh on sensitive skin. There are no chemicals in wool dryer balls!
• Commercial dryer sheets can be costly, and are thrown away after use. Wool dryer balls can be re-used for years, saving you hundreds of dollars.
• Commercial fabric softeners shouldn’t be used on cloth diapers. Wool dryer balls are perfect for keeping your cloth diapers soft and chemical-free.
• Wool dryer balls won’t affect the absorbency of your towels, kitchen cloths, or cloth diapers – commercial softeners will.
• 100% wool dryer balls increase fluffiness and reduce static as dryer loads tumble.
• Dryer balls help to soften clothes naturally.
• Dryer balls are made from a renewable resource.

Third, how do they work?

“It’s simple. They bounce around in the dryer separating clothes, allowing more hot air to circulate through all the garments. As they tumble, the wool balls fluff your laundry, reduce wrinkles, and basically pummel the laundry to make it softer. They do so much more than a dryer sheet by pulling moisture out of your clothes so you don't have to run the dryer as long. The more dryer balls you have in a load, the shorter the drying time will be.``

Fourth, how do you make your own?

TO make yarn felted wool dryer balls go to this site for instructions.

I will show you how I made mine out of scrape wool material. LUCKLY someone gave me loads of wool material cut into 1 inch strips that was to be used for a rug project but they never got to it.

Materials

Wool cut in to 1 inch strips as long as you can get them (then sew together to make it longer)

Needle and Thread

Scissors

Panty hose

String

Instructions

Step 1: Begin by wrapping the strip of wool into a ball. Continue till you have the desired size ball. About the size of tennis ball.

Step 2: With needle and thread begin the sew the strips of wool together as shown.

Step 3: Repeat till you have 4 to 6 balls. I made 6 balls.

In picture you will see that I have a store bought wool dryer ball.

Step 4: Cut the leg off an old pair of pantyhose. Put balls into the toe of the pantyhose, tying tightly in between each one with string, or cotton/acrylic yarn. (Just don’t use wool yarn or it will felt around the pantyhose.)

Step 5: Throw the entire yarn caterpillar into the wash with towels (or a load of jeans if you used brightly colored yarn).

Step 6: Wash in a hot wash cycle with a cold water rinse cycle. Dry your yarn caterpillar with your laundry using the hottest dryer setting.

Step 7: Ready to use just throw the balls in the dryer when using. I like to add a a couple drops of Essential oils to the ball every once in a while to add extra scent to my load of laundry

Doterra essential oils that I like to add include; Peppermint, Lavender, Lemon, and Wild Orange.

Citrus essential oils, such as lemon and sweet orange, actually help boost the cleaning power of homemade detergents.
Lavender essential oil has a clean, floral, fresh scent which soothes, calms and relaxes.

Lavender is the most popular floral scent for cleaning supplies, and it is probably also one of the most popular oils for aromatherapy uses as well.

One of the reasons for this, beside its nice scent, is that lavender blends well with many other essential oils, including citruses and other florals.

Peppermint essential oil is a favorite for many people that make their own cleaning products, because of its refreshing, bright minty smell.

It blends well with several other popular essential oils for cleaning, including lavender, eucalyptus, lemon and rosemary. An added use of peppermint oil is as a natural pest deterrent.

Here is a good informational site that talks about about Essential Ols for cleaning purposes.

To come is my post on My Homemade Laundry detergent. 

Click here to learn more about essential oils or here to visit my Doterra website. 

Easy Homemade Soap Recipe

My husband and i have been wanting the try our hands at making Homemade Soap. This fall we attended a Mother Earth News Fair in PA. There we a went to a seminar on soap making and they made soap right in front of us. Helping us realize how easy it was. I did research on what oils and fats I wanted to use. See here and here. And then found a recipe that used the fats and oils that had on hand (I like this combo because I already had olive oil and coconut oil, so all i needed to buy was lye and palm oil on amazon) with the skin benefits that I desired. Recipe I used can be found found here. I dont think that we will go back to store bought soap again.

Ingredients

6 oz sodium hydroxide (lye)*
14 oz distilled water
12 oz coconut oil
16 oz palm oil
20 oz olive oil

70 drops of Doterra essential oils (50 drops cedarwood and 20 drops geranium essential oils) Click on to see the benefits of each.**

*Handle the lye with great care.  Lye is extremely corrosive to your skin, eyes and other materials.  It will stain wood counters. Spills feel slippery.  Have vinegar and running water available to neutralize any spill and flush the area.*If a spill happens,  take care or your skin first.  Rinse the area with cool water for no less than 5 continuous minutes.  Then apply vinegar to the area and rinse again.There should never be any splashes into your eyes because you were wearing your eye protection!  Lye splashing into your eye is very very serious - you could be blinded.  Rinse the area continuously with water for 10-15 minutes.  If the burn is severe, call for emergency medical help and continue rinsing until help arrives.  Do not attempt to pour vinegar into your eye to neutralize it.  Even if the eye feels okay - continue rinsing.  Seek medical attention for any lye spill that had entered your eye.

** check out my Doterra Website here or check out my Essential oils page on this blog.

Equipment

Large stainless steel pot (must be stainless steel)

Kitchen scale (measure in ounces)

Half gallon size mason jar (or any glass container with thick walls)

Safety glasses or goggles

Rubber gloves

Plastic Apron

2 - 3 silicone spatulas

Soap mold (wooden box or dishwasher safe plastic container)

Heavy Duty freezer paper (if using a wooded mold)

Hand- held immersion blender

2 instant read thermometers (I use a instant read and candy thermometers)

Cover for soap mold and blankets to insulate

Directions

Step 1: Remove distractions. We did this during nap time.

Step 2: Line wooden molds with freezer paper. We found a sushi roll box, a random wooden box, and a pampered chef measuring device and lined each with the freezer paper.

Step 3: Put on safety equipment; gloves, apron, and glasses. Weigh out your lye crystals in a glass jar and set them aside in a safe spill-proof place.

Step 4: Weigh water and place into heat-proof glass container (preferably with a cover). I used a mason jar.

Step 5: Place the weight water (in its heat-proof container) in sink or heat proof area and add the lye until all the lye is completely added. Stir the lye carefully until the lye solution temperature reduces to approximately 95°F.

I forgot to take a picture with the candy thermometer in the mason jar. We used this one so we could just leave it in and watch the temperature.  

Step 6: While waiting for the lye to get cooler. Weigh out all the solid oils. Weigh out all the liquid oils. Basically the rest of ingredients weight out.

Step 7: Decide on the essential oils you wish to use. I let my husband choose and we loved it. Cedarwood and Geranium. We pick them for the smell combination and skin benefits.

Step 8: Heat your solid fats until completely melted, then remove from the heat and add liquid oils.
Step 9: Stir the oil mixture and the lye solution separately until each is about 80°F. Heat the oils if necessary.  Use gentle warm water baths to control temperatures if necessary. Use separate stirrers.
Step 10: When both the oil and lye are the correct temperatures, start pouring the lye into oil.  Add the lye slowly and carefully into the oil,  avoid splashing. Stir the lye into the oil gently until incorporated.  Once this is done you may use your immersion blender.If you are using a blender your soap will trace within 5-10 minutes. If you are stirring by hand, it may take 15-60 minutes to trace.

Close to 5 minutes of stirring and add essential oils.

After 10 minutes and its done.

Step 11: Once a light trace takes place about five minutes, add you essential oils, botanicals, super fatting oils and additives. Continue blending until a hard trace takes place another five minutes.
Step 12: Pour into mold and then cover and insulate with a blanket. Place in a warm area.  Remove your safety equipment. Do not disturb the soap for 24 hours.

Step 13: After 24 hours, uncover and let sit another 24 hours, cut as needed. Then turn out onto a surface protected by brown paper bags, I used sushi rolling mats. Let air dry 4-6 weeks.

Don't know what happened to the pictures I took of the soaps cut and stack with the sushi bamboo rolls in between to keep air circulating. Sorry. 

Step 14: Wrap in recycled magazines or newspaper and tie with twine. And DONE!!!!

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS and Black Bean Burritos

I love the freshly made tortillas at Cafe Rio, so I set out to make my own. I learned that they are super easy and just as or even better than Cafe Rio's. Note though they are easy to make it does take time. I recommend making with a friend. One rolls and one bakes the tortillas.

This picture makes me so happy. Hot sauce, tomatoes, and homemade bean burritos. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup very warm water

Instructions

Step 1: Combine flour, salt, and baking powder large mixing bowl with a dough hook till combined.

Step 2: Add the oil and water and mix till well combined and continue to mix for another minute.

Step 3: Stop and scrape edges. When mixtures comes together and forms ball decrease the mixing speed to low. Then mix until smooth.

Step 4: Transfer to well floured surface and divided into 8 balls for 12-14 inch tortillas or 16 balls for 6-8 inch tortillas.

Step 5: Flatten each ball with the palm of your hands and let rest for 15 min covered.

Step 6: Heat large flat pan to med-high. Roll each flatten ball into a very then circle using a bit of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the surface and the rolling pin.

Step 7: Transfer the thin tortilla to the hot pan. After 30-45 seconds, when brown splotches show underneath, flip it over. cook another 30 -45 seconds more, until other side is browned.  Do not overcook or the tortilla will become crisp.  Remove and wrap in a cloth napkin.  Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and stack them on top of each other.Note, cook time is PER tortilla and is approximate.  Go by the way it looks more than you go by time.

See the bubbles. That means it is time to flip.

Husband made me this one and said, "I love you."

Feed to baby

Refried Black beans

Ingredients

• 2 cans of cooked black beans
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, optional
• 1-4 tablespoons Fat, amount depends on if using onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-4 teaspoons of taco seasoning
• water, if needed
• For fun (or rather health I have added shredded carrots or other vegetables) husband not a fan.

Instructions

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and taco seasoning and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the beans cook beans on a low simmer for 10-15 minutes. Mash the beans coarsely with potato masher, adding more water to moisten, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Whipped Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting or Filling

Loving this recipe!!! Which I adapted from HERE. I use it for filling for cakes (it is lighter than the regular cream cheese frosting which I use on the outside of cake) and to top my Best Ever Whole Wheat Cinnamon Roll Recipe. 




The Recipe 
16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 to 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
1 cup heavy cream, cold. higher the fat content, the better 

The Directions 
Step 1: Beat the cheese, sugar, vanilla and vanilla bean paste until smooth and fluffy.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks.

Step 3: Then add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and quickly and briefly beat to combine. Do not over beat.

Chocolate cake with the whipped filling. I think I added a bit too much for me.