Tidbits

I've got some tidbits for you that I found today. I get these "green bits" in my email inbox and one thing they mentioned was dryer balls vs. dryer sheets. I have a pair of dryer balls myself, got them from my mom-in-law, and I like them. They don't get rid of all the static cling, but I haven't been using dryer sheets now in awhile, and I refuse to use them in summer. Did you know the chemicals from dryer sheets can cause allergic skin reactions in some people? They also cling to your lint trap, preventing air from moving through it properly, and in some cases can cause fires because of trapped air. Yup. Have you cleaned your lint trap lately?

Note: I recieved this in my email a number of months ago:
"INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box. Well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!"

I actually tested my lint trap and found out that yup... my water wasn't flowing through it like it should, so I cleaned it with a toothbrush and soapy water till the water flowed through. My drying time has decreased significantly since then... I did this last year and since I've only used maybe 10 dryer sheets since then, havent bothered doing it again... although maybe I will when this load is done. Anyway, there was a link to buy wool yarn dryer balls, and another link to make them yourself! I haven't tried it yet, but maybe I will someday. I like the idea of being a little greener and saving money at the same time!

I've also been looking into getting rid of old cell phones. We don't use them, they sit around and collect dust... why not donate them to someone who can use them? I can't seem to find anything online for our area (I'll have to just go to the local charities and ask), but I did find something for computers (and their components) in our area. And they will even give you a tax reciept! Awesome!

Now to go through a few more areas of my house and declutter. I wanna post my pounds on Flylady's site! I also figured I should declutter facebook... so I went through the list of applications I had authorised and got rid of over 50! So, now I only have 20 apps! Whew! I challenge you to declutter something! It feels awesome!

Anyway, off to purge some magazines!