My wool dryer ball frustration

I think the scream I let out as I opened the dryer door probably frightened the neighbors. It happened again!!! My wool dryer balls unwound and practically disintegrated into my dryer. I usually have 6 in there, but now its down to a lonely 3...clearly not enough. Man! I really didn't want to send off for another bunch of them, as all the ones I've been getting have had some issue with them. If you had asked me this afternoon, I would have said 'forget this Eco-crunchiness, I'm gonna let the dryer take up its whole drying time!'. Silly of me, right?

Truth is, I was disappointed because I have really tried to remain Eco-friendly throughout the years. I have microfiber rags in the kitchen(I still use paper towels but a roll lasts me a while), cleaning products that are safe for the environment(i even use some old time fixes: basil leaves as ant repellent), we cloth diaper our children, use natural light during the day and rarely use the lights--you get the idea. So, having been told that wool dryer balls would lessen my drying time, therefore reducing the amount of energy I used, sounded really good. I jumped in and found that they really did help drying time, especially on thick diapers! It all went pretty well for about 3 years and then...the unraveling began, the loss of fragrance in the dryer ball...you name it! Everything was wrong. I hadn't changed my drying routine or my washing routine, so what was going on?

My frustration was quietly building up. Yes, I was frustrated at the dryer balls, but I was also frustrated that I was all worked up over wool dryer balls?! Who is this woman and what have you done with the real Lisa? Sheesh! I was watching my budget on household supplies vanish on dryer balls. They come in different colors, sizes, some are felted, some are just natural and wound. The options are endless and sometimes, overwhelming. No wonder there's all this frustration in the air.

I really didn't know what else to do but give up on this Eco-friendly adventure. Until...in a conversation with the other Mamas around the House, which I swear could have been written by Mel Brooks, I found out that I wasn't alone. The wool dryer balls were failing them too! Haha!! I really did feel relief at that, as silly as that sounds. It was a legitimate concern for other people as well. I wasn't hyper focusing on something small. Yay!

 So, how does a MATH(Mama Around The House) deal with such a huge problem? We buy a whole bunch of dryer balls  and test them out, then share the results. I hope that I find a solution to my dryer ball problem soon. I also hope that I haven't lost my edge. (Confession: I am listening to Type O Negative as I write this, just in case I've gone soft. Haha!) Has having children changed me so much that I worry over things like wool dryer balls? Probably, I guess I'm not sure. What I do know, is that I will be doing some product reviewing in my future, so I can find the right product for me. That must count for something!!

Have you tried to be Eco-friendly? What has worked for you? Has having children made you Eco-conscious?