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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

giveaways

Have a ball doing laundry: review of Woolzies Dryer Balls

March 7, 2013

This is a bit of a departure for me, reviewing a product that isn’t a book, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to try and then review Woolzies Dryer Balls.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhen the box came in the mail, I actually found an excuse to do laundry because I couldn’t wait to test these out. I was almost giddy with excitement. Over the past year, I’ve been slowly greening my laundry habits. Last summer, I washed clothes only when I was sure the sun would shine for most of the day so I could hang them out to dry, and I switched from liquid fabric softener to vinegar. This winter, though, I continued using dryer sheets, something I don’t really think much about, but as I’m learning more about environmental hazards to our bodies, I’m rethinking the products in my house.

So, when an alternative presented itself, I couldn’t resist.

What’s great about these dryer balls?

Well, for starters, they’re 100 percent wool. No chemicals. No dyes. Just hand-spun New Zealand wool.

Second, they’re guaranteed for 1,000 loads of laundry. I don’t even want to keep track of how many days/weeks/months/years that is.

Third, if you buy a box for $34.95, you’re spending like 3 cents per load to dry your clothes and you don’t have to feel guilty about what’s rubbing off on your clothes.

Fourth, my clothes are drying faster. The first load I tested with these, I set the dryer for 50 minutes for a load that would usually take 70 minutes or more. When I pulled the clothes out and they were dry, I declared to my husband: “We are never buying anything else ever again.” I set a load for 40 minutes to see just how low I could go, but that didn’t quite get them dry. I’m averaging 50-60 minutes per load depending on what’s in there, but never more than 70 minutes, which was the minimum for most of our loads before the Woolzies entered our life.

Fifth, you can juggle them. Okay, not really, but they are fun to look at. I sometimes have to dig around in the basket for them, but as long as I see six of them in the dryer when I’m done, I’m a happy launderer.

Are there drawbacks? Sometimes our clothes have a little static in them, but not enough to complain or stop using them.

Seriously, the dryer balls are the best part of doing laundry for me right now.

But you don’t have to take my word for it.

Woolzies wants to give you a free box, too!

Here’s how you can win:

Leave a comment on this blog and tell me why you’d want to try Woolzies Dryer Balls. That’ll get you one entry.

“Like” Woolzies Dryer Balls on Facebook (and let me know) and you’ll get another entry.

Follow Woolzies on Twitter (again let me know you did) and you’ll get another entry.

Share about this giveaway (Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, whatever and tell me you did) and you’ll get another entry. Click to Tweet.

Four chances to win. I’ll close the contest on Sunday, March 10, and pick a winner in the evening. If you win, I’ll need your mailing address to pass along to Woolzies, who will send you your prize. Sound like fun?

It’s a ball!

Filed Under: health & fitness Tagged With: environmentally friendly laundry, freebies, giveaways, natural fabric softener, woolzies dryer balls

Free Book Friday: the farewell tour

May 25, 2012

Here we are, the last Friday in May already. I have to admit, I’m kind of sad. Free Book Fridays have been fun! Maybe I’ll do it again sometime.

Without further delay, the winner of Kathi Macias’ People of the Book is Ladette Collins Kerr. Congratulations, Ladette! E-mail me at lmbartelt[at]gmail.com with your address so I can send the book your way!

Kathi has two more books coming out this year, and I’ve signed up to review them both. So stay tuned for those!

Now, on to the final book I’m giving away.

The first time I read a book by Liz Curtis Higgs, I knew I’d found a friend. Higgs is a captivating and creative storyteller who can take familiar Bible stories and transform them into modern tales that teach valuable lessons. Whether it’s fiction like this or children’s books or Bible studies, Higgs is a delight to read and learn from.

Years ago when Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code was popular, Mary Magdalene became a hot topic. Higgs’ book Unveiling Mary Magdalene sets the record straight about who Mary was (a woman freed from demons) and who she was not (Jesus’ romantic interest). In typical Higgs fashion, the book is part novel — telling the story of tortured soul Mary Margaret Delaney and her deliverance —  and part study, taking Biblical accounts of Mary Magdalene and applying what we can learn from her life as a passionate, delivered, transformed follower of Jesus to our lives as we seek to know Him more.

This book is a treasure! And it can be yours! (FYI, the cover of mine is different than what’s pictured here.)

HERE’S HOW: Leave a comment on this blog  about how you feel when you’re judged or how you’ve felt when you’ve judged someone wrongly. That’s ONE entry. For EXTRA chances to win: follow me on Twitter (ONE EXTRA CHANCE); retweet this giveaway (ONE EXTRA CHANCE); share this giveaway on Facebook (ONE EXTRA CHANCE); and/or subscribe to this blog via e-mail (ONE EXTRA CHANCE). Each time you earn an extra chance, leave another comment on the blog so I can enter you to win! I’ll pick a winner next Thursday, May 31 and announce the winner on Friday, June 1, when I start a new series of book reviews for the month of June.

Spread the word and the book love, my friends!

Filed Under: giveaways, Non-fiction, The Weekly Read Tagged With: Bible study, Christian fiction, creative non-fiction, forgiveness, free books, giveaways, liz curtis higgs, transformed life

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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Occasionally, I review books in exchange for a free copy. Opinions are my own and are not guaranteed positive simply due to the receipt of a free copy.

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