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Woolzies Dryer Balls, Review and Giveaway!

Mar 012013

Are you tired of using chemically laden fabric softeners?

Do you despise having loud noises in your dryer while it is running from those plastic, spiked orbed spheres that were promised to decrease drying time, static and the need for fabric softener? (let alone releasing who knows what chemicals into your clothing when heated?)

Do you hate scratchy clothes or has a husband who complained quite loudly about your decision to give up fabric softeners for the sake of your child’s skin, the cost, or the general health of your family?

Woolzies Dryer Balls may be the solution for you.

I had to give up the use of commercial fabric softeners several years ago. Our youngest broke out in an eczema like rash and I racked my brain trying to figure out what was triggering it. I switched brands of fabric softener and I ended up horribly allergic to the new one I tried (hives, especially on my face after I slept on my pillow that had been washed with it, along with my eyes swelling shut and horrible itching). Deciding that I wasn’t gong to play the let’s see who’s allergic to the next brand I buy game, I just totally gave up using fabric softener. The Bean’s skin cleared up, and thankfully I didn’t have any allergic reactions to using nothing. I really enjoyed the money savings it provided our family and after about two months, the chemical residues had finally left our clothing.

Honestly, I was kind of skeptical about using the Woolzies Dryer balls. I hate the spiked plastic orbs that some family members use in their dryers. They are loud, I think they have a bit of a smell to them, and the plastic feels rough to me so I am concerned that they would snag my laundry, plus they have become discolored with use. But I am so glad I got to try the Woolzies.

Excuse the weird looking hand holding the Woolzie’s Dryer Ball…

Woolzies come in a package of six, are about the size of a baseball, and you just toss the balls into your dryer with your laundry. They toss around during the drying cycle and move through your clothes helping them to dry faster, and have less static. One box will last you on average 1000 (that’s right, one thousand) loads of laundry. I did the math and for my family averaging 7 to 12 loads of laundry a week (depends on how messy we get and we use cloth napkins and kitchen towels), one set of dryer balls will last me about a year and a half. Not too bad considering how often I would have to buy fabric softener, and how much that would cost. They are made from pure New Zealand wool (and are hypoallergenic. I’m allergic to wool and I have absolutely no issues using these)

My drying times have also been reduced. Depending on the load from ten to twenty minutes shorter running the dryer. I like that a lot. My washer and dryer are now able to end at about the same time instead of the dryer running longer, plus I’m saving energy and electric costs.

Static in my laundry has been greatly reduced as a result of using the Woolzies. While it hasn’t been totally eliminated (my husband has a pair of pants that I could try and use every static repellent on and it still wouldn’t work) it is so much more manageable now. My towels are flufflier than they have been in years, which my husband really appreciates. He also likes the feel of his socks again (he wasn’t too fond of going without fabric softeners).

Woolzies are well worth the initial investment for a box, in my opinion.

So, since these balls are so terrific, how would you like to win a box for yourself?

All you have to do is use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Giveaway starts on March 1, 2013 and goes to March 7, 2013. Open to those in the United States. I will email the winner on March 8, 2013 and they will have 48 hours to respond to me with their mailing address or an alternate winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given a box of Woolzies Dryer Balls for the purpose of this review, and one is provided for the giveaway. All opinions are mine and mine alone, no other compensation was received.

Be sure and check out my other giveaways this week! John Eldridge’s The Utter Relief of Holiness and Veggie Tales, The Little House that Stood!

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In Like a Lion?

Giveaways, Reviews No Responses »

Feb 282013

March is coming up like tomorrow….How in the world did we get to the third month of the year already?????? Seriously, we just celebrated New Year’s it seems….

In honor of March roaring in like a lion around here (we’ve had two snow/ice/sleet/freezing rain storms in a week resulting in my husband having three days off work, along with my mother-in-law supposed to be signing on a house in our town tomorrow our lives are roaring…) I decided that since I had a set of three reviews that come with giveaways, I would post them all on the first of March to bring in the new month with a roar.

Tomorrow, be on the lookout for a review of John Eldridge’s The Utter Relief of Holiness

Woolzies Dryer Balls

and….

The latest Veggie Tales The Little House that Stood

Are you as excited as I am? I hope so!

So come back tomorrow and enter the giveaways!

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You Mean I’m Supposed to Plan This Stuff Out? (A Blog Planner Review)

MosaicReviews, Organization 6 Responses »

Feb 232013

I started this blog a few years ago at the urging of my husband who decided I needed a creative outlet. He noticed that I needed something else to do, we both realized that I really enjoyed reading some blogs and we both knew that I really liked to write. For me, writing is a way to express myself safely, be creative and is fun. So, close to my 30th birthday, my husband helped me put together my blog. It has taken a few twists and turns since then, and I’ve had times where I have written a lot, then not so much, as I was writing when the mood struck, when I had a review due, or when I felt led to say something. Posting has always been a bit helter skelter for me.

As a member of the Mosaics Review Team (noticed my newest button over to the right?) we were asked to choose a free printable blog planner and review it for our first review. I’d seen blog planners before, and figured that while they looked nice and all, I probably would never use one. I love to plan, don’t get me wrong, but then when things happen and plans fall through I feel horrible. I also have a very hard time finding a planner that works for the way I think. I like things with enough structure to make me be able to quickly see where and what I should be doing, but with enough freedom that if I wanted to move things around quickly I can. I like having seperate areas for different aspects of the blog (and life. It has taken me three years to get a homekeeping binder put together that I even remotely like) but I want something that flows and works together as a whole. And I want it to look nice.

I chose the blogging planner by Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations to try out. The pictures of it on Jolanthe’s website make it so pretty! I love flowers and gentle feminine looking things, ok? This planner is also quite huge. It is a planner designed for a full year, and is over 60 pages long. The forms contain calendars, sections to plan out a focus for each month, giveaways and reviews (including contact info, what key words to use, and even has a check mark box to say that you have chosen a winner for your giveaway), pages to mark off blog posts, SEO, and social media promoting. Those pages are a godsend themselves. I prefer to plan with a pen and paper. I have yet to be able to force myself to convert to straight digital planning. I just can’t do it. My brain has never worked that way and I’ve always been able to think better with a pen in my hand. These pages fit the bill precisely!

Then, if that wasn’t good enough, Jolanthe added in some extra forms which made this planner go way over and beyond what I was expecting a blog planner to do and be. There are forms to track your website analytics (very helpful to track trends and for pitching to companies), a form to remember websites and blogs you frequent and log in information, a form to keep track of your affiliate programs (great to keep passwords, payout information and such all sorted out and tracked), a Twitter Hashtag Tracker (yeah, I can’t remember the good hashtags to use, nor what they pertain to a lot of times…This is a wonderful form!), a form for the blog linkups you like to participate in, and forms to track income and expenses, mileage and a place just to jot down the random ideas that don’t want to leave you alone.

I printed off the pages at home on my black and white laser printer and did dual sides (so the pretty colorful flowers aren’t so colorful, but for us, that made the most sense economically for what it costs us to print versus taking it to the office supply store). And while I wanted it spiral bound, I ended up using my trusty three ring hole puncher and put it into a one inch binder I found on clearance. I mark where I’m at using paper clips (I do get the prettier colored ones) and I plan on putting in some page dividers and plastic pockets and a folder yet (one of those things that takes a bit of time which has been lacking for us this year). It is quite serviceable and useable the way I have it set up right now. At least for the way that my brain works.

Yes, this planner basically does it all (well, except the thinking of the blog posts, lining up giveaways, writing your posts for you….) if you use it. This is an excellent tool to help you take your blogging to the next level. It makes it easy to organize your thoughts and ideas, keep track of the nitty gritty details that are so easy to forget and is a breeze to use once you get into the routine. It makes my blogging feel more “official” if you will.

Having a planner helps to define my blog, my purpose for the blog and makes it easier to carve out the time I need to devote to it without sacrificing my family to it. I suggest that if you are serious about taking your blogging up to the next level that you use this blog planner. It is starting to salvage my sanity…Granted, there wasn’t much sanity to salvage to begin with, but knowing I have a chance at keeping what little I do have left is a wonderful feeling.

Do you think this planner won’t work for you? Well, there are many other options out there and other bloggers with the Mosaics Review team had a chance to review them. I hope you find just what you are looking for over there!

I was given this planner as a part of the Mosaics Review Team in exchange for this review. All opinions are mine and mine alone, no other compensation was received.

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NuNaturals Winners!

Giveaways No Responses »

Feb 192013

Congratultions to the winners of my NuNaturals Giveaway! The winners are, Kristi W., Elena V, Julienne W, and David C. Check your email so you can claim your prize (and check your spam filters, for some reason, emails containing Congratulations and Giveaway in the subject get siphoned off to the spam file a lot…)

Be watching as I will have a giveaway for John Eldridge’s new book, The Utter Relief of Holiness and for Woolzies Dryer balls in the next week!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

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NuNaturals Stevia, Review and Giveaway

CWAReviewCrew, Homekeeping 1 Response »

Feb 112013

We are well into February now. I know a lot of people’s New Year’s resolutions included things like healthier eating, losing weight and being healthier from a holistic perspective. And I know that by this time of the year, a lot of people have fallen off the wagon (or just decided to take a flying leap) for healthy living.

Let me introduce you to something that may make you jump back on the wagon.

NuNaturals Stevia is a great way to get back on to the healthy living wagon.

NuNaturals is a liquid stevia blend (they also have powder packets) that is non bitter, disolves well in cold beverages, mixes beautifully in yogurt and can be used where ever you would want to add a bit of sweetness. The liquid stevia is all alcohol free and even comes in orange, lemon, peppermint, vanilla and even chocolate along with unflavored. They also sell baking blend stevia, stevia packets, and a prebiotic blend.

Stevia is much, much, much sweeter than regular sugar. In fact, you only use about an eighth of stevia versus sugar to get the same amount of sweetness. So while the initial cost of NuNaturals may seem steep at first, you use so little at a time that the price is comparable.

Stevia also doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar, so those who have conditions where it is advised to avoid eating sweets and carbohydrates that do raise the blood sugar can use stevia safely in place of sugar.

I received the orange, lemon, vanilla, peppermint and regular liquid from NuNaturals along with their stevia packets and a container of their prebiotic blend. The prebiotic blend works great when adding it to plain yogurt, cookies, anyplace where you would use sugar (unless the amount of sugar called for is to also help increase the bulk of what you are making. If you substitute, you could end up with a bit less of what you are making).

My husband liked adding the peppermint liquid stevia to his bottle of water that he takes to work. Peppermint works as a nice natural stimulant and it helped to keep his mind clear as he stared at a computer screen all day (he works in IT…) He also is a fan of orange cream, so a large glass of water mixed with a few drops of the orange and vanilla liquid blends made an orange cream flavored drink for him whenever he wanted it.

I added the peppermint to homemade hot chocolate. It felt so decadent drinking it on the cold morning I first made it.

The packets are terrific for stashing in your purse or the glove box of your car to add to tea while you are out and about. I’ve noticed recently that the sweet tea at a lot of places is just too sweet tasting any more for me, but I like my tea with some sweet to it, so if I get the unsweetened, I can add the NuNaturals stevia packet to it and make it taste just the way I want it to. And they are great in making chia seed pudding! (soak chia seeds in milk, add some cocoa powder and stevia to taste. I love it)

You can find out more about NuStevia by visiting their WEBSITE or FACEBOOK page.

NuNaturals is currently offering a discount code available until June 30, 2013 for 15% off your entire order! How’s that for taking care of their customers? Just enter BLG0613 at checkout for the discount to be applied.

AND wait, there’s more! NuNaturals hasa been so kind to offer a giveaway for my readers! Four winners will each receive a bottle of Lemon, Orange, Peppermint and Chocolate Liquid Stevia! Just fill out the Rafflecopter below and good luck! If you don’t win, trust me, you will want to purchase some of this wonderful stuff yourself! Contest ends on February 18, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given a bottle each of the peppermint, orange, vanilla, lemon and regular liquid, stevia packets and prebiotic blend from NuNaturals as a part of the Christian Woman Affiliate Review Crew for the purposes of this review. All opinions are mine and mine alone, no other compensation was received. NuNaturals also provided the prizes for the giveaway. Created for Home in not responsible for lost, misdirected entries or for prize fulfillment.

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