Blanket Weather

This morning I woke up to the sight of snow flying through the air, and the sound of wind whipping through the trees. It was cold. Not my ideal weekend weather. It’s not unusual for days like this in the mid-west, but I never seem prepared for them. I’m slowly transitioning my decor to fall, but today I’m bringing out my warmest, coziest blankets. I like to store my heavy throws and blankets away for the spring and summer. They live on a shelf high up in my closet until Mother Nature shows up with some uninvited cold weather. As soon as the temperature drops I pull them down to launder them and freshen them up.

Washing big, heavy blankets isn’t exactly an easy-breezy task. I dropped two of my favorite throws into the Now Designs Extra Large Jute Burlap Tote Basket to take down to my laundry room. This tote is extremely roomy and can carry a large amount of laundry, groceries, or whatever you need to lug around. Plus it’s super cute!

I loaded my blankets into the washing machine with my favorite laundry detergent (no liquid fabric softener on these fluffy blankets!) and went to go pick out some great scents for the wool dryer balls I’ll be using.

If you’ve never used wool dryer balls, don’t be scared! They are useful little tools that help reduce the amount of time it takes to dry and they also help cut down on static cling. When washing blankets I like to use the “low heat” setting on my dryer and toss these guys in to help speed things up a little. They bounce around inside the dryer and keep large blankets like this from balling up so they dry evenly.

In addition to helping dry time, you can also add essential oils to the wool balls to freshen up your laundry when you aren’t using fabric softener. Since I’m washing blankets, I want a soothing fragrance that’s perfect for relaxing. I chose a mixture of lavender and peppermint for a spa-like scent that’s light and comforting.

To scent the dryer balls, simply add a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil and toss in the dryer. Don’t add too much, as you don’t want the oil escaping and getting onto your clothing. If your dryer balls are getting old, or you want to remove the excess oils from them, simply toss them into the washer, then dry as usual.

My blankets turned out beautifully! They're lightly scented and the dryer balls made them lofty and fluffy. They're also noticeably soft and free of any annoying static.