I'm always looking for natural ways to scent my home. I had automatic spraying air fresheners in every room of my home last year. At the time I didn't realize how many bad chemicals are in them, I just loved my home smelling pretty and that was the easiest way to do it. But I was getting really bad headaches almost daily, and I didn't know why. I was browsing some information online one day, and found that many people are intolerant to air fresheners. Headaches are not uncommon, which explained why I was getting them so frequently at home. Then I found that the chemicals in them are not good, and having mine spray all day long was definitely not a good idea. I removed them all and began researching homemade air fresheners and found a lot of good ideas!
I like mixing some vanilla extract with water in a spray bottle for a sweet vanilla scent. You can add a little spices to it if you like. Another good one is lemon juice mixed with water in a spray bottle to give your home a lemon fresh smell. Take whatever scent you like, find it in a juice or extract and add a little to a spray bottle of water. This way you can create a nice scent in your home that is just as strong as you want, without exposing you and your family to harmful chemicals. To kill odors in your home you can put baking soda in pretty bowls and put them throughout your home. I don't recommend putting baking soda and water in a spray bottle to spray in the air in home, because when I tried it everything got covered with white spots. It would be a good thing to spray fabric furniture with to take out smells, but not just up in the air. I had spots all over my tables, my floors, my my furniture and all my things I had in the rooms I sprayed. Not fun. I also don't recommend adding food coloring to sprays either, food coloring stains and what you spray up must come down....on your furniture and carpet. I do recommend getting a pretty spray bottle that isn't clear so the color of your mix doesn't matter because no one can see it. That way you avoid turning your home permanent colors!
Another fun idea is to make pomanders. I first saw the name and thought, "Is this some tropical fruit I've never heard of?" :o) It's not. It's a lovely and natural way to scent your home! Get a few oranges from the store. Since you won't be eating them it really doesn't much matter what kind you get. You will need whole cloves as well. We got a small bag of them and maybe used half on our 2 oranges. You can use more or less depending on your liking. Basically you are going to push the pointy tip type side of the clove into the orange. You can do this two ways: You can take a thick needle or the tip of a blade on a pair of scissors (or some other pointy object), and poke holes into the orange where you want to put the cloves, then push them into the pre-made holes. Or you can just push them into without first making holes. I chose to just push mine in, but for my munchkin I made little holes first. You can make pretty designs on your oranges or just put them in randomly. We chose to just put them in randomly this time. Once you are finished you can place them in pretty bowls and put them all in one area or in each room. I put one in my living room and one in my dining room. They give off a noticeable scent, which is nice if you like having a noticeable scent in rooms of your home. It's a spicy citrus scent, so make sure you enjoy that kind of scent before starting! :oP
You can even make ornaments with them by wrapping pretty ribbon around them after you're done putting in the cloves, you can add a nice bow if you like, and hanging them on the tree.
Below is the picture I took of the 2 we made today. I didn't use many cloves because the scent was strong. It was fun for both my daughter and I, and a project that has a use after it is done. These last for a while, when you see them drying up it's time to replace them. Please feel free to share your homemade air freshening and home scenting ideas and tips! :o)
“I’m always looking for natural ways to scent my home.” – Same here! Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to a fresh and fragrant abode? For me, it is always a pleasure! I just read here that you are having problems with automatic spraying air fresheners. Maybe you can use other alternatives, such as scented wax bars and bags. You can also make them at home or buy them online. They will surely help your home to smell sweet and clean, sans the side effects. [Hildagarde Carbon]
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