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From the smell of fish and garlic in the kitchen to the smell of dirty laundry our homes can not always smell fresh without using air-freshener once in a while but these artificial air-fresheners along with their similar smells also introduce toxins to the air of your house.
I am obsessed with the smell of pine, lavender, and lemon and when I used to be in the air-freshener aisle of any supermarket my I was like Elle (from legally blonde) on a pink shopping spree. The vibrant colored packaging and the medley of fragrance had the ball in their court, that was until I found out these natural ways to keep my home smelling fresh without exposing my home to harsh chemicals.
There are many natural ways to eliminate bad odor from your home including potpourri, in-house plants, and using essential oil with a diffuser. These all work fine to keep your home fresh but have a mild fragrance. What about when you have guests coming and all you need is a sudden blow of strong scent. For this, I have curated this list of homemade air-freshener recipes to rescue you from any stinky situation.
Why DIY air-fresheners are better than store-bought air-fresheners?
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The Cost
Unlike store-bought air-fresheners, home-made air-fresheners do not burn a hole in your pocket. Now you must be thinking that there are drug-store air-fresheners too which are not as costly. Well, they bring with them a different problem which is my next point.
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The Chemicals
Even the most expensive air-fresheners have a lot of chemicals. So buying a drug-store brand is like inviting toxins into your home. Unlike the store-bought air-fresheners, these home-made have no toxins.
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The Variety
I know you must be thinking that there are enough air-fresheners in the market but are any of them customized for you. With home-made air-fresheners, you can experiment with your favorite smells (well not all of them will always work, I have tried).
23 DIY homemade Air-freshener recipes
1. Pomanders
This is a very old method to keep your home smelling naturally fresh. Cured, dried oranges studded with clove sticks are hanged around the house to keep any bad odor at bae. You can also keep them in a bowl and add pine sprigs or dried pine cones to give some character. These can also be hanged in cupboards or pantry as cloves smell works as a pest repellent.
2. Fresh Flowers
I know it is the obvious one, so if you have a flower garden having a fresh bouquet not only brightens your house but is as natural as it gets when it comes to natural Air-freshener. Here are my favorite flowers for bouquets:
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- Roses
- Lavender
- Pine sprigs
- Thyme sprigs
- Rosemary
Be creative with them, use them as dining place settings or put them in a vase. Some of the best flowers to make a bouquet with are roses, lavender, and lily.
3. Diffuser
This is the easiest method and is best for people who love mild mist like aroma in their homes. Buy any diffuser that uses essential oils and that is literally it. Mix and match essential oils until you get your favorite combination. Here are some of my favorite combinations if you are having trouble getting started.
a. Lovely lavender:
Blend 1:
4 drops of lavender essential oil
4 drops of grapefruit essential oil
2 drops of lemon essential oil
Blend 2:
4 drops of roman chamomile essential oil
4 drops of lavender essential oil
2 drops of geranium essential oil
Blend 3:
4 drops of lavender essential oil
4 drops of cedarwood essential oil
b. Peppy peppermint:
Blend 1:
2 drops peppermint oil essential oil
2 drops of cinnamon essential oil
1 drop of rosemary essential oil
Blend 2:
1 drop basil essential oil
1 drop rosemary essential oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil
Blend 3:
4 drops peppermint essential oil
1 drop lemon essential oil
4 drops rosemary essential oil
Blend 4:
2 drop peppermint essential oil
1 drop wild orange essential oil
2 drops rosemary essential oil
4. DIY Air-freshener spray
These are best for situations in which you need a sudden strong whiff of fresh fragrance.
Put together 1 tablespoon of vodka/rubbing alcohol, water, and essential oils in a spray bottle and shake well.
Here are some of my favorite blends for this air-freshener
Mix one:
4 drops melaleuca essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
2 drops lime essential oil
Mix two:
5 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops clary sage essential oil
1 drop ylang ylang essential oil
2 drops marjoram
Mix three:
4 drops frankincense essential oil
2 drops white fir essential oil
2 drops cedarwood essential oil
Mix four:
5 drops wild orange essential oil
4 drops wintergreen essential oil
5. Air-freshener Stones
These stones are made of hardened dough which is made of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, essential oils, and salt. Momtastic gives a full recipe for making these at home. The possibilities are endless of course. Here are some of my favorite combinations of essential oils to use for fragrance stones.
Mix one:
3 drops wild orange essential oil
2 drops cinnamon essential oil
2 drops ginger essential oil
Mix two:
4 drops vetiver essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil
Mix three:
3 drops eucalyptus essential oil
2 drops cypress essential oil
1 drops peppermint
2 drops rosemary
Mix four:
4 drops wild orange essential oil
2 drops lemon essential oil
2 drops bergamot essential oil
6. Potpourri based air-freshener recipes
Making potpourri to preserve dying garden flowers is a good way to welcome fall.
Here are some ingredients and essential oil you would want to use for your potpourri.
a. Stovetop potpourri
To make stovetop potpourri, add all the ingredients in a boiling pan and fill the pan with water till the brim. Then put the stove on simmer and heat till the water evaporates. This is one of the easiest ways to keep your home always smelling fresh. You can save up wastes like small pieces of ginger, and orange/lemon/lime peals and freeze them till you have enough to make potpourri at home.
Here are my favorite blends for potpourri:
Refreshing Citrus – For those who love citrusy fresh smells:
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- 2 oranges and 2 lemons (Slice)
- Lemon Juice from a lemon
- 2 cup cranberries.
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon clove
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A pumpkin pie recipe:
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- 2 tablespoon pumpkin spice mix
- 2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3-4 cinnamon sticks
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Hansel and Gretel witch house – For those who love that Christmas gingerbread smell:
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- 1 large ginger sliced
- 2 teaspoons of Valina
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cloves
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Minted Citrus:
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- 2 Lime
- Lemon peel (optional for additional citrus aroma)
- ½ teaspoon peppermint.
- ½ bowl of fresh mint leaves.
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My Christmas Home – To give your home that holiday scent all year long:
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- A bowl of fresh pine needles.
- 2 cinnamon sticks.
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Pumpkin spice extract (optional)
- ½ teaspoon of peppermint
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b. Dry potpourri:
This type of potpourri is generally made of dried out flowers, fixative(s) and essential oils. Fixatives (like Oakmoss, sandalwood chips, and orris root) are additional ingredients that enhance the smell of essential oils. You see them during Christmas shopping with fancy packaging that cost you a fortune.
Here are some amazing recipes to make them at home and experiment with scents as you like it. They also make good gifts, just get some gift bags and ribbons to make your own potpourri gift sachet. You can even get a dehydrator to make the process quicker and easier.
Dried fruit potpourri
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- Sliced lemon, lime, and oranges
- Peels of Lemon, lime, and orange (try to get long peels by using a wide peeler).
- Freeze-dried fruits like strawberries, apples, and raspberries (the berries gives a vibrant color to your potpourri)
- Spices – Grinder cinnamon, 2-3 cloves sticks
- Optional – Rosemary/thyme/pine for a bit of freshness
- Essential oils – lime, lemon
- Fixative – orris root
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Dry the fruits in a preheated oven for 2 hours (flipping each side every half an hour. Then spread the peels on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and dry them for 2 hours. Once the fruits and fruit peels are completely dried put them in a large ziplock bag.
Add all the other ingredients like fixative, essential oils, cinnamon powder, cloves, and freeze-dried fruits into the ziplock bag. Shake the bag to mix everything and leave it packed for 6-12 hours.
Dried fruit potpourri is ready to use. Mix 1 teaspoon of essential oil with 2 tablespoons of water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray on the potpourri just before using to enhance the smell.
A classic Rose Bouquet
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- Roses
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sliced up lemons and Oranges.
- Rose essential oil
- Dried lavender as a fixative
- Spray bottle
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Spread a parchment paper on a baking tray and spread rose, thyme, rosemary, and lemon/oranges on it. Preheat the oven to 200 Fahrenheit. Mix 30 drops rose essential oil with 3-4 tablespoons of distilled water and pour the solution into the spray bottle.
Spray on the ingredients and heat them in the oven for 1-2 hours. Take them out and spray the solutions on the dried flowers again. Let them dry more and fill the gift bags or just empty them in a bowl.
How to choose your essential oils?
Since most of these recipes talk about using essential oil let us see how can you start your essential oils journey. Since there is no governing body in the United States that grades the quality of essential oils, anyone can be easily tricked into buying not so natural essential oils.
Research on the brands of essential oils that interests you and look for some kind of purity certification (Like Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer) they have for their products. This tells you that the essential oils do not have any synthetic product in them, provided the results given by the brands are correct.
So get started with your own project, be creative and find the perfect smell for you with a little experimenting.
These 23 recipes will not just make your home smell good but many of the essential oils used are also used for various aromatherapies and have various health benefits.
