Have you ever been in someones house who maybe wasn't the best housekeeper? How did you know? I'm willing to bet the first thing that tipped you off was the smell of the home. Too often people neglect the all-important sense of smell when home keeping, and it always shows. The must of dirty laundry, an unclean litter box, dirty dishes in the sink, a lingering "moist" odor...all are smells that must be avoided at all costs.
On the other hand, there are those who devote themselves fully to their home keeping efforts, and that also shows! I think of my neighbor back in California. Her house was always clean and tidy, and the smell was heavenly! It was so subtle I almost couldn't put my finger on it--clean laundry and craft stores was all I could come up with to describe it!
With that in mind, I'd like to list a few of my favorite ways to add scent to my home. Please remember, however, that you can not cover up uncleanliness with perfume. Before you start, it is essential to have a clean home with the dishes done, the floor vacuumed, the garbage emptied, etc. All the air freshener in the world will not fool others into thinking you have been cleaning all day!
1. Beautifully scent your closets.
There are many ways to do this but my favorite is so simple--store your scented candles (with lids off) in the shelves among your sheets and towels. A subtle fragrance will permeate your linens and bring a little bit of joy into your life as you perform the most mundane tasks. Even small things like changing the sheets or drying off after your shower will become far more pleasant.
2. Beautifully scent your sheets.
As you fold your sheets, sprinkle a little bit of scented dusting powder on each layer. Not only will this keep your sheets fresh while they're being stored, but it feels so cool and silky to slip into powdered sheets at bed time. When you make your bed in the morning, again sprinkle a little powder between the sheets. If you're like most and only change your sheets once a week, this will also help them to stay fresher-smelling until laundry day. **Look for my own special homemade dusting powder recipe soon!**
3. Don't forget about extracts.
So many books and articles mention using essential oil around your home to add a wonderful fragrance. Unfortunately, lots of these oils are expensive and only available at health food stores. A less-expensive alternative is right in your kitchen cupboard. A simple bottle of vanilla extract can be used in many different ways to scent your home. Try adding a splash to the rinse water when you're mopping, soaking a cotton ball and placing it in an out-of-the-way corner of the fridge, using it in your own homemade cleaners, or even in your bathwater! I also love to place just a few drops on my vacuum filter or directly on the bag to fill the house with fragrance as I vacuum. Don't think that vanilla is your only option either; I have successfully used other scents like mint, lemon, orange, almond, and coconut. For a real treat, you can combine the extracts into cocktails--try cinnamon, butter, and vanilla for a "cinnamon bun" fragrance!
4. Candles!
I absolutely adore candles! I have one burning almost every day--in fact, it's a safe bet that if you drop by at anytime between 9am and 9pm I will have at least one candle burning. I love Yankee candles the most--the jars last almost forever and the scents are fantastic and realistic. But I don't overlook the less expensive ones either. Glade has some wonderful candles that can be bought in any grocery or discount store for only about three dollars. I love to make "cocktails" with my candles too; a sugar cookie one downstairs and a lemon one upstairs somehow mingle and end up smelling like lemon cookies somewhere in the middle! It's such a mood brightener!
5. Cooking
Cooking will scent your house for hours as well as give you something else to enjoy. Bake brownies or cookies, pop popcorn, make some lovely yeasty rolls for dinner. Bake some cinnamon apples, even start a barbecue if that is what you enjoy! **Look for my crock pot apple butter recipe soon--it takes several hours to cook and smells good the entire time**
I'd love to hear what others do to scent their home, so please share any tips if you have them!
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6 comments:
This was a wonderful post! Scents are such a subtle, subliminal thing, and the wrong scent can be such a turn off. I too, keep a candle burning most days. I take such pleasure in them, but wondered if anyone else noticed. Then I overheard my teenager's friend say "Your house always smells so good!" And when my daughter was engaged, her fiance asked her what their future apartment's signature scent would be.
Coffeeteaandme's author Brenda recently wrote about Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products. I just bought the Honeysuckle set, and the fragrance makes a mundane task a pleasure. Even the men in the house have remarked favorably.
Looking forward to your next post, Martha
I found some spray linen water recently at the Dollar Tree and use them to freshen our sheets each day. I bought lavender scent for our bedroom and fresh linen scent for my daughters room. She just used the spray this morning on her shirt she's wearing to school, too.
I also wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your blog. I'm sorry, but I don't remember from whose blog I was referred (I think it was Emma's at Charming the Birds). You have such a lovely blog!
This was a great post! I'm looking forward to the homemade dusting powder recipe!
I don't use dryer sheets in my dryer, but I did take a roll and cut it into several pieces (like a roll of cookie dough) and stuck the mini rolls in the corners of my closets. They leave a vague whiff of "fresh". :)
This post i full of such lovely ideas for scenting the home. I had never thought about extracts being used for this purpose :o)
I am in full agreement about not simply perfuming a dirty house. I have been in plenty of homes that have been in need of help and smelled a mixture of cat urine and a candle. The home definitely MUST be cleaned first.
I HOPE our home smells nice. I don't think you ever really notice the smell of your own home. I will often use the Glad plug-ins around our home- Hawaiian Breeze scent.
Wonderful post!
His,
Mrs. U
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