By Lisa Pecos
Chances are you love the wonderful fragrances of room sprays and other air fresheners. Who doesn’t? Unfortunately, these products contain chemicals, such as ethanol and even formaldehyde, which can trigger allergies, asthma attacks, and migraines in some people. This doesn’t mean living with stale air or never again being able to walk into a beautifully scented room; natural alternatives do exist.
The following are natural alternatives to scented air fresheners and room sprays that will love your home smelling amazing without the harsh chemicals.
Simmering Water and Your Favorite Spice
Place a small pot of water with a sprinkling of your favorite spice on the stove and leave it simmering on the lowest setting to fill your home with fragrance. You can choose your spice to suit the season, such as simmering cinnamon powder or cinnamon sticks, or nutmeg in the fall or ginger in the winter. Simmering water with apple or orange slices also works well.
Distilled Water with a Few Drops of Essential Oil
Your fragrance choices are endless when it comes to essential oils! Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to some distilled water in a spray bottle to create your own room spray or mix it up by combining various essential oils. Some popular combinations are orange and clove for a scent that’s perfect for the holidays, or lemon, orange and grapefruit for a fresh and invigorating summer scent. Other popular essentials oils for making your own room spray include: vanilla, lavender, and geranium.
Diffuser or Vaporizer
There are hundreds of oil diffusers and vaporizers on the market that you can use with the essential oils of your choosing. Experiment with different oils to find the scents that suit your mood.
Bake Something
There is no room spray that will ever be able to perfectly capture the scent of loaf of bread or batch of cookies baking in the oven. Baking something is a guaranteed way to make your home smell amazing, naturally. As an added perk: You get to eat what you bake!
Homemade Potpourri and Sachets
Dried flowers, herbs and spices are all you need to make your own potpourri. Leave your potpourri in decorative bowls around your home, or wrap some in cheesecloth or place in small cotton bags to create your own sachets to place in drawers or hang in closets.
Lavender around the Home
Lavender plants are easy to grow and care for and they happen to be very fragrant to boot! Decorate with lavender plants or with bunches of dried lavender for their beauty and scent. You can also sprinkle dried lavender in your other potted plants and at the bottom of vases and containers around the home to fill the air with this relaxing fragrance.