Right up there with other factors like style and cleanliness, your home's scent makes a huge first impression to guests, and especially potential buyers. While the smell of freshly baked bread or fresh laundry is heavenly, sometimes we just want the place to smell nice without going through all of that effort. Before you resort to spraying store-bought air fresheners or lighting a scented candle, try these just-as-easy DIY tricks to freshen your home.
Let It Simmer
Dried potpourri injects a sweet and sometimes spicy scent to the room, but it also collects a fair amount of dust when left sitting in an open dish. Instead, recreate the magic over the stove top. Fill a small saucepan with water, add sliced lemons, oranges, and herbs, and simmer the recipe on low heat. Vary your favorite herbs, spices, and other fresh ingredients depending on your mood—or what you have on hand—and you can concoct a variety of aromas.
Blow Off Steam
For a little aromatherapy and an instantly spa-like shower, simply tie up a few sprigs of fresh fragrant herbs like rosemary, lemon balm, and thyme in the far corner where they won’t get wet. Whenever someone takes a hot shower, the steam and humidity will activate the essential oils in the herbs. Swap in eucalyptus sprigs, which can be found at most florists, if you're feeling even more exotic.
Do Double Duty
Next time you’re changing your disposable furnace filter, take the opportunity to freshen the whole home with a light scent as well. A few drops of your favorite essential oil on the new filter will disperse throughout the entire house as air circulates, meaning both improved air quality and a pleasant lingering scent.
Vent A Little
The smell of clean laundry is one of the most pleasant household smells. By placing a few dryer sheets behind vents throughout the house, you can have that fresh-laundry aroma in every room—without the hassle of the chore. As the air flows through the vents, it will dry out the dryer sheets, so you’ll need to replace them every few weeks.
Just a Spritz
A wide variety of essential oils are available, from rosemary to vanilla, and from citrus to eucalypts. You can purchase a reed diffuser kit to spread your favorite scent, but a simple DIY room spray can achieve the same aromatherapy. Fill a small spray bottle with 4 ounces of water and 10 drops of oil, then spritz to freshen any space.
On a Roll
Next, bring that set of essential oils into the bathroom and add just a few drops to the cardboard tube inside your toilet paper roll (as well in those of the replacements, waiting in line for duty). When you or a guest unrolls in future, the fresh scent will come out and help cover up any less-than-pleasant odors.
Leave Tea Leaves in the Litter Box
All cat owners are familiar with the recognizable smell of a litter box. To eliminate the stench, try sprinkling some dry tea leaves in the box. The leaves have antibacterial properties and can help absorb odors, which will keep your litter box fresh.
Bowls of Beans
Nestle a vanilla-scented votive in a bowl of whole coffee beans. As the lit candle warms the beans, they’ll release a pleasant aroma, making your house will smell like a delicious French vanilla coffee.
Source: Bob Villa
