Buh-Bye, Febreze: 12 All-Natural Home Scents You Can DIY
If the term “air freshener” makes you think of those little cardboard pine trees you hang in your car, grandma’s scented-candle collection or your middle-school Bath + Body Works addiction (Juniper Breeze FTW), think again. Thanks to ingredients like essential oils, baking soda, herbs, spices and flowers, you can file natural-smelling air fresheners under “totally DIYable,” right along with perfumes, lotions and bath salts. Here are 12 of our favorite ways to make your home smell amazing, and like things that are actually found in nature.
1. Five-Minute DIY Reed Diffuser: You can buy a reed diffusers for way too much money, or give your wallet and your nostrils a break with this cheap and easy, naturally scented homemade version. A thrifted vase and washi tape will make it fit right in with your decor. (via Sugar + Cloth)
2. Lavender Lemon Candles: Lemon makes everything taste and smell better. DIY these easy candles for a fun, colorful piece to put all over the house. (via Brit + Co)
3. DIY Linen Spray With Essential Oils: Never Febreze your bed linens again! Reuse a pretty spray bottle and fill it with water, booze and essential oils (lavender is especially dreamy) to make your bed conducive to sweet slumber. (via Radical Possibility)
4. DIY Potpourri With Dried Flowers: Potpourri isn’t just a category on Jeopardy. This mixture of colorful rocks, essential oils and dried flowers is a major aesthetic upgrade from the ’80s living-room trend (which was probably made with synthetic fragrances, BTW). (via Free People)
5. Simmer Pot Scents: You know that wonderful fall scent that fills the house when there’s mulled cider on the stove? Recreate that with an easy simmer pot. Switch up the citrus, herbs and spices to give it a more seasonally appropriate flair — try grapefruit and rosemary in the spring, or lemon and rose petals in the summer. (via This Homemade Life)
6. DIY Wax Aromatic Firestarters: If you have a fireplace, these aromatic firestarters are a pretty way to take your cute-cabin vibe to the next level. (via Hello Natural)
7. Natural Room Spritz: Combine different essential oils to make tons of seasonal olfactory delights. And of course, mask that litter box smell. (via Design*Sponge)
8. Hanging Air Fresheners: Cookie-like hanging ornaments can be infused with comforting scents like cinnamon, or you can even whip up a cute terra cotta version that can be turned into a fridge magnet or car air freshener. (via Completely Delicious)
9. Lavender Linen Water: Here’s another easy mixture to spritz on your sheets after they’re laundered. For extra fresh clothes, use it as an ironing spray or put a little into the washer during a rinse cycle. (via One Good Thing by Jillee)
10. Homemade Baking Soda Air Freshener: Baking soda is notorious for absorbing odors. Here, it gets a living-room-ready upgrade with essential oils, spray paint, patterned paper and a mini Mason jar. (via Tidy Mom)
11. DIY Chai Candles in Canning Jars: So long, French vanilla. There’s a new go-to candle scent in town, and its name is chai — calming, comforting, delicious-smelling chai. (via Hello Natural)
12. DIY Gel Air Freshener: Grab some gelatin, essential oils and food coloring, and you will be absolutely ready for this scented jelly. Mix and match the food coloring to make a rainbow of hues — Pantone-inspired, perhaps? (via Hello Natural)
Have you DIYed any of your own air fresheners? What are your fave scents? Let us know in the comments below!
