I Love to fill the air in my home with subtle scents of spices, herbs, and fruit. I've now got a simple routine going that keeps our house smelling pleasant without staleness or day-after garlic odour.
Keeping the supply list simple i only use items available at the grocery store or in a garden for these scent recipes. I want this to be easy and inexpensive so that I can set up a sustainable routine of wonderful scents in my home. These recipes are simply guidelines and don't have to be followed exactly. In fact, I will change them based on what I have in my kitchen.
How to Make Natural Yummy Room Scents
citrus -- Citrus is sturdiest, longer-lasting, and gives these scent recipes freshness. Lemons and oranges are particularly fragrant and have the best staying power in these scented waters.
herbs -- Any herb can be used for making a room scent, but the ones that are sturdier and on woody twigs hold up the best.
extracts -- A touch of vanilla or almond extract improves most room fragrance mixtures. Mint extract has a nice fresh scent. You can also use whole vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract; pricey but amazingly fragrant. Bergamot is warm an comforting. It is best to use essential oils they may be a little pricey but a few drops go a long way.
spices -- You can use ground or whole sweet spices. The whole spices look prettier, if your scented water will be in a location where it will be seen. I have found that cinnamon sticks and whole cloves have the most scent staying power. Cinnamon sticks can be rinsed off and reused several times. They keep on giving.
Four Natural Room Scent Recipes
General procedure: Combine the ingredients in a 2 cup (pint) jar or container, or in a pan on the hob. Cover them with water and heat. I'll explain different heating options further down. Keep reading.
Scent 1: Oranges, cinnamon & cloves (allspice and anise are optional). This is my favorite, both for it's wonderful aroma and for it's staying power. This scent carries into multiple rooms better, and it can be reheated to scent your rooms for several days.
Scent 2: Lemon, rosemary, & vanilla, It has a lovely freshness to it.
Yummy Scent 3: Lime, thyme, mint & vanilla extract. This combination has such a fresh, pleasant scent.
Yummy Scent 4: Orange, ginger (fresh or powdered), and almond extract. This is a sweet, delicious scent.
Make ahead and...
...store in the fridge. Uncooked jars of scented waters will keep in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks, so you can make these ahead to have on hand. I recommend adding all of the ingredients, including the water, to the jars before refrigerating them. I've tried refrigerating the fruit/spice/herb combos in jars without the water, but they don't last as long that way.
...freeze them. I've tried freezing them both with and without the water added, and both ways work fine. I haven't tested them in the freezer longer than 2 weeks, but I'm confident that they can be frozen for a month or longer. Make sure you use freezer-safe jars (Not all jars are freezer-safe.)
How to heat the scented mixtures
I have just tried a variety of methods, and all of these work to varying degrees. Some of them provide a more powerful scent than others. Just like the air fresheners you buy, none of these will scent a whole house; but I'll show you some ways to set up individual scent sources in multiple rooms. Hopefully you already have what you need to try out one or more of these options.
Hob method.
This is by far the best way I've found to get the most powerful scent that will spread to more rooms the fastest. It's easy as can be. Simply combine the ingredients in a pot on the stove, bring them to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer. They will immediately begin to scent your kitchen and spread to other rooms. How far the scent spreads depends on the size and layout of your house. A simmering pot like this makes all four rooms on our first floor smell good. The only drawback of this method is that you have to keep a close eye on the water level. If the pan dries out, you'll be smelling burned citrus instead of sweet, fragrant citrus. NOTE: For a stronger scent, simply double or triple the recipe in a larger pot on the stove.
Uncovered Slow Cooker Method.
This is my personal favorite. I used a slow cooker--the kind making stews & casseroles. The mixture never actually bubbles and visibly steams. I left it uncovered on my kitchen counter to slowly release scent throughout the day. It's subtle, but creates a pleasant smell in my kitchen and a hint of scent in surrounding rooms. When I'm home, I will keep my slow cooker going. It's easy and uses very little electricity. When I fill mine in the morning, it won't dry out for an entire day. If you're concerned about accidentally letting it run dry, I put a scented jar mixture in the MICROWAVE for 2 minutes to get it really hot before I add it to the slow cooker. That gives it a jump start on releasing the scent. NOTE: For a stronger scent, simply double or triple the recipe in a larger, full-size slow cooker and set it on high.
Fondue Pot Method.
If you have a fondue pot, then you have a portable scent station. Set it up in any room you'd like to scent. if you have a small ceramic fondue pot that uses a tea light for heat this will only remain warm as long as the candle lasts--3-1/2 to 4 hours. Like the slow cooker, this is a low level of heat and releases a very subtle scent--enough for a small room. Get the scent mixture boiling hot before adding it to the fondue pot. It would be yummy to set this up in our hall when we have guests. It would smell yummy when you walk through our FRONT DOOR. And, it looks pretty
Add more hot water as needed. As the water evaporates from any of these warming bowls o top it off with additional HOT water. It needs to be hot when it's added so that it doesn't cool down the temperature of the scented water. Higher heat = more fragrance.
Gift them! These make a fun, unique hostess gift. Take one along to a party as a gift for your host that can be simmered and enjoyed the next day.
Re use each mixture 2-3 times. After these have been heated and simmered for awhile, the water becomes cloudy and some of the ingredients lose their vibrant color. Although they don't look as pretty, they still smell good. Usually, you can reheat and simmer these again 2-3 times. Jar them up and refrigerate them between uses. Open the jar and give it the sniff test--if it still smells good, reheat and reuse it. Add more water as needed.
Cost saving tips
You can save, use and reuse a number of fragrant ingredients. These scents don't need to be expensive.
Leftover ginger -- If you ever cook with fresh ginger and end up with leftover pieces , this is a way to use them up before they spoil. Slice the leftover ginger and freeze it in a bag or container to have on hand for whipping up a quick batch of scented water.
Save your orange peels -- When you eat an orange, save the peel for use in scented waters. Store them in the refrigerator or freezer until you need them.
Save your juiced lemons and limes -- After you've juiced these for use in a recipe, refrigerate or freeze the leftover pieces.
Save your leftover herbs -- If you have herbs in a garden or have leftover herbs that you've purchased for cooking, they can be frozen and saved for use in these scented waters.
Use expired juices. If you have fruit juices that are past their prime, use them as a base in place of the water in these mixtures. They're both fragrant and colorful.
Use expired spices. Spices are supposed to be replaced after a year, because they lose much of their flavor. But, they still smell good! Instead of throwing out old spices, use them for scenting water.There are endless combinations for these scented waters.
If you have some additional ideas, please share. I'm always looking for a new, pleasant scent for my home.
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