Keeping your home smelling fresh and inviting is important to just about all home owners. When you walk into your home, you want to invoke a mood of calm and comfort (as well as cleanliness, of course).
What we use to keep our homes smelling great is a matter of taste, style and budget. Let's discuss.
What we use to keep our homes smelling great is a matter of taste, style and budget. Let's discuss.
How To Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh
1. Eliminate Bad Odors At The Source
We all know the usual suspects for foul smells: litter boxes, garbage cans, Mr. Jones in the bathroom....
But what if they aren't that obvious?
Follow your nose and track down any bad smells. For example, could it be mold or mildew growing on a damp wall, floor or ceiling? Is it a rotting smell, perhaps coming from a dead animal or rodent? Can it be sewage from a septic or sewer pipe?
If you suspect that the problem is with pipes and plumbing, your best bet is to contact a professional akin to Sydney Emergency Plumbing. If you think it's a wildlife issue, you should reach out to a reputable wildlife removal or pest control service. And if mold is the culprit, don't wait another minute to call a mold remediation company.
Once you've deduced what the foul smell is and taken action to resolve it, you've taken the first step toward a fresher smelling home.
Follow your nose and track down any bad smells. For example, could it be mold or mildew growing on a damp wall, floor or ceiling? Is it a rotting smell, perhaps coming from a dead animal or rodent? Can it be sewage from a septic or sewer pipe?
If you suspect that the problem is with pipes and plumbing, your best bet is to contact a professional akin to Sydney Emergency Plumbing. If you think it's a wildlife issue, you should reach out to a reputable wildlife removal or pest control service. And if mold is the culprit, don't wait another minute to call a mold remediation company.
Once you've deduced what the foul smell is and taken action to resolve it, you've taken the first step toward a fresher smelling home.
2. Keep Your Home Clean
This probably goes without saying, but the cleaner your home is, the fresher your home will smell. Be sure to stay on top of housekeeping, especially in rooms that are notorious for foul odors, like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Use natural products with fresh, citrusy scents that evoke a positive mood (such as orange or lemon) in the kitchen and bathroom--this holds true for floor cleaners, all-purpose cleaners and even dishwashing liquid. In the bedroom, calming lavender or vanilla scents work best (we love adding a few drops of essential oil to our vacuum's filter).
This probably goes without saying, but the cleaner your home is, the fresher your home will smell. Be sure to stay on top of housekeeping, especially in rooms that are notorious for foul odors, like kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Use natural products with fresh, citrusy scents that evoke a positive mood (such as orange or lemon) in the kitchen and bathroom--this holds true for floor cleaners, all-purpose cleaners and even dishwashing liquid. In the bedroom, calming lavender or vanilla scents work best (we love adding a few drops of essential oil to our vacuum's filter).
  Set of 3 Mrs. Meyers All Natural Cleaning Products, amazon.com |
  Molly Suds Natural All-Purpose Cleaner, amazon.com |
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3. Fill Your Home With Fresh, Natural Scents
Finding fresh natural scents year round isn't difficult. In fact, there's a myriad of natural fragrances just ready to be had right outside your door!
Winter: Balsam, fir and pine; cedarwood, ginger
Spring: Lilacs, cherry blossoms, honeysuckle, fresh cut grass
Summer: Clean sheets off the line, honeysuckle, roses
Fall: Apples, maple leaves, mums, clementines
You can create an easy simmerpot recipe that will fill your home with an all-natural wonderful scent with just a few ingredients:
Fill a saucepan with water and add:
Simmer on the stovetop, checking the water level regularly throughout the day. You can also do the same with a slow cooker: Add all the ingredients, fill with water, and turn on high. Once you see steam inside, remove the lid and turn on to low (or warm).
Fresh bouquets of flowers peppered throughout your home is another way to naturally fill your home with fragrance. Floral bouquets are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased right at the grocery store. Bonus: they're pretty to look at, which, naturally, adds to the beauty of your home.
4. Scent Your Home The Aesthetically-Pleasing Way
Candles, diffusers, plug-ins, wax warmers...these are the tried and true ways to scent a home. And for good reason! Not only do so many of these options smell fantastic, they're attractive as home decor, too! I start each morning by lighting a wonderfully scented 3-wick candle in a pretty candle sleeve (right now I'm enjoying warm vanilla sugar from Bath & Body Works). Not only does this scent give me the warm fuzzies this time of year, but it has my home smelling devine.
If candles or wax melts are too strong for you, a reed diffuser may be a great alternative as they aren't as heavily scented. Reed diffusers come in so many scents and styles there's one for every style of home decor. Same holds true for essential oil diffusers: with so many shapes and styles there's one that's perfect for every room of the house (the one in my bathroom looks like a succulent!).
Finding fresh natural scents year round isn't difficult. In fact, there's a myriad of natural fragrances just ready to be had right outside your door!
Winter: Balsam, fir and pine; cedarwood, ginger
Spring: Lilacs, cherry blossoms, honeysuckle, fresh cut grass
Summer: Clean sheets off the line, honeysuckle, roses
Fall: Apples, maple leaves, mums, clementines
You can create an easy simmerpot recipe that will fill your home with an all-natural wonderful scent with just a few ingredients:
Fill a saucepan with water and add:
- Peel from 2-3 oranges
- 2-4 cinnamon sticks
- Handful of cloves
Simmer on the stovetop, checking the water level regularly throughout the day. You can also do the same with a slow cooker: Add all the ingredients, fill with water, and turn on high. Once you see steam inside, remove the lid and turn on to low (or warm).
Fresh bouquets of flowers peppered throughout your home is another way to naturally fill your home with fragrance. Floral bouquets are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased right at the grocery store. Bonus: they're pretty to look at, which, naturally, adds to the beauty of your home.
4. Scent Your Home The Aesthetically-Pleasing Way
Candles, diffusers, plug-ins, wax warmers...these are the tried and true ways to scent a home. And for good reason! Not only do so many of these options smell fantastic, they're attractive as home decor, too! I start each morning by lighting a wonderfully scented 3-wick candle in a pretty candle sleeve (right now I'm enjoying warm vanilla sugar from Bath & Body Works). Not only does this scent give me the warm fuzzies this time of year, but it has my home smelling devine.
If candles or wax melts are too strong for you, a reed diffuser may be a great alternative as they aren't as heavily scented. Reed diffusers come in so many scents and styles there's one for every style of home decor. Same holds true for essential oil diffusers: with so many shapes and styles there's one that's perfect for every room of the house (the one in my bathroom looks like a succulent!).
  Cocorrena Reed Diffuser Set, Assorted Scents, amazon.com |
  Artificial Succulent Essential Oil Diffuser, amazon.com |
What do you do to keep your home smelling fresh? Let us know in the comments below.
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