Make your own ecofriendly and natural air fresheners with herbs, spices, and essentials oils with these simple DIY tutorials!
As I have started moving in the direction of using more natural products, I have noticed I have become a lot more sensitive to the smell of commercial cleaning products and air fresheners. To me, the smell is often overpowering and very chemical. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good scent, and I like my house to smell nice, but those chemical air fresheners just won’t cut it for me any more. It’s surprisingly easy, though, to make your own using just a few key ingredients, like natural herbs, spices, and essential oils.
Today I have CallCleaners South West London back again sharing how to make your very own (back in the spring they shared how to make your own natural cleaners from pantry items). I’m excited to try them both out myself. Plus, they would make some great DIY gift ideas!
Every home has a their own unique smell. You usually notice that when you are at somebody’s place, but in your own home it’s hard to tell because you are used to its scent signature.
There is a way to create a positive scent signature so that visitors associate your home with something wonderful. Many companies have the solution for you — it comes in a little package and it’s supposed to smell great. It’s called an air freshener. However, commercial air fresheners bring unnecessary toxic fumes into your residence. This is why you should consider making them yourself!
It’s easier than you think! We offer a couple of homemade freshener recipes for you. They will make your home smell incredible and like… well, like whatever you want it to smell!
Home freshener with essential oils
This recipe uses simple ingredients and is perfect for freshening anything in your home, such as your clothes, carpets, shoes, bedding, pillows, cushions, furniture, and indoor air, of course.
Here’s what you will need:
- A few drops of essential oil (lavender, eucalyptus, lemon grass and anything of your choice)
- 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda
- A clean glass container
- A clean glass spray bottle
How to make it:
Add baking soda in a small container and add in a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Transfer the mixture into a clean glass spray bottle and add water and give it a good shake. Spray it over your shoes, clothes, bedding and furniture. You can also use it to freshen the air! As the baking soda is likely to precipitate to the bottom of the bottle, make sure to shake it well before each use so that it doesn’t clog the pump.
Alternatively, you can skip the baking soda just mix water with your favorite essential oil. Again, shake well before use. It works pretty well on everything. The recipe is provided by SparklingCarpets Streatham.
Tip: To avoid mold growth, make sure not to spray so much so as to soak things.
A word of caution: When using essential oils, place them in glass containers as plastic and essential oils don’t usually go together.
Recipe with Herbs, Fruits and Spices
This DIY home freshener will spread a lovely scent all over your home!
You will need:
- Herbs and spices of your choosing
- Fruits of your choosing
- Small saucepan or pot
- Water
How to make it:
Cut the fruit into small pieces. Fill a small saucepan or pot most of the way with water, leaving some space for the other ingredients. Add all fruits, spices, herbs and extracts. Put the pot on your stove and bring it to a boil. As the mixture is cooking, you will notice a sweet scent lingering in the air. Let the mixture simmer all day, adding water to the mixture as it starts to boil down so that it doesn’t burn.
When you are done, remove the pot from heat and transfer the ingredients into a jar with a tight lid. When it cools, you can store the mixture in the fridge and reuse it a few more times.
Suggested herbs, fruits, spices and extracts for this recipe: black peppercorns, vanilla extract, almond extract, ginger, Cedar twigs, basil, sprigs of rosemary, sliced orange, cinnamon sticks, peppermint extract, sliced lemon, cranberries, apples, limes, cardamom, coconut extract.
Additional tips: Certain fruits and herbs will last longer, such as citrus fruits, lemon grass, thyme and rosemary.
Any DIY home freshener you make will probably not hold up as long as commercial air fresheners do, but they cost little to make. Plus, it’s much better to deodorize your home using natural ingredients than to let toxic fumes travel throughout your home.
Do you make you own air fresheners?
Get free shipping on your first order!
Get access to exclusive sales and updates delivered straight to your inbox! You'll also get instant access to a coupon code good for free shipping on your first order of minimalist eco-friendly jewelry for every day wear emailed to you (good for U.S.-based customers only).
Check out the Linkouture privacy policy here.
Janine Huldie says
December 7, 2015 at 6:59 amThis looks so simple and easy to make and seriously am going to try this out for our home now. Thanks Bev!! 🙂
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:21 pmAwesome! Let me know how it goes.
Kimberly Cox says
December 7, 2015 at 8:49 pmLove using essential oils for refreshing your home. Thanks for the super easy recipe.
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:21 pmEssential oils are amazing! I’ve started to get into them the past couple years.
Jennifer Corter says
December 7, 2015 at 9:06 pmThis is awesome! I am going to have to try this for sure!
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:21 pmHope you like it 🙂
Stefanie / The Monarch Mommy says
December 8, 2015 at 12:55 pmI never thought of doing this! What a great idea!
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:23 pmIt’s pretty cool, right?
Stephanie says
December 8, 2015 at 1:14 pmI had no clue making my own air freshener could be so easy. I’m going to share this with my MOPS group as we are often talking about ways to make our home greener.
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:23 pmThat’s awesome! I love trying to make my home greener. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mrs.AOK says
December 8, 2015 at 3:16 pmThank you for sharing this!! I felt awful when I read some things online about my big brand fancy smancy candle store plugins. I hit up a good sale and still have some. I should’ve done my homework before hand.
A few years ago I would never have purchased anything with “artificial” smells (besides candles I’m a sucker for candles), because I learned from a very wise man that those can be harmful to kiddos, causing allergies and eczema. I still have kids, so why have I started to falter!!?!??!! I’ll tell you why, the people before that lived here before us left their smell and we cannot get rid of it. I’ve tried everything, charcoal, bleach, vinegar, and peppermint oil. WHAAAA!
I’m going to try this!
xoxo
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:25 pmOh no!! I’m sorry about the smell of the previous people. That doesn’t sound pleasant :-/ You know, I grew up in a house with artificial home fresheners up the wazoo and I turned out fine (as far as I can tell!). Your kids will be fine, and you gotta do what you gotta do to make your house not smell like the previous folks. Blech!
Cindy @HometownQueenBee says
December 8, 2015 at 7:07 pmGreat post! I dislike using chemical air fresheners too. I like using essential oils too.
Bev F. says
December 8, 2015 at 8:25 pmThe artificial scents smell too strong and fake for me. I find essential oils to be quite soothing!
Tamara Bowman says
December 8, 2015 at 8:49 pmMm.. I love the lemongrass. Cassidy likes lavender which can be overpowering to me, but I do love it as an air freshener. We use essential oils often. Like when Athena got sprayed by a skunk!! Remember that??
Bev F. says
December 14, 2015 at 10:39 amYes! I remember that. Good to know essential oils help. I really like the smell of lemongrass also.
Heather S says
December 8, 2015 at 10:37 pmThis is brilliant. I’m sorta embarrassed to say it never occurred to me to make my own! 🙂
Bev F. says
December 14, 2015 at 10:39 amHaha, don’t worry, Heather, you aren’t the only one 🙂 It’s new to me too!
natasha says
December 10, 2015 at 6:46 pmI love the idea of making homemade air freshener. I hate using the other stuff because its horrible to breathe in.
Bev F. says
December 14, 2015 at 10:39 amYeah I totally agree, Natasha!
Wholistic Woman says
December 11, 2015 at 8:49 amLove the idea of making my own air freshener!
Bev F. says
December 14, 2015 at 10:39 amYeah, it’s such a great idea, and so easy to make!
Tawni Tamarra says
January 5, 2016 at 10:31 pmI love this post! I am a total DIYer, and I just got my first apartment. And I absolutely am all about everything smelling fresh & clean. I will definitely be trying this is the near future.
Thank you so much for sharing,
Tawni | http://www.tawnitamarra.com/
Bev F. says
January 7, 2016 at 6:40 amCongrats on your new apartment! I DIY as much as possible, too 🙂 I made the first spray with the lavender oil. It’s so easy to make and it smells so nice! Thanks for stopping by, Tawni 🙂