5 Ways to Make Your Home Smell Fantastic With Essential Oils
We all want to have a fresh scent at our home, as smells have an impact on our general feeling, emotions and mood. There is convincing evidence that pleasant fragrances can improve our mood and sense of well-being. A review of scientific studies found that “fragrances directly and/or indirectly affect the psychological and physiological conditions of humans.”
Imagine that you come home after your partner cooked with ingredients that don’t have a pleasant smell such as fish and garlic. In contrast, try to imagine the great and uplifting feeling when you smell a fresh and pleasant scent.
Of course you can use commercial air fresheners, but sometimes their scent is artificial and they may contain harmful ingredients and chemicals that can cause sensitivity for people with allergies and asthma.
Instead, why don’t you use natural room scents using essential oils in various ways to fill your home with subtle scents of spices, herbs and fruits? Here are 5 great natural room scents methods using essential oils:
1. Potpourri
This is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material, that provides a gentle natural scent inside the home to give the air a pleasant smell. It is usually placed in a decorative bowl, and consists of flower petals, aromatic herbs, wood shavings, spices and usually includes a few drops of essential oil.
Potpourri can differ greatly depending on its country of origin and the plants that can be found in that region. When the potpourri loses it scent, instead of throwing it away, add few drops of essential oils of your choice to the mixture to refresh it.
2. Candles
This is a very simple form of fragrancing your home and provides gentle background scent. What’s good about this method is that the combination of the scent coupled with the gentle glow of candlelight creates romantic ambiance.
Candles are usually made of paraffin base which is derived from petroleum, but you can buy pure beeswax candles (like these) that have great scent of their own. You can add 1-2 drops of essential oils into the melted wax of the burning candle, but be very careful not to put the essential oil directly on the flame as they are flammable. Also be sure not to burn candles unattended.
Most aromatherapy candles only need to be lit for 15-20 minutes to release their fragrance into the room.
3. Aroma burner/lamp or light bulb rings
An aroma burner is a decorative unit that consists of a holder, tea light candle and a dish which allows you to warm fragrant oil to create a great aroma in any room size. As the tea light candle warms the dish containing the oil, the fragrance is carried into the air.
You can control the strength of the aroma by how much fragrant oil you add, and you can turn off the aroma burner when you leave your home and re-light the tea light candle when you return. Place 3-5 drops of your favorite essential oils in a hot water so they will slowly evaporate and scent the air.
Aroma burners come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors, and most of them are made of ceramics. A light bulb ring is a small ceramic or metal ring that can be placed on top of a lamp’s light bulb.
Simply put a few drops into the ring to fill a room with aroma. Always start on a cold light bulb and be careful not to drop the oil directly on the hot light-bulb when refilling.
4. Pomanders and herbal sachets
These are usually used for linen closets, drawers and bedrooms. Pomanders contain a mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a bag or box. One modern form of pomander is made by studding an orange or other fruit with whole dried cloves and letting it cure dry, after which it may last several years.
The modern pomander serves the functions of perfuming and freshening the air and keeping drawers of clothing and linens fresh, pleasant smelling, and moth-free.
An herbal sachet is a small cloth scented bag filled with herbs, potpourri, or aromatic ingredients. Many times scented sachets are homemade and come in many sizes, styles, shapes and fragrances. To refresh them simply add a few drops of your favorite essential oils.
5. Aromatic room mists
This is a very easy and fast way to fragrant your home without the use of electrical devises and danger of candle flame. Make your own mist by adding 10-20 drops of essential oils to a 4 ounce spray bottle of distilled water. Shake well before each use as the oils don’t mix with water naturally.
If you are interested to learn more about essential oils you can find useful information in my e-book Magical Aromatherapy. This e-book will help you to discover the power of essential oils and the most effective ways to use them: Magical Aromatherapy