 |
A nice-smelling house can really create a special atmosphere. Comforting, soothing, energizing… there are so many possibilities. Most people use things with synthetic scents, such as candles, “plugins”, sprays, melting waxes and diffuser reeds. Those are full of toxins, irritants and many even have cancer-causing chemicals. Instead, let’s detox our homes and make them smell fantastic with all-natural scents! The first one we’ll learn to make is a room spray.
I like to use this in place of “odor-eliminating sprays” and linen sprays.
What You’ll Need
- Vodka: The alcohol evaporates quickly so that your furniture and carpets don’t stay damp.
- A spray bottle: I like to get little spritzing bottles form the health food store.
- Essential oils: It is important to buy completely natural essential oils, not synthetic ones.
What To Do
- Fill the spray bottle with an ounce or two of vodka.
- Add a total of 30-45 drops of essential oils.
- Gently shake and then test spray somewhere. Smell and see if you would like more oils, then add more if you want.
I don’t make up more than an ounce or two at a time because I like to change what I’m using. Also, the potency of the oils will diminish more quickly once they have been mixed with the alcohol.
Oil Combinations
Here are a few fun ideas for scent combinations!
- Cold season: 20 drops eucalyptus, 10 drops peppermint, 10 drops tea tree.
- Holidays: 20 drops cinnamon, 10 drops orange, 10 drops cloves.
- Springtime: 20 drops rose, 10 drops lavender, 5 drops lemon.
- Sleepy time: 30 drops lavender, 10 drops roman chamomile, 10 drops neroli.
- Energizing: 40 drops of any combination of citrus oils.
Linked-up at:
- Jill’s Home Remedies: Natural Living Link-up
- A Delightful Home: Your Green Resource
- Our Simple Country Life: Hearts4Home
- A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa: Simple Lives Thursdays
- Rediscovering Domesticity: Thrive@Home
- Feminine Adventures: Thrifty Thursday
- Natural Living Mama: Natural Living Mondays
- The Prairie Homestead Barn Hop
- Nourishing Treasures: Make Your Own Monday
- Cornerstone Confessions: Titus2Tuesdays
- Growing Home: Teach Me Tuesday
- Simply Better
- Far Above Rubies: Domestically Divine Tuesday
- Teaching What is Good: Women Helping Women
- Like Mama~Like Daughter: Eco Kids Tuesday
- Deep Roots at Home: Encourage One Another
- Frugally Sustainable: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways
- The Self-Sufficient HomeAcre: Wildcrafting Wednesday
- Authentic Simplicity: Healthy2Day Wednesday
- Raising Homemakers
- The Welcoming House
|
Related posts:
Lovely! And so simple! Thanks!
(Stopping by from the Natural Living Link-Up!)
Thanks so much!!
Aw… everything calls for using alcohol, but that’s off limits for me. Even if I were comfortable buying it for myself, I couldn’t do it. Appearances and all. My father in law is the pastor of my church, my husband and I are prominently active, and we live in a small town. You really can’t go anywhere without running into someone you know- so people would wonder. It would just cause too much trouble. :/
I understand. You could just make up a tiny batch with water and use it all up or keep the extra in the fridge for a few days. The only problem with that is that it doesn’t evaporate as quickly and could leave your furniture/floors a bit damp if you spray too much. I have done it before, though. If the air in your house is dry, you can just add a few drops to a pan with very slightly steaming water. Just don’t forget to check it often. I’ve scorched so many pans doing when I forgot!!
Wonderful idea! And easy enough that I may actually try it =)
Just curious could you use rubbing alcohol instead of the vodka with the same results? Don’t always have vodka in the house, but pretty much always have rubbing alcohol…
You can, but rubbing alcohol isn’t the healthiest thing to breathe in and it does have a strong scent. If you decide to use it, I’d recommend spraying it and then leaving the room until it evaporates. After a few minutes, the essential oils should be all that you can smell.
I love that you have recipes for different seasons! What a great idea!
Thanks, Jaime! It really is fun to do the little “extras” like this.
I love room sprays. It is not necessary to use vodka for the room spray, you can use distilled water instead.. If the oils are thicker like myrrh or jasmine, then you can also use witch hazel to emulsify the oils. ( I’m only saying this since some seem to not want to use the vodka so I don’t intend to say your wrong, on the contrary, there are many ways to use the essential oils so your way is great too) I love your oil combinations..
Spritzers/room spray
2 oz. glass bottle
1 ¾ oz. distilled or filtered water
10-30 drops essential oils ( it all depends on the oils)
Optional:
¼ Add witch hazel or vodka to emulsify the oils. Important for thick oils like jasmine and myrrh.
Yes, I mentioned in reply to another comment that distilled water can be used, but it can leave furniture and carpet damp. That could be a problem in humid climates or mold-prone areas. If the house is dry, it should be okay and I have done it before.
I very much dislike the smell of witch hazel, so that wouldn’t work for me, but it might work for people who aren’t as sensitive to the smell as I am.
Thanks for the comment, Jo!
Stopping by from the Eco Kids Tuesdays Blog Hop. This looks like a great idea, I can’t wait to try it.
Fun idea! Pinning this. Thanks for sharing at Healthy 2Day Wednesday
Thanks, Steph!
Oooohhh love your spray combinations!!! I have only used lavender as a calming spray and a peppermint pick me up spray. Thank you for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
Thanks, Lea!
Thanks so much Justyn for sharing this!! I intended to make up a few bathces to fit the various needs! I featured your spray on my blog today. Hope you stop by the blog today and link up more great posts! http://likemamalikedaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/nifty-thrifting-at-eco-kids-tuesday.html
Thanks, Hannah!! I hope you have a ton of fun with it!!!