My kids tease me about my sense of smell. They say I am hypersensitive in this area. I will tell them to take out the trash because it reeks and they tell me they don’t smell anything! Ditto for cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, rinsing out dishrags. As I type this I am stringing things together and getting the feeling they have a selective sense of smell to go with selective hearing. Teenagers! Have you ever had a phantom smell in your house? Come on, admit it, I won’t tell. You know what I mean. It is when you can smell something is funky somewhere in the house, but you can’t find it. That is when you need me for a friend. I can find it.
I also really like clean fresh scents. I am not a big fan of commercial air fresheners, because to my sensitive sense of smell they seem “chemical” smelling. Artificial. I used to love my Paperwhite reed diffuser from Pottery Barn because the scent is heavenly, but too expensive. So I decided to grow my own paperwhites indoors to get that same smell for less. I soon learned that Pottery Barn chose to name the scent “paperwhite” because they are pretty flowers, they are so delicate and fresh looking. But the smell? First there was a faint smell of cheese. A hard cheese. In the Blue Cheese sort of cheese family. Maybe Gorgonzola. I was the only one in my household who could smell it. Then it became stronger and took on a smelly feet quality that wasn’t quality at all. When the blooms reached the smelly feet combined with blue cheese level of odor, my family starting asking what was that smell? This DIY/homemade air freshener from Better Homes and Gardens is a much better alternative. You have a wide variety of fresh scents to choose from, it is easy, it is inexpensive and you are likely to have most of .
You will need Baking Soda, a small Mason jar, cheesecloth and an essential/fragrance oil of your choice (I found essential oils at Whole Foods and Fragrance oils at Michaels Craft store).
Step 1: Put about an inch of baking soda in your Mason jar.
Step 2: add about 8-12 drops of oil. I used lavender. I found that how much really depends on how strong the scent is and how large a room you are going to put this in. So this part of the “recipe” is to “taste”!
Step 3: Set your lid on some cheesecloth and cut enough to cover the opening. Then set your cheesecloth on the mouth or rim of the jar and screw the lid on letting the cheesecloth turn with the lid.
Step 4: Finishing touches! I added a sheer drawstring bag and and some dried lavender. It looks just as cute with a bow around the neck of the jar, or some flowers. Whatever you want.
The smell is wonderful. When it wears off, just refresh with fresh Baking Soda and oil!
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What a fun idea! So great to add a fresh smell to just about any room in the house. I am so going to try this. The cheesecloth is a great idea.. 🙂
hugs x
Crystelle
Thanks Crystelle. We would love to hear about your results!
This makes a great gift and you can change up the scents for all different seasons and events. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Vicki! I agree, it would make a great gift. You could even do a potpourri basket full of different scents. Lemon for the kitchen, Jasmine for the bath…
I have a hypersensitive sense of smell too and often complain of unpleasant odors no one else seems to notice. This looks like a really good simple air freshener. Thank you for sharing it.
I think you will like the idea even more when you try it. I am so glad to hear I am not the only one with a sensitive sniffer! Glad you came by Rose.
Great idea! I love nice fresh scents. Thanks for sharing at I Made It! Monday. Be sure and grab a featured button when you link up this week.
Thanks for the shout out Amanda. Glad you like the idea! Sherri
I do the same thing but I poke holes all over the lid and it works great.
Cute idea, Kathy!
My Kids say I have a nose of a dog!! I am so with you on smells…I also tried the paperwhites…but the smell was horrible..not getting that! Sm so gonna try this…thanks!!
Bernie,
It is so nice to know there are more of us out there. Too funny you had the same experience with the paperwhites. This is one of my favorite things I have tried so far. The baking soda absorbs smells, while the essential oil gives off a nice scent of your choosing. I think you will be very pleased. Glad you came by!
Just found your blog, you guys are hilarious!! You and I would make a great team in the scent dept.! My family said I should have been hired out as a bloodhound cause I can smell E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. It’s really a curse, isn’ it? Some things you’d rather not smell. I’ve always won all the “guessing the smell games”!
P.S. I mentioned this to the middle sister, why are all your pics so elongated with big spaces inbetween each photo in all of your posts?? It’s so distorted I can tell what it is. This has never happen on any other blogs..help!
Ellie, I loved reading your comment. I am always surprised when my family isn’t bothered by a smell. I am like, seriously, you don’t even smell it? I have tried our site on different devices and asked other readers if they are having similar issues. You are the only report that things are elongated and distorted. I hope there was just some one time glitch that has resolved itself. Please come back and let us know if it is still a problem. Sherri-the baby of the family
P.S. I have several of homemade air fresheners in my house now. I love them! I can easily match it to my decor and the house stays smelling fresh with no commercial smelling perfumes. Hope it will work for you as well as it has worked for me.
Thanks for sharing! How long does it last?
Hi Valerie, I would say that my bottle of freshener lasted around 2 months. Hope that helps! Deb