I’ll admit it, my house doesn’t always smell so great. Usually it’s just certain rooms (bedrooms belonging to 2 unnamed teenage boys perhaps) and of course the bathrooms are always on high alert. Add in a cat, a fairly gaseous dog and a husband who loves to cook exotic foods and the battle to have a nice smelling house is never-ending. I have pretty much abandoned most store-bought cleaners because they’re poison (more on that in another post) so now I just make my own. Over the next several posts I am going to give you some of the recipes and methods I use to keep my house (mostly) clean and fresh. I’ll start with one you can make in 3 minutes: Easy Room Freshener.
When I say easy, I mean easy! Just put some baking soda and essential oil in a bowl and mix it up thoroughly. You can use any single or combination of essential oils you want to get a fragrance that appeals to you. I used Wild Orange and Rosemary for an invigorating scent so I wouldn’t poop out halfway through cleaning the house. I only use and recommend therapeutic grade essential oils because they are so pure you can take them internally and when it comes to my family that it very important to me. Not that anyone is eating the room freshener but if they did I don’t have to call Poison Control. Just sayin’…
I put the mixture in a 4 oz. mason jelly jar and was thrilled to finally have a use for these cute punch-cut mason jar lids I got on etsy.com a while back. You can also get them on Amazon and ebay. A piece of fabric and just the ring part of the lid would also work.
I let my boys each customize the scent of the one going in their bedrooms. Put it on a shelf or nightstand and keep the door closed. It doesn’t work very well in a large area but for bedrooms, bathrooms and other small areas it works great. When the aroma starts to fade I just add a couple more drops of oil. Okay so it’s not gonna make your house smell like a high-end day spa but it’s cheap, safe and effective and those are three very important words in a farm girl’s vocabulary.
Easy Room Freshener
1/4 cup baking soda
6-8 drops essential oils of your choice (I used 4 drops Wild Orange + 2 drops Rosemary)
Mix baking soda and essential oil in a bowl until thoroughly combined and all lumps are gone. Put in a container with a vented lid or just leave the lid off. If using a mason jar put a piece of thin fabric over the jar and secure with the ring only or go online and buy some of those darling punch-cut lids. For best results use in a small room and leave the door closed.
Robin Hughes says
Leah I really like this idea!! Thanks for the source for those cute lids!! Great job!!
Fabulous Farm Girl says
Thanks Robin. The lids are also perfect to use as the shaker top for the All-Natural Carpet Freshener.
Dave Wheeler says
OK Leah, you had to know you were gonna get this question…
Im just a dumb city boy but I gotta ask, what the heck are “essential oil’s” I’m familiar with motor oil,
chain saw oil, lawn mower oil but I gotta feeling your not talking about those. And where do I find the oils?” I bet it’s not my local hardware store.
Leah says
Hi Dave–I’m a city girl and your comment made me laugh. No worries, there are no dumb questions here and you’re definitely not alone. Essential oils are highly aromatic compounds from plants. It’s what gives a plant it’s characteristic taste and smell and what the plant uses to defend itself against predators and disease. In a nutshell, when people talk about plant medicine, they’re talking about essential oils. It’s the stuff humans have used for their ailments for thousands of years before the discovery of pharmaceuticals (which were originally, and often still, just synthetic copies of plant compounds). If you want to know where I get essential oils please just email me using my contact form and I’ll be happy to give you more information. I’m pretty sure I can help you find your new favorite “oil”. LOL! Have a great day!
–Leah
Helen says
Thanks for your recipes! I made the Poo Poo spray and it works really well. I’m just about to try the room spray.
I enjoy reading about the things you have made, thanks again for sharing.