Nothing is better than walking into a fresh-smelling house. And nothing is worse than those pesky odors that you just can't seem to get rid of. Whether you want a specific scent (hello, essential oils!) or just an overall smell of "clean," there are lots of simple ways to get your home smelling amazing, and keeping it that way.
Use Essential Oils
You can use essential oils to deodorize your home in many ways:
- With the lights off, add a drop or two of vanilla extract or an aromatic essential oil to the outside of the bulb. Let it dry. Turn the lights back on, and the lightbulb's gentle warmth will diffuse the scent.
- Pull out your favorite essential oil scents and put a few drops on a cotton ball you've placed in a shot glass. Put these around the house to diffuse a light scent.
- Put essential oils on top of a fan blade. Run the fan to disperse the smell throughout the house.
- Add essential oils to your furnace filter, air conditioner filter, and vacuum bag. It adds aroma to the air every time you turn it on.
Fast Fact
There is no such thing as "vanilla essential oil." If you want a vanilla scent, use pure vanilla extract. You can also combine vanilla extract with orange essential oil for a sweet scent.
Create Lighted Potpourri Jars
Line a mason jar with battery-operated white Christmas lights. Put in your favorite scented items, like dried citrus peel, cinnamon sticks, pine, and herbs. Turn on the lights, which will slightly warm the items inside, for a fresh aroma and a cute decoration.
Quick Tip
Leave the lid off of the jar so the scent can escape! Alternatively, you can punch holes in the top of the jar.
Simmer Baking Soda in a Slow Cooker
Put a cup of baking soda and a good amount of water into a slow cooker. Put the slow cooker in a room that has an odor and plug it in on low for about an hour. The baking soda will neutralize the odor.
Related: Other Places You Can Use Baking Soda to Get Rid of Smelly Odors
Put Out Bowls of White Vinegar in Malodorous Areas
White vinegar is great for removing potent odors like smoke or kitty litter. Place bowls of plain vinegar in rooms with heavy odors to neutralize the stink. Just make sure that pets or small kids don't drink the vinegar.
Add Fragrant Plants to Your Home
Some house plants just smell good, like white jasmine or basil. Add them to your decor and get a bonus of fresh garden smell.
Related: 8 Fragrant House Plants That Will Make Your Home Smell Great
Put Sachets in Your Drawers
Fill a cloth bag with baking soda. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils, smush up the contents of the bag to disperse, and put these in drawers to keep smells at a minimum. (Note that oils seep through cloth, so you'll want to make sure you protect clothing and other items in the drawer.)
Put Baking Soda, Activated Charcoal, or Coffee Grounds Around the House
Put baking soda, activated charcoal, or coffee grounds in mason jars with holes punched in the tops. They pull lingering odors out of the air and look like a decoration.
Simmer Botanicals
Simmering herbs and spices is a great way to make your house smell absolutely amazing, quickly. However, it's easy to forget to check that the water hasn't all boiled out, which can ruin one of your pots. Instead, try putting herbs in the slow cooker with water. Turn it on low and just let them simmer (leave the lid off). The smell is the same, but you don't have to keep checking the water all the time. Just add more warm water when you're in the kitchen to keep the supply replenished.
Whether you boil on the stove or use a slow cooker, try any fragrant herb or spice to fill your home with scent.
- Cinnamon sticks
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Citrus peels
- Apple slices
- Cedar or pine
- Rosemary
- Vanilla extract
- Cranberries
- Mint
- Thyme
You can just add one of these herbs or a mixture of them. It's all up to your preference and how strong you want the smell to be. Have fun with it!
Try Commercial Air Freshener
If you prefer to keep your home cleaning natural, commercial air fresheners probably won't fill the brief. But there are some that just work. When natural methods aren't cutting it, give these a try.
- Home-Pourri - The makers of Poo-Pourri (totally worth the investment) made a home edition, and it's the real deal.
- Glade Plugins - For teen room funk, these are hard to beat. They do tend to get overwhelming though, so plug in for 10-15 minutes at a time if you find it's too much.
- Febreze Air Freshener - Febreze is a master of smell cover up, and these provide a nice fresh scent that's not overwhelming.
- Scentsy - Some of their waxes will literally make your mouth water. I just wish they lasted longer.
Use a DIY Surface Cleaner With Lemon
Sometimes you can just wipe down your counters and stove with a bit of lemon and it smells amazing. You can also throw it in the garbage disposal or microwave with water to freshen things up and clean at the same time. For surfaces, do a baking soda and lemon combo.
- Mix equal parts lemon juice and baking soda to create a lemon scrub for counters and sinks.
- Add water to the paste and throw it in a spray bottle for doorknobs and end tables.
Use a DIY Air Freshener
Air fresheners work to neutralize and cover up air-borne odors, which is great when you need a quick fix (or have company coming over). You can make your own air fresheners with simple ingredients that you likely already have at home with these simple recipes.
Deodorize Your Carpet With Baking Soda
Maybe it's your carpet that doesn't smell so fresh. Not to worry. You can handle that with a simple sprinkle.
- Put baking soda and a few drops of your favorite essential oil in a large salt shaker. Mix well with a chopstick to disperse the oil.
- Sprinkle it all over the carpet.
- Vacuum it up.
Need to Know
Essential oils (or any oils, for that matter) can leave stains on carpets and other soft surfaces. Test out your baking soda/oil concoction in a small, hidden area first before doing the whole carpet.
Prevent Smells in the First Place
You've probably heard over and over that prevention is the best medicine. With a smelly house, that's the truth. Learn few smell prevention techniques to keep your house smelling fab!
- Clean the smell at the source. Regularly clean and take notice of high-odor areas like garbage disposals, kitty litter, furniture, appliances, etc. You might not realize it, but over time, you become nose blind to these smells.
- Create a no-shoes-in-the-house policy. Keep shoes in a shoe rack or specific area to stop odors from being tracked in.
- Vacuum soft surfaces regularly. Sprinkle baking soda and vacuum soft surfaces regularly to eliminate smells.
- Wipe down the plastic of your refrigerator with vanilla extract to reduce odors and keep it smelling fresh. The porous plastic absorbs the mouthwatering smell.
- Empty garbage cans regularly. Add a newspaper to the bottom and sprinkle a bit of baking soda to help absorb odors.
- Open the windows and let the fresh air in.
- Circulate and clean the air. You may not be able to open the windows in the winter, but you can still make sure the air doesn't get stagnant with box fans, humidifiers, and air purifiers.
Make Your House Smell Amazing Without Much Work
It doesn't take a lot to get rid of odors in your home. A little baking soda here, some coffee there, and you'll be amazed at how fresh things smell. Just remember to keep it up and check the typical smelly areas (like the garbage disposal) when an odd aroma filters in.
