Scent-sational! (part 1)

 There are many ways to scent your home safely and naturally. You can avoid expensive air fresheners that very often use unsafe chemicals made to smell LIKE something natural, but which actually pollute the air. Instead, try some of these natural alternatives.

One choice is potpourri, which can be either simmering potpourri or dry. Simmering potpourri is normally made of strongly scented natural materials and placed in a warmer of some kind. We usually just put ours in a pot of water and place it on the stove on a very low burner, and the house is wonderfully scented in no time. Dry potpourri is usually made of dried botanicals that have essential oils added for fragrance and is then placed in an open container so that the scent can diffuse into the room. Dried potpourri gradually loses scent over time, but can be refreshed by re-applying the oils, or you can place it on the stove as simmering potpourri for one last use before discarding it.

There is no set “recipe” though you will doubtless come up with combinations that you prefer. One word of advice – keep a list of what materials and amounts you use when making any fragrance product, in case you discover something you especially like, so that you can duplicate it later. Simmering potpourri can include anything that smells good, but a common variety would be cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole cloves, rind from oranges or other citrus (or whole citrus), dried orange, and possibly bay leaf. If you want it to look pretty on the stove, toss in a handful of cranberries and use the fresh orange sliced and tossed in peel and all. Even a combination as simple as a broken-up cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, and a dash of nutmeg simmered in water can produce a home that smells as though you are baking apple pies! (Warning: simmering potpourris can make you HUNGRY.)

Next time we will talk about dry potpourris.