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Today I am sharing all of my simple tricks to make your home smell amazing that take just a few minutes!
Last week we shared some of our $1 (or free) spring cleaning tips to try this season, and I wanted to follow up with little simple tricks that make your home smell amazing too.
I never thought about doing a post like this since most of the things I do around the house I do out of habit now, usually without even thinking twice. My husband asked me a few months ago, why are you putting that stuff in the trashcan??? I told him it was so the trashcan smelled amazing all the time. I also have people on instagram stories asking me about things, so today I am sharing all the tricks!
Simple Tricks to Make Your Home Smell Amazing
Put rose oil or lavender oil in your vacuum cleaner filters
I have done this for years! People always say my house smells so good especially after I vacuum. I just drop some of this rose oil onto the washable filters. Every time I vacuum, you can smell this wonderful rose scent around the home. Plus it keeps the vacuum from smelling musty. Also, these oils last for YEARS!
Add a few slices of lemon to your dishwasher
Another thing I do each time I run my dishwasher is pop a few used lemon slices into the silverware holder. The heat activates all the natural oils in the peel while the cycle runs. It makes the entire kitchen smell like fresh warm lemon!
Clean microwave with lemon too
I clean my microwave all the time because I hate when it gets dirty. This is the easy method I use to clean it. The lemon brings out the most wonderful scent! If you want to just freshen the microwave, fill a bowl with water and a bunch of squeezed lemon juice plus the peels. Heat up for 10 minutes to steam everything. It will really bring out the lemon scent.
Add pine essential oil to your trash bin
Each time I change the trash bag, I just drop this oil into the bottom. It takes a few seconds! I LOVE the smell of pine especially for things like trashcans that can really harbor odors. The pine oil stays strong for days too. It only takes about 5 or 6 drops to get a good scent. Anytime I have friends over and they use my trashcan, they say WOW this smells so good! If you own the eBook, this is the same pine oil we use for homemade pine-sol!
Simmer citrus on the stove
In the winter months, I love to simmer fall like scents to make the house smell wonderful (and make this air freshener too). Now that we are into spring, I LOVE for the house to smell so fresh and clean. After I use citrus to eat or in smoothies, I will save all the peels (orange, grapefruit, lemon) and add them to a pot of hot water on the stove. Bring to a simmer. Let that go all day. It smells wonderful!
Add a few drops of this lemon oil to really punch up the scent!
Add dryer sheets to your drawers and linen closets.
I’ve been doing this since I lived in the dorms WAYYYY back in college lol. I used to add fresh dryer sheets to my linens and towels after washing them because my drawers always smelled musty (old dorm rooms). I hated putting fresh sheets on the bed and having that strange odor to them. So, I started adding dryer sheets when I folded everything. It became a habit, and I still do it to this day.
After I wash sheets, I fold them nicely, add in some fresh dryer sheets to the layers, then pack them into the linen closet. All of my guests rave about how good my sheets smell! I also do this with clothes in the drawers that don’t get worn often.
Burn mild scented candles
In the spring and summer, I always keep mild scented candles burning. Some of my favorite scents are clean linen, citrus, herbs, honeysuckle, and anything else garden related. I keep them burning in the morning, especially if I will be having company. I like the mild scents better than strong ones which can overwhelm people when they come over. My favorite non-toxic candles are Grow Fragrance.
Add a drop of this lemon oil to laundry
I recently started adding a drop of this lemon oil (By the way, this is a large container that will last years when using it like this) to my husbands really dirty laundry. It really enhances the laundry soap and makes everything smell so fresh. You only need one drop too. My husband mentioned his clothes smelled so amazing the last couple of weeks. This is why!
Add tea bags to musty closets and drawers
I read this tip in a magazine when I was in high school and have used it since. Add a fresh tea bag to drawers like for pajamas. It will soak up any musty smell plus add a really fresh scent to clothes. I also like to do this for shoe boxes or sock drawers. You can change them out once a month to keep it smelling great! Check out some other tips on using leftover tea bags around your home.
Make homemade air fresheners!
Last on the list is making simple homemade air fresheners. My favorite ones: rose and orange scented, lemon air freshener from the eBook, and this floral infused one! Not only are these cheap to make, but they will make your home smell SO fresh this spring. Plus, they are safe for anyone who has breathing issues 🙂
Happy Spring!
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What great tips! Thanks for sharing.
They make such a difference!
Thank you so much for this
Hope you enjoy them!
Wow… great ideas. I never thought to use easy to get items to freshen the house. I want to try the pine oil in the garbage bag. And lemons in the dishwasher. Have to clean the washer too. Thanks!
They make your house smell soooo good! Hope you enjoy using them!!
I’m not big on the lemon or lime scent even though it is a clean fragrance….but putting rose oil or lavender oil in your vacuum cleaner filters is genius! Especially when you have pets in the house. Emily @ Martinis & Bikinis
I don’t like lime scents…reminds me of food too much lol. But I love lemon, it is so fresh. Rose and lavender make the whole house smell amazing too!
Wonderful tips and I will try the lemon peel in the dishwasher today. Not only will it freshen the kitchen but sometimes my dishwasher doesn’t smell as fresh as it should when I unload clean dishes. This will probably help with that. I also love the idea of putting a drop of essential oil into trash containers. I’m not a fan of pine scent so I’ll try lemon in that too. Why didn’t I think of this! Thanks for all of your good ideas!
It does a great job of freshening the dishwasher! I hope you enjoy using it! And the lemon in the trash can is also amazing!
I love burning candles to help add some fragrance into the air. Will have to pick up some lemon oil and try adding into our laundry. Thanks for sharing these tips.
It makes the laundry smell wonderful!
Hi Alexis,
Several years ago we had color stamped concrete poured. It was a beautiful flagstone color that matched our brick color well. It looked fantastic for the first few years. We were told when it was poured that we would need to put a sealer on it every five to six years. After four years it was starting to look dull, so we had a concrete company put a sealer on it. After a month or two it started looking a milky (a dull white film on it). I called the company that put the sealer on it and told them about the milky color film that appeared they came out and pit some kind of chemical on it that made it look better for the first day or so, than the milky film came back. Do you know of anything I could try to help get rid of the milky film on our concrete? I realize that you are not a “concrete expert” but you are a chemist and thought you may have some idea that might he to remove the milky film.
Hi Shannon! My parents have this type of concrete on their back deck area and it is so pretty! They also had some issues after having a sealant put on there…it had a film over it. After trying numerous chemical cleaners, they determined it was a bad sealant mix that wasn’t adhering properly to the concrete. They had it stripped and redone, it took care of the problem. The other issue that can occur is efflorescence. I don’t have much experience with this, but here is a good article you might get some good tips from. I hope this helps some!
Hi Alexis!
Thank you soooo much for your rapid response. I very much appreciate you taking the time and for your wonderful suggestions. It gives me hope to hear that your parents had the same problem with their colored and stamped concrete and that there is a possible resolution our problem. I also appreciate the link you sent with the article (that I haven’t read yet) but will I definitely read it.
Warmest Regards,
Shannon
You’re welcome Shannon! I hope you can find a solution soon 🙂
Have 4 dogs. One rescue that is not well trained. He has diaper on but still has an order.. would like to no what you suggest . Husband will not alow me tobuy anything like books. Real stickler on things thru internet. Would appreciate what you suggest. Thank you.
If you are wanting something for pet odor, this is something that we enjoy using for smell.