How To Make Your Home Smell Good Naturally
If candles, air fresheners, wall plugs and potpourri are toxic, how on earth are you supposed to make your home smell good?
It turns out you can still have a nice-smelling home without the added chemicals.
Synthetic fragrances, which can be found in most of these scented products, can be harmful to your health and well-being. Not only are they irritating to your body, but they also release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your home, polluting your air quality.
These artificial products only mask smells in your home, but using these natural tips will refresh the air and leave it smelling great, too.
No chemicals. No toxic VOCs.
You can absolutely have a non-toxic home that also smells great. Just use these natural tips:
1. Open Your Windows
Opening your windows daily is one of the best ways to make your home smell fresh.
First thing upon waking up, open your windows. This allows fresh air to circulate, removing stale air, odours, and VOCs and bringing in fresh, clean air.
Instead of masking odours with synthetic products, you want to start with fresh air.
2. Fresh Linens
Your bed linens can harbour lots of odours. We spend 8-10 hours in our bed every night – linens are bound to get smelly.
Unwashed bed linens can make your whole bedroom smell off, in a not-so-obvious way.
Wash your bed linens at least once a week to keep them clean and fresh. Air drying your linens outside in the sunlight is also a great way to sanitize them naturally, killing bacteria and viruses and give them a natural, fresh, clean scent.
3. Natural Cleaning Products
READ: Simple DIY Orange Vinegar Cleaner
If you want to make your home smell good naturally, keep it clean and tidy.
Dirty dishes and sinks, garbage bins or a full laundry hamper are bound to release odours, making your home smell not-so-great.
Keep your home tidy, mainly focusing on areas that can harbour odours such as:
- Garbages
- Kitchen sinks
- Fridge
- Closets
- Wet towels
- Shoe closet
The kitchen can especially cause a lot of odours because of food. Keep your counters clean with a natural cleaner like this DIY Orange Vinegar Cleaner; regularly empty your garbage, wash your sink and drain, wipe down the inside of your fr
DIY Garbage Scent Booster
To make your garbage less smelly, add a couple or drops of tea tree oil or peppermint essential oil to a cotton ball or piece of paper towel and place it at the bottom of the bin.
Not only does this help reduce odours but it also adds natural essential oils to your space.
Sink & Drain Detox
The kitchen sink can get pretty nasty. From leftover food scraps to dirty dishwater, it can get pretty smelly.
Instead of using chemical-based cleaners, simply sprinkle some baking soda on the drain opening and pour over a little bit of white vinegar.
It’ll fizzle up like your fourth-grade volcano science project, effectively cleaning your drain and neutralizing odours. Both vinegar and baking soda are powerful natural ingredients that absorb and remove odours better than most commercial products (and they’re non-toxic!).
Non-Toxic Fridge Cleaner
If you don’t regularly clean the inside of your fridge, well, you should.
Crumbs, spills, and even mold can all create unwanted odours. Because your fridge surfaces come into direct contact with the food you eat, it’s absolutely essential to use a natural, non-toxic cleaner.
My favourite natural cleaners that I know are 100% non-toxic and fragrance-free are my DIY Orange Vinegar Cleaner and the Branch Basics Concentrate.
Those are the only two natural cleaning products that I use to clean my fridge because I know they are safe and do a fantastic job at cleaning.
READ: How To Detox Your Home Room-By-Room
4. DIY Dryer Balls
At this point, I’m going to assume you’ve ditched toxic dryer sheets. I mean, you wanted to want to know how to make your home smell good naturally if you weren’t trying to avoid synthetic fragrance.
I totally understand the appeal of dryer sheets. They just leave your laundry smelling so great.
But, listen up, because I have an awesome natural alternative to dryer sheets that is both 100% natural and leaves your clothes smelling so good.
Wool dryer balls.
Huh? What are wool dryer balls?
Wool dryer balls are as simple as they sound. They are balls made from 100% natural sheep wool. You can buy them for less than $20, and they are the best natural replacement for dryer sheets.
Simply take your wool balls, add a couple of drops of essential oils and stick them into your dryer with your laundry. They add natural essential oil scents to your clothes as they dry and naturally reduce static cling.
Voila!
Seriously the best (and easiest) non-toxic swap I’ve ever made that leaves my clothes smelling great, which also leaves my closet and bedroom smelling lovely, too.
5. Essential Oils
Diffusing essential oils is one of the best ways to make your home smell good without chemicals. They not only make your house smell good but they can also have therapeutic effects on your health and wellness through aromatherapy.
There are dozens of essential oils, and each has a unique effect on the body. From improving mood, to relieving headaches and adding antimicrobial properties to your space, essential oils can really support your holistic health.
What’s awesome about essential oils is that they’re all natural and toxin-free (unlike commercial fragrances).
All you’ll need to start diffusing essential oils at home is a good quality diffuser and your favourite oils! I’ve had my trusty Saje diffuser for over five years now, running everyday and it’s still in mint condition. I strongly recommend their high quality diffusers so you don’t have to replace your diffuser every year.
All of my essential oils are from Plant Therapy. I like that they are transparent with the processing of their organic essential oils and their affordablibility. Because many essential oil companies are astronomically expensive, making it really hard for many households to afford!
If you’re just starting off with essential oils, Plant Therapy offers a starter bundle with 14 of their core essential oils (at a much cheaper price compared to Young Living).
6. Fresh Herbs
Adding fresh herbs around the house can add an nice mild aroma to your home while also adding flavour to your cooking!
Keep a basil plant in the kitchen or add eucalpytus to your shower. Hanging eucalyptus in the shower especially has many health benefits such as helping clear congestion, reducing anxiety, soothing cough, relieving headaches and more.
A great way to make your home smell good and support your wellness naturally.
READ: How To Get Rid Of Synthetic Fragrance In Your Home In 7 Steps
7. Beeswax Candles
Just because you ditched toxic candles doesn’t mean you have to live candle-less forever!
Beeswax candles are made from 100% natural beeswax. No, unfortunately they don’t come in a pumpkin spice waffle scent but they have their own delcious natural honey smell.
Natural honey-smelling candles? That sounds pretty darn yummy to me. Plus, no toxic VOCs, no synthetic fragrance. A happy body, mind and you!
When looking for beeswax candles make sure that they are 100% natural, pure bees wax (no additives) and fragrance-free, because some online retailers sneak in synthetic fragrances. Bonus if you support and shop local!!
I only buy Bluecorn Beeswax candles. They are made from pure beeswax, are parrafin, soy and fragrance-free and are handcrafted in Colorado.
8. Air Purifying Houseplants
9. Natural Scent Pouches
Another great way to keep your clothes smelling fresh is to make little pouches of dried herbs. Doing this not only adds a nice natural gragrance to your clothing but it also repels insects.
Some of the best dried herbs to use:
- Lavender
- Mint
- Thyme
- Eucalyptus
- Rosemary
- Cedar
- Lemon Verbena
- Cloves
How to make natural scent pouches:
To make your own scent pouches all you’ll need is natural linen pouches and dried herbs of your choice. Fill your pouches with your dried herbs and place them in your closet and dresser.
You can mix and match your dried herbs or even add a couple drops of essential oils on top for a stronger scent.
Tip: crush your dried herbs a little before you place them into your linen pouches. This helps release their aroma.
READ: 5 Best Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent Brands (Compared & Reviewed)
How you keep your home smelling good without using chemicals?