Just Like June

Hello Everyone,

By now you’ve probably caught on that I like to be in the kitchen.  Well, as much as I’d like to spend my whole day there, I have other things I need to do, like clean the house.  A clean house is a great thing, but an even better thing is a fresh-smelling house.  We have kitties in our home and people always comment that they’d never know.  Between keeping the litter box spotless (this is hubbies job) and using all-natural air fresheners, it’s possible to have a fresh-smelling home without the toxic chemicals that are in commercial air fresheners.

Now, I’m horribly allergic to Glade air fresheners and moderately allergic to all of the others.  The only one I can half-way stand is Oust Free and Clear Unscented.  But, if you’re going to use that, what’s the point?  It doesn’t really eliminate odors, so you might as well find something that smells pleasant but won’t wreck your sinuses.  Follow these tips for a fresh smelling home.

Common Sense:
The first step to a fresh smelling home uses a little bit of common sense, however it’s not the norm in the United States, so I feel it needs to be said.  Open the windows.  I don’t know how many people I know that almost never open their windows.  You can use as many air fresheners as you’d like and keep a spotless house, but the best way to keep things from smelling stale is to let the fresh air in.  During the winter or the heat of summer, this can be difficult.  However, even a cracked window in each room for 30 minutes can take the stale air out.  This is especially important if you have been running the air conditioner or the heater a lot.  This tends to dry the air out, leaving your sinuses upset and your house smelling dusty.  Try to open the windows on a daily basis.  Of course if you suffer from allergies, be sure to look at your local weather on the Weather Channel’s website (or television station) for the pollen count in your area for the day.

Natural Air Fresheners:
As our post on natural cleaning showed, there are many different ways to clean your house with harsh chemicals.  Lemon is a great disinfectant and it leaves your house smelling great.  The nice scent tends to fade though and you might be left with wanting a stronger smell.  Here are some suggestions for making natural air fresheners for your home.

Start out with a 2-3 quart, heavy-bottom pan filled with water.  Add 2 tbsp. of white vinegar and bring to a low boil. 

For a vanilla scent:  Add 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract and 1 tbsp. allspice to your water mixture.  Stir well and let simmer.  Add additional water as it runs low.

For a pine scent:  3 small to medium pine cones and 3-4 sprigs of fresh pine added to the water mixture will give you a great pine scent.  A lot of people are allergic to pine without knowing it, so use this one with caution.

For an orange scent: slice two oranges and add them to the water along with 1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract.

For an apple-spice scent: Add 1 cup of apple cider, 1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. ground cloves to your water and let simmer.  Add additional apple cider when water gets low.

Baked Goods:

Of course this advice would come from someone who bakes at least one loaf of bread a week along with other baked goods, but it goes without saying that baked goods sure can make a house smell yummy.  So, if you’re looking for a great homey smell, make a batch of simple cookies or a pie and you’re house will smell delicious in no time.  You’ll also get to reap the benefits of a yummy baked good in the end.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a random post and on Sunday, our typical baking post.  Also, a post on being a Stay at Home Mom/Housewife is on it’s way.

I hope you all had a happy and healthy New Year’s celebration.

We’ll see you tomorrow!

Cheers,
Just Like June

This entry was posted on Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 7:24 am and is filed under Around the House, Cleaning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.