Your home has it's own unique scent. Hopefully yours smells clean, fresh, or like a just baked pie, not musty, stale or like a wet dog. That smell affects how your visitors perceive your home and the experience they have in it. It may be hard to feel the presence and love of God in your home when someone is distracted by ugly smells. You want good smells, not bad ones, to be associated with your home.
The problem is we get used to the smell of our own homes. But when others come over they notice! You want to be remembered for your hospitality and your home as haven that carries the presence and love of God, not as a place that smelled weird. So, today I've got some tips on creating lovely scents in your home.
Get rid of bad smells.
- Open the windows and let some fresh air in
- Fabric holds scents, wash what you can.
- Use a scent neutralizer like Febreze or Smell-away on furniture and other items that are unwashable.
- Use cleaning products with no scent or a scent you find pleasing.
- Sniff out where any unpleasant smell are coming from, and correct it.
Create signature scents appropriate for each room.
Once you have neutralized the bad, you may want to create a signature scent. Create a smell for your home that when you or your visitors smell it, they think of you, your home and the hospitality they received when they were there. You can use
- fresh flowers,
- scented candles,
- potpourri,
- air fresheners
- Essential oils
But all of those can get expensive, so I've collected some stove top simmer recipes for you to try. Experiment, have fun and create a truly unique scent for your home. Let me know what combo you love in the comment section!
Use a combination of fruit, fresh herbs, spices (whole works best), and extracts.
Place cut fruit in a small saucepan. Add spices, extracts, and herbs. Fill your pot 3/4 the way with water, cover and bring to a boil. Once it reaches the boiling point, reduce to low and simmer with the lid off! Continually add liquid to prevent the ingredients from burning. You can save and reuse, just place the liquid in a jar and refrigerate once cooled.
Here are a few to try.
- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and one sliced lemon.
- 1 sliced orange, 5 cinnamon sticks, 2 tablespoons of whole cloves
- 1 sliced orange, 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2 sliced limes, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1 sliced orange
- 1 lemon, 1 tsp black peppercorns, handful of basil
Let me know what combo you love in the comment section!
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