Tips

Tips for keeping your home smelling festive all year round

The majority of what makes our home feel like a holiday is the cozy accents, the attractive wall decorations, and the festive decor.

Administrator

10 March, 2024

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Whether it’s cinnamon and cloves mixed with warm vanilla or pine and fresh branches, they all have their own unique scent. Remembering that can help you design your home with intention and bring joy to the holiday season. Below are some tips from experts on how to incorporate those natural scents into your space easily.

1. DIY scented decorations

Of course, we have all heard of scented candles and they are probably a must-have to add fragrance to your home, bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. However, when it comes to holiday decorations, you can get a bit more creative.

Aya Bradley, House Designer, Indoor Plants and DIY Editor at The Golden offers this advice: “Make your own scented ornaments! Mix regular apple sauce, cinnamon, and white glue. Then use a rolling pin to flatten parts of the mixture between plastic wrap.

Afterwards, you can use a cookie cutter to create any shapes you desire. Poke a hole at the top with a straw so you can loop a string through later. Bake them in the oven until they harden.”

This is not only non-toxic and easy to make, but these DIY designs also double as decorations for your tree or fireplace.

2. Diffuse essential oils

Whether you simply enjoy the scents or want to create a festive ambiance, adding an intentional essential oil blend to your space can evoke all the holiday vibes.

Joshua Blackburn, Founder and Design & Build Director at Evovolve Home shares: “A blend of pine, cinnamon bark, frankincense resin, sweet bay berry, and wild orange is a way to create a winter holiday scent. He also suggests pouring the blend directly into your diffuser or you can simply place the blend in a spray bottle.

Other ways you can add essential oils include placing a few drops on a piece of dryer sheet or adding it to your laundry process, spritzing your shower curtain and bed sheets, or spraying central objects to spread the aroma throughout your home.

3. Hot beverages

One of the easiest ways to make your home smell cozy like the holidays is to always have a batch of hot beverages on the stove. A simple one is spiced apple cider, adding flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin, or vanilla. Hot chocolate, eggnog, or holiday-themed coffee can work too.

Theresa Tesolin, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of RusticWise suggests: “You can even make pine needle tea. Simply gather and clean pine needles and steep them on your stove, then add honey or sugar to taste.”

If you’re not a big drinker, you can steep various ingredients just for their scent. Orange peels mixed with cloves, cinnamon, cranberries, and even thyme can do the trick.

4. Purposeful cleaning

Of course, there are many ways to improve the smell in your home, but what about changing the way you clean? Kyrie Luke, Founder of Healthyly Rooted Home, shared some cleaning tips that can help eliminate long-lasting holiday odors.

She says: “Mix baking soda and pine oil and sprinkle it onto the carpet before vacuuming.” Luke also encourages the use of essential oils, but instead of simply spraying everywhere, she suggests sprinkling essential oil inside your trash can to reduce unpleasant odors.

You can also upgrade your hand soap to winter-themed scents: pine, cinnamon, or even vanilla, which not only make your hands smell good but also help keep your bathroom always fresh.

5. Natural scent blends

If you are looking for a more natural DIY approach, try creating your own uniquely scented blend. Start with a variety of fruits and herbs that have great fragrances, such as oranges, pine, cinnamon, apples, etc.

The interior design team at Retro Designers suggests: “Slice your fruit into thin strips and place them on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 200 degrees for about 2-4 hours, flipping occasionally or until dried.

Once done baking, you can display the dried fruit in a bowl or decorative jar, sprinkle cinnamon and pine branches over them. Or you can also use the dried fruit to make a potpourri: simply put the fruit and spices like cinnamon, pine, etc. into a pot along with 1 or 1/2 cup of water and simmer it until it smells fragrant.”

You can also use dried and baked fruit to make scented wreaths, stringing them together with needles and twine. However, be cautious in doing this so that they don’t become too overwhelming in color and fragrance. Sometimes less can be more.

6. Bake

One of the easiest ways to make your home smell like the holidays is to bake. There is no doubt that from baking sugar cookies and gingerbread to making a batch of Christmas shortbread, this will make the holiday spirit waft through your home when you bake.

Baking is a great way to make a home feel cheerful and cozy for any guests that drop by. And the best part is, you don’t have to spend too much money on ingredients.

According to VOV

Frequently asked questions

Yes, there are several creative ways to make your space smell festive. You can make scented ornaments by mixing applesauce, cinnamon, and glue, then baking them. Another idea is to create your own natural scent blends by drying fruit slices in the oven and displaying them with cinnamon and pine branches. Baking is also a form of DIY scent diffusion, filling your home with the aroma of fresh cookies or holiday-themed treats.

Adding essential oils to your space can instantly evoke holiday vibes. Try blending pine, cinnamon bark, frankincense, bay berry, and wild orange. You can use a diffuser, or simply place the blend in a spray bottle and spritz it onto curtains, bed sheets, or central objects. Adding a few drops to a dryer sheet or your laundry can also infuse your space with scent.

Hot beverages on the stove, such as spiced apple cider or hot chocolate, can instantly make your home feel inviting and cozy. Baking is another simple way to achieve this, filling your home with the scent of fresh cookies or festive treats. You can also steep ingredients like orange peels, cloves, and cinnamon just to enjoy the aroma, even if you don’t plan on drinking the infusion.

Changing your cleaning routine can help eliminate long-lasting holiday odors. Mix baking soda and pine oil and sprinkle it on your carpet before vacuuming. Using essential oils can also help; try sprinkling some in your trash can to reduce unpleasant smells. Switching to winter-themed hand soaps with scents like pine, cinnamon, or vanilla can make your bathroom smell festive and fresh.