If you’re looking for natural ways to refresh your home and make it smell like a tropical paradise or luscious forest without having to spend money on harmful chemicals, you’ve come to the right place. From baking a coconut shell to placing a block of beeswax by a sunny window, here are nine Redditor-approved tips to help rid your home of odors and make it smell amazing using all-natural ingredients you can find at home.
Repurpose a Coconut Shell
One Redditor suggests throwing a coconut shell in the oven to have your home smelling like a tropical paradise. “An accidental tip I found was baking a coconut shell in the oven makes your house smell pretty delicious,” writes the Redditor, while another adds, “Pretty much any baking will make your house smell heavenly for a while after.” Does that mean we should just keep baking cookies? Don’t have to tell me twice!
Use Pine Cones
“Where I am from, pine cones are EVERYWHERE,” writes one Redditor, sharing how they collect and bake them to help the house smell like an earthy haven. “I just grab a bunch, give it a quick rinse, and pop it in the oven at 350 [degrees] until I can smell it. Turn off oven and leave them in there to ‘cool.’”
Place Beeswax Next to the Window
Place a block of beeswax on a small plate near a sunlit window and, as it gradually melts, the aroma will permeate the entire house — infusing it with a natural fragrance that can be both soothing and refreshing. “I had a block of beeswax in a sunny window and it made the room smell fantastic!” shares one Redditor.
Add Essential Oils to a Diffuser
You can further enhance your home’s ambiance by adding a few drops of an essential oil such as lavender or cedar to a diffuser, and watch as it releases a gentle and pleasant scent that fills up the house.
Don’t have a diffuser? Try a hydrosol — aka “flower water” — instead. “If you can sustainably forage cedar you can DIY a hydrosol via steam distillation,” writes one Redditor who harvests cedar leaves and adds them to a simmer pot for a natural-smelling hydrosol.
Related: 20 DIY Green Cleaning Products
Create Your Own Scent Mix
“I like to simmer water in a big pot with orange peel, cinnamon sticks, clove and bay leaves. It smells AMAZING,” writes one Redditor. By combining citrusy notes from the orange peel, warming essences from the cinnamon, and the aromatic and earthy scents of cloves and bay leaves, you can elevate your home to help it feel and smell like a calming oasis.
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Pair Rosemary With Lemon
“I like to do a lemon rosemary scent pot,” writes one Redditor, who notes that they “slow simmer [the mix] on the stove” until “the house smells amazing and not overly perfuming!” By pairing rosemary and lemon, you can create a citrusy, aromatic scent in your home that’s capable of rivaling pricey candles and room sprays.
Related: 25 Cheap and Easy Lemonade Recipes
Make More Use of Your Coffee
A clever hack to get more use out of your java stash is to create sachets filled with coffee and scattering them around the house, shares one Redditor. “Fresh ground coffee in cheesecloth packets hidden around the house is pleasant to those who like the smell of coffee, and it will even hide pet odor.”
Use Vinegar
“If you have it, clean your AC filter and vents [with vinegar]” writes one Redditor, who also notes that adding citrus peels to a vinegar-water solution can both sanitize your home and help it smell good. “Leave your old citrus peels steeping in vinegar for 6-8 weeks. Use a 1:4 citrus vinegar to water ratio. I use this spray to naturally disinfect plus leave a pleasant lemon scent when I’m wiping everything down.”
Related: 10 Things You Should Never Clean With Vinegar
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Put Vanilla Extract on Cotton Balls
Another clever hack to infuse your home with a warm scent is to utilize pure vanilla extract on cotton balls, says one Redditor. Since vanilla extract is potent and long-lasting, it can help add a pleasant fragrance to any room in the house.
