Make your house Smell Amazing for Winter | 12 Days of Crunchy Christmas Day 3

If you, like my family, have eliminated all artificial frangrances from your home, keeping things smelling  nice can be a challenge - especially in the winter when you don't have windows and doors open to air things out. There are three ways that we especially like to keep things smelling nice around our house. Diffusing Essential Oils, Essential oil/aromatherapy Candles, and homemade potpourri.

Although I've been "into" essential oils for a while now, I've only recently purchased some small diffusers. I have fallen absolutely in love. Not only does it smell amazing, your body also gets the wonderful benefits of the properties of the essential oils you are diffusing. I'm not going to go into diffusing here - that will be for another post, but I did want to leave some suggestions for lovely combinations for a fresh smelling house. 

Diffusing 


 "Purification" blend from young living, which is a lovely and refreshing blend of  Citronella , lemongrass , rosemary, Melaleuca (tea tree),  lavandin (lavender hybrid), and myrtle.

Not only does purification smell lovely, it literally purifies the air, which is perfect for winter.

Peppermint and Ravensara. We started diffusing this when respiratory illness was running through the family. Ravensara is so good for lungs and the respiratory system. I like to combine it with peppermint, mostly because the combination just smells like winter to me (and peppermint is also great if you're under the weather). Peppermint is also refreshing and helps you keep a clear mind, which is great any time of the year ;)

Tangerine, Orange and Clove Bud. Again, I like this because is simply smells like winter. I like to add Tangerine because it's uplifiting and cheering, which is great if anyone in your family suffers from seasonal depression. Lemon is a lovely addition to this as well.

Peppermint and Lavender is such an amazing blend of relaxing and refreshing, and it is a perfect winter scent.

Essential Oil Candles



As I mentioned, we do not use anything in our house that is artificially scented, as several members of the family, including myself, are severely allergic to them. Candles were a thing I missed greatly when we made this elimination, but I have happily found Way Out Wax candles, which are scented with essential oils.
Our favorite is Cozy Home, which indeed, makes our house feel very Cozy. It's an aromatherapy blend of Cinnamon, Clove bud and Nutmeg. I also enjoy the Sweet Dreams blend at night ( I happen to be burning it at the moment as a matter of fact). Both of these are suitable for any time of the year.

Stove Top Potpourri 
This is one of our favorite things to do around here. We save all of our citrus and apple bits, like cores, peels, and the bits you don't really want to eat. This is especially great after baking or after bringing home a new bag of clementine cuties ;)

Our Favorite potpourri is Apple peels/cores, cinnamon, vanilla and cloves. The spices can be whole or ground, and the vanilla can be extract or used up bean pods.
This time of year we'll be more likely to add cranberries and orange or cuties to our potporrie. If I've made something that day with ginger, the peels and a slice or two will be added undoubtedly.You can really use any lovely smelling herbs and fruits though. (Lavender and Lemon/lime peels and a splash of vanilla  in the summer and spring is honestly unrivaled in wonderful smells.)

For stove top potpourri You'll need
A sauce pan
discarded fruit skins/cores
herb or spices
water

Simply add your spices/herbs and discarded fruit bits to a pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and simmer all day long. we usually keep a pan for 2-3 days, and add to it as the day goes on. Sometimes used tea bags will be added.
You can even add essential oils if you'd like.

I hope you enjoyed this post, I apologize for it being so late in the day again.

Thanks for reading!

~Elissa 

I purchase all my essential oils (with the exception of the purification blend mentioned) From Mountain Rose Herbs. I purchase the candles from Way Out Wax's website, but MHR also carries some of them. I am not affiliated with either of these companies, I just really like their products!