I love having a good smelling home. Most of the time, I like it to smell fresh and clean. I've been using fresh laundry-scented plug-in warmers for the past few months. But between the fall weather that makes me want cinnamon, pumpkin and vanilla over the clean scents, and the tidbits I keep hearing about all this synthetic scented stuff being unhealthy, I decided to try something new.
I was getting groceries today and picked up cinnamon sticks and whole cloves while I was there. I spent less money on them then I would spend on a small candle, and from my experience today, it should last a long time.
I put three cinnamon sticks in, a good sprinkling of cloves, a few drops of vanilla extract and a thinly sliced orange. Then, I filled the pot with water and put it on the stove to boil.
I went upstairs and came down just about choking on the cinnamon smell 15 minutes later. At least I learned that I don't need three cinnamon sticks next time! It did smell good, but I definitely had to open the windows- very strong. The house we are renting right now is very big and now, six hours later, the whole house smells like cinnamon in a strength that is just right.
I turned this back on a few minutes ago on a lower heat (I had it on high before) and I think that's a trick I'll keep in mind. On this lower heat, the mixture just gently bubbled and was less pungent than the full boil I had going before.
Overall, I'm happy with this new little non-candle venture. I saw some ideas online of different things to add and I'm looking forward to trying some of these in various combinations:
-apple peels
-orange peels (I like the idea of this one so I don't waste the orange like I did today)
-apple juice
-allspice
-lemon peel
-dried lavender (the website I looked at recommended using one cup for a boil)
-whole or ground nutmeg
-anise
On a different note, I love having a few decorations to celebrate the new seasons. In the kitchen, I have pumpkins at the sink window...
-anise
On a different note, I love having a few decorations to celebrate the new seasons. In the kitchen, I have pumpkins at the sink window...
...a cute little sign my Mom and Isaac gave me, and more little pumpkins in the glass jar I got last year for less than $10.00 at Walmart. Last year it sat on my piano holding candy for students. Its use this year is a little cuter. :-)
5 comments:
Thanks for sharing this! I tried this in the morning after peeling an orange and the house smelled so good!
Another good way for non candle scenting is to use one of those wax melting pots they sell at Michaels in the candle section. Fill it with water and drop in a few essential oil drops to your liking. Plug it in and then it does the same thing as the stove top but with less electricity. The stove though warms up the entire house, which is great in the morning!
I LOVE this!!! It's perfect! This post is so informative and looks amazing! I think my subscribers would really enjoy reading this (and anything else you'd like to share for that matter). I would love for you to come share it at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways on Frugally Sustainable today. And, I really hope that you will put Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways on your list of carnivals to visit and link to each Wednesday! Here’s the link: http://frugallysustainable.blogspot.com/2011/11/frugal-days-sustainable-ways-1.html
Warmly,
Andrea @ Frugally Sustainable
Here's the link: http://www.frugallysustainable.com
You made it! Can I just tell you that I love your story:) Thank you so very much for linking up to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways:) I'm so happy to "meet" you! I am totally loving your blog and your posts! I really hope you make Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways a part of your Wednesdays! And keep the great posts comin'
Very sincerely,
Andrea @ Frugally Sustainable
Btw...I'm posting this to my fb page now:)
I know this is for fall but I love the scent idea! Wonder if there are any like more ideas like this for winter...:)
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