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Natural DIY air freshener ideas for the holidays | Our Heritage of Health

I’ve always loved the scents of the holiday season, and I used to use all manner of scented candles, room freshener sprays, etc. to surround myself with those wonderful aromas.

Now that I don’t use synthetic fragrances anymore, though, I was starting to miss all of the citrusy, spicy scents that I associate with good memories from this time of year, so I decided to try some natural alternatives instead.

These natural DIY air freshener ideas are a way to still be able to enjoy all of the aromas of the holiday season without having to expose yourself to the toxic chemicals in many store bought products.

Of course, one guaranteed way to make your house smell like the holidays is to bake up a batch of gingerbread or roast some chestnuts in the oven, but since that isn’t exactly always practical, these ideas are a much easier alternative 🙂

Natural DIY Air Freshener Ideas for the Holidays

1) Simmering Herbs, Spices, and Citrus Peels

This is a really easy way to get that nice holiday scent without much work and costing just a few pennies.

Simply place some citrus peels in a saucepan filled with water and add a couple of cinnamon sticks and/or a small handful of cloves. You could also add a sprig or two of rosemary too to give it an extra woodsy scent. Bring the water to a boil for a couple of minutes, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the pot simmer on the stove for as long as you want, checking back every once in a while to make sure the water level hasn’t gotten too low.

For some other ideas for simmering air freshener scents, try this simmering orange-cinnamon air freshener recipe from The Darling Bakers or these DIY natural room scents from The Yummy Life.

2) DIY Essential Oil Room Freshening Spray

Rather than using store bought air freshening sprays with artificial fragrances, try making a homemade room freshening spray with essential oils. It only takes a minute to make, and since you only need a few drops of oils and some water, it ends up being a lot cheaper than the store bought versions too.

Here’s a base recipe to play around with:

DIY Essential Oil Room Spray:

4 oz. of water (preferably distilled)
5-10 drops of essential oils

Ideas for Essential Oils to Use

Peppermint
Orange
Bergamot
Cinnamon
Cloves
Nutmeg

Since the goal is to freshen the air in a room naturally without any chemicals or artificial fragrances, it’s important to choose essential oils that are pure.

You can have fun playing around with different combinations of oils. My personal favorite would be a mix of citrus and spice, like orange with cloves or bergamot and nutmeg. You can also try adding a splash of pure vanilla extract too to give the spray that warm-cookies-fresh-from-the-oven kind of scent.

Notes:

You can vary the amount of essential oils depending on how strong you want the aroma of your spray to be. Also, since some essential have a stronger fragrance than others, you might find that you want to use less or more depending on which oils you choose.

Distilled water is the best option to help the spray keep for longer, but you can use tap water too if you don’t have distilled. (Boiling the tap water first and then letting it cool can help to prolong the shelf life a bit.)

This recipe isn’t one that’s meant to be kept for years. The essential oils will help to act as a preservative, but if you notice any change in the way the spray looks or smells, it’s best to just toss it and make a new batch.

3) Homemade Potpourri

This is another easy, old-fashioned option to make a room smell nice naturally.

You could try putting dried citrus peels and spice in little sachets to place around the room, or you could even arrange them on a pretty plate along with some pine cones or sprigs of holly to make a decorative and aromatic centerpiece.

Another fun and traditional homemade air freshener is to make a pommander. All you need are a couple of oranges and some whole cloves (and I usually use a quilting needle or something similar to poke holes in the orange first to make it easier to put the cloves in.) Simply poke holes in the orange in whatever design you like best and place a clove in each hole. You could even wrap colored ribbon around the orange too to make it look more festive. And since the cloves help to preserve the orange as it dries out, once the holiday season is over, you can still keep your pommander to use as potpurri.

What are some of your favorite ways to make your home smell nice without chemicals?