How to Make Healthy, Home-made Air Fresheners

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

I haven't bought any air fresheners for many years but do like to fragrance the air sometimes, especially if I've been cooking kippers or have burnt the toast.

I keep a jar of home-made air freshener which I boil up in a saucepan and waft around the flat. The bad smells are replaced with a lovely, subtle lingering scent which you just catch for a day or so afterwards when you come in from outside.

Here's the recipe:

Into a small saucepan of water add:

Two limes, quartered, juices squeezed

15 drops of patchouli essential oil

A teaspoon of cinnamon powder or 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil

A teaspoon of grated ginger

5 Cloves

A teaspoon of vanilla essence

Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, add 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda & carry through home, wafting it about, priest-like, as you go.

It's a rich, sophisticated smell. When the mixture has cooled I pour it into a jar for use next time, topping up here and there as I fancy. It keeps for 6 to 12 weeks. Much longer than this and mould will set in. Adapt as you wish, substituting lemons for limes, leaving bits out altogether it you've run out etc.

To make your own personal air freshener, think about the smells you love.

For inspiration, have a look on your bathroom shelves. My recipe started with my favourite face cleanser, Antipodes organic lime and patchouli. I'm still experimenting. One of my favourite smells is Hoof Oil, a thick, creosote-type smell, not all that distant from Inside Summer Shed, another of my favourites that never fails to stir up memories of distant, childhood summers. I'm still looking for the right combination of ingredients to replicate the smell of the Paris flat I lived in for a while in my early 20s. So far I've got coffee, garlic, leather, aniseed. What stops me from even starting to try this one is the difficulty of replicating the subtle, tinny waft of River Seine that flowed beside the street down below. Maybe next time I go to France I'll bottle up a little bit of Seine and start from there.

For a lighter, summer smell you could start with a base of essential citrus oils like lemon, or lavender. In the summer, though, I don't bother. As I'm lucky enough not to suffer from hay fever, the windows tend to be open and fresh air with a top note of cut summer grass is the loveliest, healthiest smell of all.

Extract from: Done & Dusted - The Organic Home On A Budget by Stephanie Zia Published by blackbirdebooks.com March 2010