Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Sweet Scents of Home

As most of you know, I absolutely love to cook. 

But almost as much as I love to cook is how strongly I absolutely detest the smell in the house after the meal is done. 

Seriously - I can't bear it at all. Gross. 

Weird, huh? Yeah, I know. 

So, I use various methods to scent my home to keep the air sweet. 

Let's face it, isn't' it much nicer to walk into a home that smells like apples or cinnamon than a home that smells like stale bacon grease and stinky dogs?

Yup, I think so, too!

In addition to regularly cleaning my house using my favorite cleaning products, I use the following products regularly to sweetly scent my little house. 

By the way, this is not a sponsored post, and these are not affiliate links. I just like and use these products!

First off, I have a plug in air freshener - a Wallflower from Bath & Body Works - right inside the kitchen door. The scent of Farmstand Apples greets me as I come in the door. 

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The Wallflower refills last about a month, and I change out the fragrance with the seasons....or my mood. When I refreshed my living room this weekend, Apple seemed a good choice....perhaps as a nod to the season ahead, or to the fresh red pillows scattered about the room. 


Next up - candles. I LOVE candles and I have them all over my home. I don't light them every single day, but on evenings when I am cooking up a feast and we are snuggling in for a relaxing evening, you better believe they are lit! And when I'm entertaining it's like a candle-palooza in here, not kidding!
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I buy my candles from many different places - Yankee Candle, Home Goods, and Kringle Candle being the top three. 

And, of course, only when I get a great deal! Never pay full price!

I stock up during the best sales and keep a cabinet in the lower level of my house stocked with seasonal scents. 

I may or may not be obsessed with candles. I'm not saying. 

I also use spray air fresheners in my home. The one I am currently obsessed with is by The Honest Company, in the Orange Cypress Scent. 

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Unfortunately, the Honest Company no longer carries this product, but I did locate it online at Buy Buy Baby.  Needless to say, I stocked up!

I mist my soft surfaces with this freshener every morning when I tidy my house, and also right before company comes. I just love the all natural ingredients and pure essential oils used in this freshener, and the scent is just heavenly!

In the bathrooms, I keep two products - first, a can of Febreze Air Effects, of course in a seasonal scent. What else. 

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I do love me some Febreze! Do you know that this season they have both Fresh Pressed Apple and Fresh Fall Pumpkin? Needless to say, I have both ready to go once those leaves really start putting on a show!

In addition to the Febreze, I keep a bottle of Poo-Pourri in both my bathroom and the guest bathroom. 


I kid you not, real life here, folks! This stuff really works! 

What else? Oh yes, in my bedroom I have a reed diffuser on my dresser, right inside the door. 

I had one by Morgan & Grace Australia, that I had picked up in Home Goods in the spring, and it was fabulous. The scent was Jasmine & Gardenia, and I absolutely loved it. I saved the bottle so I can look for another one, but I can't even find it online! If you are in Home Goods and you see this product, grab it! The only one I can find online is on eBay, in a different scent, and it's selling for a fortune!

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Until I can find another one ten of the Morgan & Grace diffusers to hoard buy, I have a Yankee Candle Aromatherapy Spa Stress Relief diffuser in my bedroom. I can smell the subtle scent of cinnamon and frankincense as soon as I open my door. Peaceful, for sure!

I'm also a fan of incense, and always have been. There's just something about the scent that brings me back to another time and place. 

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I love this brand, and I stock up on it whenever I'm in my favorite shop in the infamous village of Woodstock. My daughters and I love to take an odd day and ramble over to Woodstock, checking out all the funky shops and grabbing lunch. Girls' day out! 

Incense is fantastic to rid the house of cooking smells, and often I will burn it on a weekend, after I've cooked off the bacon for the week. 

What, you don't cook off a whole pound of bacon on a Saturday morning and put it in the freezer for bacon emergencies? Come on, fess up! We're talking BACON here, folks!

I'm curious - how do you keep your home smelling sweet? 

39 comments:

  1. Sometimes I will put some apples and cinnimon on the stove to simmer just to get that smell.....Or cupcakes in the oven. ha.
    Lisa

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    1. Either sounds wonderful, Lisa!! I've simmered apples and cinnamon sticks or orange slices on the stove also....my problem is I'll walk away and forget about it and next thing you know? Burned pot - oh no!!

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  2. Oh, the sweet smell of coffee! I prefer plain coffee, but for a quick way to make the house smell really wonderful, I brew a pot of vanilla flavored coffee. I never drink flavored coffee, but you can't beat it for an air freshener. :>

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    1. What a fun idea - and then you could put it in the fridge for iced coffee!! :)

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  3. I guess you know that there's going to be a run on these products, Mountain Mama?

    And did you possibly guess that this kind of post is my favorite? I love to know all the domestic details of my blog friends and this was a winner.

    I still love the Williams-Sonoma recipe of putting a sprig of rosemary, some lemon slices and a tad of vanilla flavoring in a pot with water on the stove but now, with this gas range, I do worry about the water going dry. Going to try your suggestions. I'm a candle lover too. My sweet d-i-l posted on FB recently that smelling a candle burning was equal to smoking one cigarette but I'm sorry, I just refuse to believe that! Give up candles? Not likely. Sometimes they avert a nervous breakdown!

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    1. Awww, Dewena, I'm so glad you liked this post - a little peek into the inner home life and weird quirks of MountainMama!! Your recipe for simmering scent sounds wonderful - I have lemons and rosemary and will need to give this a try!

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  4. Assuming your house smells wonderful!
    I love candles in a variety of scents, but use tarts more, in an electric burner in the great room. I like vanilla plug-ins in my laundry room (near the kitty litter).

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    1. I have tarts also, and use them in an electric burner when I'm home for the day. Love them also - thanks for the reminder!

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  5. Yes I cook up several pounds of bacon at one time. Then the mess is all done and I can just grab what I need when I need it. Super simple and easy. I love to boil a little water with lemon or orange, it smells fresh to me and does the trick.

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    1. See - that's the very same reason I do it - one mess to clean up, but lots of bacon when the need hits! Glad I'm not the only one!

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  6. I'm an essential oil kinda girl. With all the allergies in my home so much is off limits. I buy from Plant Therapy and make my own cleaners, body washes/body powders, flea & tick spray along with diffusing. No one can believe we have 2 Old English Sheep Dogs and 2 cats, we also haven't been sick in years. My absolute favorite time of the year is fall, nothing better than the sweet smell of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.

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    1. How wonderful, Patti - I'd love to know your 'recipe' for home scents and instructions on how you use them to keep the smell of your furbabies at bay!

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  7. That apple scent is my favorite also from Bath and Body Works. There is something so calming about it. It reminds me of the fragrance that wafts on the wind as Caesar and I take our evening walks past the little family owned apple orchard just over the hill from us.

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    1. I think so, too, Debbie - calming, for sure! Although I couldn't use it in April, it would just be wrong - ha ha!!

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  8. OMG...I can't believe that some one else in this world feels like I do. I love to smell foods while they are cooking...but once that meal is done.. I do not want to smell anything food wise. I think cinnamon is a wonderful scent to smell...every season. I love bath and body works fragrances. I swear you had me smiling with this post. Blessings to you, xoxo, Susie

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    1. Ha ha, I knew I couldn't be the only one out there with this weird quirk! I'm glad I had you smiling, Susie - what a lovely complement!!

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  9. I love apple scented candles and fresheners. Planning a B&BW trip very soon. :)

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  10. Nag Champa Incense is the BEST! I also use lavender diffusers from Home Goods and Woodwick Candles. I prefer Vanilla and Lavendar scents in warm weather and Sandalwood, Cinnamon and Pine scents in cooler weather. I will have to try the Bath and Body Works plug ins -- thanks for mentioning those. I've tried some of the brands from the grocery stores and just don't like them.

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    1. I love my Nag Champa!! And the Patchouli Forest, Celestial, Sunrise, and Rain Forest! The grocery store plug ins just don't do it for me - I stick with the BBW ones, they just work better, in my opinion.

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  11. Not too much here...a can of citrus spray, purchase them at Home Depot because they really smell like fresh oranges. An electric burner...little scented cubes from the Dollar Store. A few candles. I don't really use any of these very much in the windows-open season, though :)

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    1. I forgot about that citrus spray - I used to have it, it was wonderful! With real orange oil! I have had to keep my windows only open a few inches at the top because of the darned bears....I miss having them wide open for all that fresh forest air coming in!

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  12. It's definitely not good for my waistline, but I use the old realtor's trick and pop cookies in the oven! ;)

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  13. I love honeysuckle candles! I also simmer cloves cinnamon and orange slices on the stove.

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    1. Oh, nice! I have a honeysuckle body wash I've been using in the shower and I just love it! And now I definitely want to simmer some cloves, cinnamon, and orange! One of my favorite combos!!

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  14. Cooking scents don't bother me at all - I think they make a house smell wonderful and "homey"! Unless you're cooking something stinky like fish or curry, lol. I won't use any artificial scents in my home, so most candles (unless natural/soy), Febreeze products, and any of those artifical sprays and plug-ins are a big no-no. We all have allergies, too so I'm careful with scents. I've been in friend's houses that use the artifical scents and I get sick with a horrible headache. Instead, I use essential oils in a diffuser. Right now I have the diffuser downstairs in the family room because that's where the cat box is. I have lemon essential oil in it and the room smells so good. :-)

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    1. I have allergies, too, but fortunately candles and scents don't trigger anything....at least not yet! I do have essential oils and a few oil burners as well, which I love. Do you use one of the electric diffusers? I've been looking at those - do you have one you love? There are so many options out there....

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    2. Yes, I have an electric diffuser. This is the one I have - and I'm happy with it, though I can understand the frustrations that the first reviewer mentions. Hope this link works! https://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Ultrasonic-Grain-Diffuser/dp/B00PMNE73Q/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1471660310&sr=8-1&keywords=now+ultrasonic+faux+wood+diffuser

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  15. Hahaha - I'm glad to hear someone else cooks the entire package of bacon at once, to use in the weeks (or in my case, week) ahead! I just love soft floral/woodsy scents in my home - nothing too sweet. My all time favorite scent is lemon verbena, but sometimes (at least my nose says) it can smell play doughy, so I have to be careful which brand I buy. Cheers!

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    1. I just got the Honest Company's Lemon Verbena spray - it's going to remind me of you when I use it now!

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  16. Ugh, I cannot use ANYTHING with fragrance in it in my home much at all - Mr. P. is highly sensitive. I can't even use Tide unscented for his clothes, as he claims it has a scent (I use Purex unscented, and wash his clothes separately). I have a Neutra Air for the bathrooms (can't remember whose brand), and I have one B&B candle I can burn (Holiday Pear)that doesn't give him fits. It's tough, because I love fragrance.

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    1. Ooh, that's rough, Rita - I'm really glad the fragrances don't bug my allergies, or anyone else in my home. Isn't it funny that the Holiday Pear candle is ok, but none of the others? Bizarre!

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  17. LOL Deb I have the potpourri and it does work. I have found those at TJ Maxx. I love candles too and burn them even in the summer months. I get my candles at Home Goods too. Great prices. Have a great rest of the week.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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    1. I burn my candles in the summer also, Kris - maybe not on the hottest, stickiest days....but most other days for sure!

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  18. I don't like the smell of meat cooking so I turn on the fan and burn a candle or two. I try to be careful about using chemicals. Would like to read Patti's recipes for what she uses. Nancy

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    1. You and me both, Nancy - I'd love to read her recipes!

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  19. I have my husband do the bacon outside on the grill...my brother works at Wegmans, and he buys already fried bacon from the salad bar area and refrigerates it. Anything with a lemon scent works, lemon scented Cascade for the dishwasher, Mrs. Meyers with lemon, a lemon down the garbage disposal. Mr. Clean for the floors in the bathroom, with lemon of course. Anytime you do a load of laundry with Tide and Downy makes the house smell nice as well..lol. This reminds me of a question someone once asked me..."If you could only smell ONE SCENT for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I am torn between, fresh baked bread, chocolate anything, cinnamon, laundry fresh from the clothesline outside and of course lemon. :)

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    1. Hey, that's a great idea, doing the bacon on the grill! Although, around here that would probably draw in my bear buddies. Eek, there's always that possibility! I love lemon scents also....but I tend to alternate scents so I don't grow tired of them. I've been using lemon dish soap, counter spray, and hand soap at the kitchen sink all summer....it's time to swap out for some apple scents I think!

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