Most of us enjoy having a lovely smelling home. Unfortunately you cannot just run to a local store and grab candles off the shelf and expect to have a toxic-free home. Thanks to the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, companies that produce products like air fresheners for the home, are not required to put all the ingredients on the bottles and containers. So that why it’s important to only buy from companies you can trust to be 100% toxin free, or to make air fresheners yourself.
In my post, How Air Fresheners May Be Making You Sick, I covered just how toxic basically all traditional air fresheners are. Whether it be candles, plug-ins, or room sprays, the chemicals in traditional air fresheners can leave you with health problems like allergies, sinus infections, asthma, and even contribute to cancer. This does not have to be! You can make your home smell wonderful any time of the year with scents that actually make you HEALTHIER! And since Christmas is right around the corner, I’m sharing Christmas scents specifically in this post.
So let’s make your home cozy and smelling like Christmas, shall we?
5 Non-Toxic Ways To Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas
1. Candles
Nothing spells home and coziness like the soft glow of a candle. Just lighting unscented soy candles is cozy, but why not try some of these candles with a little scent derived from essential oils? If you would like to add more scent to scented or unscented candles, just drop some essential oils on it before you burn it!
Here are some non-toxic candle options:
- Blue Spruce Essential Oil Soy Candle
- Cinnamon Essential Oil Soy Candle
- Pumpkin Pie Essential Oil Soy Candle
2. DIY Room Sprays
Room sprays offer a quick spritz of fresh air. At this time of year they are a good option to use for spraying the Christmas tree with an oil like Pine Essential Oil to give it that pine smell, whether your tree is real or not. I always have a real Christmas tree, but after a few days, the tree doesn’t give off its smell like it does at the beginning.
Basic Room Spray Recipe
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol or real vanilla extract (You can buy the real stuff or save a ton of money by making your own.)
- 20-50 drops of essential oil
- Spray bottle (preferably glass)
- Combine all ingredients in spray bottle and use!
Ok, so I know that 20-50 drops of essential oils is a huge range, and that’s because different essential oils have different strengths of smell. You can really add as much as you wish. You may want less than 20 or more than 50 when it’s all said and done. I recommend starting out with 20 and adding more if you want a stronger scent. You can use single essential oils (like cinnamon or peppermint), or you can use a combination of oils. See the suggested oils to use and some recipe ideas below!
3. Wax Warmer Plug-Ins
Wax warmer plug-ins like this one, this one, or this one are perfect for plugging in throughout the house while not taking up counter space! They can be used with essential oils instead of wax. Simple pour olive oil or coconut oil in the warmer and add essential oils of choice. The typical recommendation is 1 drop of essential oil to 1 tsp of olive oil. You can add more essential oil if you wish since this is not a mixture you are using on the skin. Please note that heating the essential oils will kill the beneficial components, so you won’t be getting the healthy benefits out of the aroma (use a diffuser for that-details below), but using essential oils instead of wax is a healthier option than the toxic wax that is typical for the plugins.
4. Diffuser
I absolutely love my diffuser. Diffusers use only cold air to emit essential oil vapors, which does not damage the molecular structure or the therapeutic properties. Diffusers can purify the air and send healing to your family. They can also emit beautiful scents that put you in the mood for Christmas – it all depends on the essential oils you use! This diffuser is one excellent option!
5. DIY Simmering Potpourri
Simmering herbs, citrus peels and essential oils on the stove is another healthy way to fill your home with fragrance. I have used this homemade Christmas scent on my stove and everyone who walked in the door declared how wonderful it smelled.
Homemade Christmas Scent
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 1/8 Cup Whole Cloves
- 1/8 Cup Peppermint Leaves
- 1/2 Orange
- 1/2 Lemon
- Combine in a pan and cover with water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer on low for as long as desired.
- Add more water as needed.
Try these other recipes too!
- Homemade Holiday Simmering Potpourri @ Whole Lifestyle Nutrition
- Christmas Potpourri @ One Good Thing By Jillee (I like the name…my friends call me Jilly, but we spell it with a y. :))
Christmas Essential Oils
Note: If you are not sure of good quality, yet affordable essential oil companies, Plant Therapy is a great option!
- Cinnamon
- Clove
- Bay
- Pine
- Cedarwood
- Mandarin
- Orange
- Tangerine
- Frankincense
- Myrrh
- Cedarwood
- Cypress
- Peppermint
- Sandalwood
- Geranium
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Cardamom
Christmas Essential Oil Blends
Here are a few essential oil blend ideas from The Complete Book Of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy. Double or triple these recipes if using for the room spray recipe above:
- Pine 4 drops
- Mandarin 2 drops
- Cinnamon 1 drop
- Mandarin 4 drops
- Geranium 1 drop
- Cinnamon 1 drop
- Cinnamon 1 drop
- Clove 1 drop
- Orange 2 drops
- Mandarin 2 drops
Here are a few blends from The Prairie Homestead:
Woodsy Air Freshener
- White Fir 7 drops
- Cedar Wood 6 drops
- Frankincense 5 drops
Cozy Holiday Air Freshener
- Wild Orange 6 drops
- Cassia 5 drops
- Clove 5 drops
You can really blend any of the essential oils together for the fragrance you love! It’s fun experimenting!
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Now it’s time for a giveaway!
Can you believe that this is the last Christmas in this decade?! Where has the time gone? I have teamed up with some pretty generous bloggers for the 6th annual Christmas Blessings Giveaway with the hopes of making this a Christmas to remember for TWO families as we close out this decade.
While we wish we could bless many more families, we were able to come up with a big prize for TWO families – $500 each (delivered via Paypal) – that we pray will make a big difference in their lives this Christmas season – whether it’s to fulfill their kids’ Christmas wishes, pay off some bills, or to help build some savings, our prayer is that it helps to lessen any financial burden and/or fills a specific need.
There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning! I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $500 worth it? I think it is! Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money toward the cash prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them. I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.
The giveaway will run from Monday, November 18th through Wednesday, November 27th (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. You must have a Paypal account to win. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.
(Click the link below!)
Linked to: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home