DIY: Natural Air Freshener

Reader Contribution by Staff
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Theresa Loe is a freelance garden/culinary writer, book author and blogger who specializes in organic edible gardening and gardening with children. You can find her recipes and garden tips atwww.gardenfreshliving.com.

All the sunny weather of springtime makes me want to add more fragrant herbs to my daily routines. It is a nice way to bring some of the refreshing garden fragrances inside the home. Herbs not only add fragrance to the air, they can also lift our spirits with their aromatherapy properties. You just can’t get that from an aerosol can!

One way to freshen the air with all-natural scents is to add fragrant herbs and spices to your vacuum bag. I like to create vacuum bag sachets that I keep in a jar with my other cleaning supplies. Every time I change the bag in my vacuum, I tuck one of these little homemade sachets inside. As the air moves through the bag during vacuuming, it releases the lovely scent all throughout the home.

These sachets are especially helpful when you have pets. No more pet hair smell while you vacuum! Instead, you get the lovely garden aroma of herbs and spices. What could be lovelier than that?

Vacuum Bag Sachets

To make your own, you will need small cotton tea bags (the kind with drawstrings work best), an essential oil and some herbs and spices. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can change it according to what you like best or what you have on hand. You should be able to find the tea bags and an assortment of essential oils at the health food store.

In a small bowl, combine:

• 1 cup cedar shavings (i.e. hamster bedding from the pet store)
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice, slightly crushed)
• 15 drops of your favorite essential oil (mint or lavender work well)
• 1 cup of your favorite fragrant herb, dried (i.e. mint, lavender, lemon verbena or rosemary)

1. Mix well and then fill each of your cotton tea bags with a few tablespoons of the mixture. Store the filled bags in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

2. Add one sachet bag to each vacuum bag when you are changing out the bag.

3. If you ever find that a bag has lost its scent before you get a chance to use it, squeeze it to crush the herbs or add a drop of essential oil to the outside of the bag before you use it.

  • Published on Apr 7, 2009
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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