The idea for the bracing scent of this scented potpourri first caught my fancy when I was flipping through a yard sale find—a 1979 cookbook called Herbs from Cultivation to Cooking by the Herb Society of Greater Cincinnati. The original author was Rosella F. Mathieu, but I’ve streamlined the drawer sachet recipe a great deal so you can fix up a batch to freshen a winter clothes cabinet or stale summer cabin air without waiting weeks to assemble the ingredients. Make extra so you can set out a dish in the mildewy basement workshop or your guy’s shoe closet, or use it to fill the car ashtray.
Woodsy Drawer Sachets for Men
• 1 cup balsam fir needles
• 1 cup dried sweet woodruff
• 1/2 cup patchouli leaves
• 1 tablespoon each fine sandalwood chips and coarsely crushed cloves
• 2 teaspoons styrax oil
• 1 teaspoon lavender oil
1. Combine needles, woodruff and leaves in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Mix oils in a small bottle (like a baby food jar), close the container and shake well.
3. Use an eye-dropper to dribble the oil mixture onto the dry mixture, turning and stirring with a wooden spoon as you go.
4. Set it out (or in a closet—it makes a great closet freshener) in flat dishes, and make sure to crumble and crush it with your fingers when you walk by, to release fresh scents.
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