The secret weapon? Vinegar.
Sounds ridiculous, of course—vinegar smells terrible! The surprising truth about vinegar, however, is that it will evaporate and take bad odors with it. Try this, and see if you don’t have noticeably better-smelling air within an hour:
1. Mix vinegar and water in a spray bottle.
2. Spray generously in the air around your house.
3. Wait an hour, go outside, and come back in.
When you open that door, do you smell vinegar? Chances are you don’t; instead, you have clean air. Now that’s a magic trick.
Delivering the Good Smells
There are so many ways to get great smells wafting through your home, you might not be able to settle on just one!
- Simmering. Put some hot water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe an orange or lemon peel on the stove, bring it to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. The steam coming out of that pot will smell like November and December both wrapped together in one wonderful package.
- Candles. Who doesn’t love a great-smelling candle? Go easy, though—don’t mix scents. Pick a few that go well together or play it safe and buy two or three of the same scent, then light them throughout the house (disclaimer: might not want to go this route if you have small children or pets).
- Baking. This one might be a bit self-serving, because peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are delicious any time of the day…or night, but if you want good smells AND good eats, then baking is a surefire way to make your house smell delicious!
Try a few of these and you’ll find that your home will be sharing scents you can be proud of!