Is anyone else amazed at the market out there for home fragrances?

[LoveMyLil'B]

I swear, there are more products out there to smell up your home! What happened to just opening a window to freshen the air? All these pug-ins and wisps, and stuff! People must really buy this stuff if there is such a huge market for it.
Of course, I live in the south, and my windows have been open all day. But even in the winter I don't feel the need to use that kind of stuff.

How do you keep your home smelling fresh in the winter?

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I'm with you on that one! I live in the North, way, way north and I'll open a window for a few min each day to freshen the house even when it's -40. I also have a lot of house plants, some of which bloom, that improve the air quality.

I don't get all the fake stinky stuff. Those plug ins are a fire hazard to.

[naturalmaman]

I Agree That stuff just stinks---open windows with cross-vent do the trick for us and we live in the Northern Mountains also. LOTS of people do not understand airing out a house around here though----and the whole focus on energy efficiency I think gets people freaked out about opening windows and wasting a few dollars on healthy, fresh air

[abbylotus]

I absolutely CAN NOT stand home fragrance "thingies"! :

I live in in Northern Michigan in a house built in 1880....we don't have to worry about smelly, dank winter air as the house is on the drafty side.

[Spastica]

Gonna play devil's advocate here.

I think the commercial stuff isn't so much as getting rid of dank smells, it's more of 'aromatherapy for dummies' thing. People want to scent their homes and spread the scent slowly but reaching all corners of the room. Most people (and I'm still learning) don't know how to deal with essential oils.

Plus, essential oils are expensive and can cause allergies or headaches if they're too strong. The ready-made commercial stuff just caters to a broader audience who don't have to buy bottles and bottles of stuff and wondering how to diffuse it properly. Also, I think people still like the romance of candles, so they burn the scented candles a lot.

[LoveMyLil'B]

'aromatherapy for dummies'

You're probably right! I'm just getting started on the EO's, but right now, nothing smells better than the breeze blowing thru my house while everyting outside is in bloom. I'm sure it's enough to drive a person with allergies crazy, but I love it!

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Spastica

Gonna play devil's advocate here.

I think the commercial stuff isn't so much as getting rid of dank smells, it's more of 'aromatherapy for dummies' thing.

I could use some 'aromatherapy for dummies', if you will kindly oblige. I have some lemon EO, orange EO, tea tree oil and lavender EO.

I have tried putting a few drops on a cotton ball and placing them strategically around the house for a gentle scent. It worked, perhaps, for half an hour, if that.

My air is fresh, I just love the scent of say...scented candles, yet I don't want extra pollution in my air.

I tried putting some vegetable oil in a little dish and adding lemon & orange EOs to it (about 5 drops each) and letting it sit. I did that in two rooms and it did nothing. [I read that suggestion somewhere, also.]

Just now, I went and put a pot on the stove, filled with water, I shook in a bunch (8 or 10?) of drops of orange EO, then I added some ground cinnamon (don't have any cinnamon sticks). I thought it might be good to add some vanilla extract but I can't find any in the pantry. Is this going to work in any way, shape or form to give me a gentle scent for my relaxing evening?

Is there anything I can do to keep a gentle scent in my home all the time? Without having to have the stove on?

I used to use scented air conditioner filter pads, which would blow a scented cool breeze throughout the house whenever the fan went on...but I'm sure the scents are far from natural, so I've stopped.

Any ideas, anyone?

[perl]

I got a little gizmo the other day at a local vitamin shop that is a type of EO diffuser. It's a little plastic thing that has thick paper (?) strip that you can put 10-20 drops of whatever EO onto. It looks like a typical plug-in thing but is especially meant for EOs. Anyway, it's nice in theory but doesn't seem to last for long. It's still too cold here to open the windows, although I try to do it for awhile each day (even though DH whines about the heat bill )
During the holidays, I like to put some water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel, etc, into a pot and simmer it for awhile - smells niiice and is non-toxic, too!

[Spastica]

I don't think natural beeswax candles are bad, in fact the same companies that sell essential oils usually make natural candles and 'aromatherapy' candles - they're like little jars of essential oil-infused beeswax.

I posted these links for another essential oil thread. It may help with learning how to disperse essential oil fragrance. There are essential oil diffusers on the market - I saw some at Whole Foods the other day.

Here are some good links:

http://home.earthlink.net/~skinesscentuals/EOList.html

http://www.greenessence.net/oil_char...oilinfo_3.html

http://www.webdeb.com/oils/diffuse.htm

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Spastica

I don't think natural beeswax candles are bad, in fact the same companies that sell essential oils usually make natural candles and 'aromatherapy' candles - they're like little jars of essential oil-infused beeswax.

I LOVE the smell of beeswax candles but they are ssssssooooooooooooo EXPENSIVE, especially the way I can burn candles. I like soy candles, too, but same thing, way expensive. I think I even posted an entire thread asking about links for inexpensive beeswax candles or supplies but didn't receive much help from that.

Thank you for the links! I'll start searching through them now.

[jannan]

i sure agree with you with just openning the damn window. i also cannot stand those scented things. i burn inscence about everyday. and i sprinkle bs mixed with eucalyptuse oil on the carpet when i vacuum.