Learning how to make your house smell good will please and amaze your family and visitors – especially at the holidays. But, commercial potpourri products and air fresheners are often loaded with chemicals to enhance the smell. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most store-bought air fresheners consist of formaldehyde, petrochemicals, p-dichlorobenzene and aerosol pollutants. The EPA’s “Indoor Guide to Air Quality” notes that many air fresheners “release pollutants more or less continuously” and contain “volatile organic chemicals” (VOCs) that can cause respiratory distress, aggravate asthma symptoms, induce nausea, fatigue, and headaches, and even disrupt hormones. 

You don’t want your family at risk of inhaling these harmful toxins! To get the pleasing aromas and scented flavors in your home without harsh chemicals, use our safe and environmentally-friendly DIY potpourri recipes.

5 DIY Potpourri Recipes:

#1: Lavender and Rose Petals

• Lavender oil
• Rose petals

Fill a small stove pot ¾ full of water. Add 5 to 10 drops of lavender oil.  Add 4 to 5 rose petals. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add water, lavender oil and/or rose petals as needed. Just leave the pot uncovered and sitting on the stove where the pleasing scent will last 2 to 3 days. You can also add lavender oil and/or rose petals to your bath for relaxing aromatherapy.

#2: Lemon and Allspice

• 1 cup whole allspice
• 1 to 2 lemons, sliced
• 15 drop of lemon oil

Combine all ingredients in a stove pot and fill ¾ full of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add water or lemon oil as needed. (Scent lasts 1 to 2 days.)

#3: Citrus Oil

• 1 orange, quartered
• 1 grapefruit, quartered
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 lime, quartered
• 10 drops lemon oil

Combine all ingredients in a stove pot and fill ¾ full of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add water as needed. (Make this DIY potpourri fresh daily.)

#4: Vanilla Spice

• 5 to 7 whole vanilla beans, chopped (the  finer  the cut, the stronger the scent)
• 2 to 4 cinnamon sticks
• 2 whole nutmegs (may substitute 2 tablespoons of ground nutmeg)
• ¼ cup cloves
• ¼ cup almond oil

Add all ingredients into a plastic bag. Chill the bag in the refrigerator overnight. (Chilling the ingredients overnight will allow the spices to soak into the almond oil, increasing the pleasant vanilla aroma.) Add the ingredients to a small stove pot and fill ¾ full of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add water as needed. (Scent lasts 1 to 2 days.)

#5: Cranberry, Orange and Cinnamon (Great for the holidays!)

• ½ cup fresh organic cranberries
• 1 orange, quartered
• 2 to 4 cinnamon sticks (you can purchase at a craft store or health food store in the spice isle)

Combine all ingredients in a stove pot and fill ¾ full of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add water as needed. (Make this DIY potpourri fresh daily.)

Do you have your own favorite DIY potpourri recipes or air freshener ideas to help other readers? If so, please tell us in the Comments section below. Let’s help each other keep our homes smelling sweet, safe and chemical free!

Originally published in 2013, this blog has been updated.