I received the following question from frugal friend Alaina…
“My question is… how does one keep their home smelling “frugal” great, besides buying scentsy, glade, airwick, etc. Are there any homemade or DIY ways to keep it smelling good?”
I shared this question right here and on The Frugal Girls Facebook Page, and here are just a few of the awesome ideas that were shared…
Tracy said: “Boil some Apple peels on the stove with some cinnamon. Or Orange or Peach or any fruit that you have peeled… except bananas.” 
Christy said: “Mama always used cinnamon and oranges simmering on the stove – better than any candle or artificial fragrance ever!”
Rhonda said: “The simmering cinnamon is awesome!! I use it on the stove in a pot and let it simmer for a couple hours. The scent lasts for a few days, and I have animals. Only downside is when the hubby comes home from work and thinks that I have baked a pie.” 
Elaine said: “Put a little pumpkin pie spice or just cinnamon in a small pot with a little water and simmer it on the back burner of the stove for awhile. Makes the house smell like apple pie baking.”
Jennifer said: “I make my own reed diffusers by mixing 4-5 drops of essential oils into a half cup of water, and then two drops of vodka (it serves as a emulsifier). You can get reed sticks from Michaels and just use small, cheap dollar store vases. The oil and vodka go a long ways, so you can make a dozen of these for the price of just one at a store!”
Leah said: “During the Fall & Winter I boil cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or all three in a small sauce pot. It smells up the whole house in no time In Summer, I guess you could do the same with sunnier smelling items.”
Jeannie said: “Leave a dryer sheet between pillow & pillow case.”
Dixie said: “I used fabric softer sheets on my floor registers. It collects dust… plus makes your home smell April fresh immediately.”
Jennifer said: “Hang dryer sheets on your curtains when the windows are open, and let the breeze help to freshen your room. )))) Or works well using a fan too.”
Crystal said: “I use dryer sheets and wipe all the furniture down with them.”
Mary said: “To keep our home smelling good in the spring and summer, I pour a cap full of softener into our swamp cooler!! It makes the entire house smell fresh and nice!!!”
Jewels said: “Put a few drops of Peppermint Oil on a cotton ball and hide them around the house. They will freshen it up along with keeping out rodents! You can also hide dryer fabric sheets in furniture, closets etc. to keep fresh.”
Kelli said: “Essential oils can be dabbed onto a cotton ball and tucked around the house. I use different scents for different seasons, like Lemongrass and Grapefruit… or Orange.”
Diane said: “I add a couple of drops of Essential Oil on my A/C filter… it lasts for a couple of days and the whole house smells wonderful.”
Krystal said: “Put baking soda in a mason jar. Pop holes in the lid and put a few drops of your favorite essential oil in the baking soda. Randomly shake and it smells the whole room. You can even sprinkle it on fabrics and carpets, and vacuum up!! It lasts FOREVER!!!”
Kim said: “You can also dab a bit of vanilla extract or diluted essential oil mixture onto light bulbs (while turned OFF!). When they’re turned back on, the gentle heat of the bulbs distributes the scent. This is good when you don’t want to add moisture to the air. If no one in your family is chemically-sensitive, you can dab a bit of air freshener stuff or tiny bit of perfume (a little goes a long way!) onto light bulbs.”
Bobbi-Jean said: “Whenever I use fresh squeezed lemon juice, I throw the rinds in my garbage disposal… it freshens up my kitchen!”
Sandi said: “Press cloves into the skin of an orange, all the way around. Hang them from ribbons. Smells great, even after it dries all the way up…which takes a couple of weeks.”
Sheryl said: “Put a tablespoon of vanilla in a microwave safe dish – nuke for 25 seconds and set the dish wherever you want it to smell good.”
Crissy said: “Make a small cup out of aluminum foil. Put in some vanilla (cheap vanilla works fine). Place in oven at 250 for about 15 min. Turn off oven and leave cup in oven. Smells like fresh baked cookies. Great for showing a house.”
Emily said: “I’m a coffee fanatic, so every once in a while, I’ll leave out whole coffee beans in a pretty bowl.”
Margaret said: “I use ground coffee (the coffee pot kind). It absorbs odors really well. I simply put the coffee in containers and sit them around the house.”
Sharon said: “Perfume samples from magazines or a spritz of nice perfume on a cotton ball can be placed in discreet places for the scent… or you can use vanilla extract as well. Use herbal tea bags as sachets and put one in your vacuum if it has one of those cup filters instead of the bags.”
Sarah said: “A little liquid fabric softener diluted with water in a spray bottle makes a frugal Febreeze.”
Heather said: “I use the Downey Unstopables in a spray bottle. Put 1/4 cup of Unstopables in 1 cup hot water to dissolve the beads, then fill spray bottle rest of the way up with water. Makes a 32 oz. spray bottle full of a Frugal sent!!! If you want a stronger scent, add more Unstopables to your spray bottle.”
Anjanette said: “Baking soda sprinkled in the carpet and vacuumed up is good. You can also put vinegar in a dish and let it sit out a bit if you need to absorb some stinky odors.”
Sherry said: “I sprinkle baking soda mixed with cloves on my carpets before vacuuming. Takes the animal smell right out and leaves a great scent.”
Cassandra said: “Vacuum often, and spritz with vinegar… it stinks to high heaven for a couple minutes then smells fresh! Keep windows open and run a fan to circulate air, also mix a few drops of tea tree oil with water in a spritzer bottle and spray that after vacuuming. Make sure garbage cans are sealed, and keep the bunny cage cleaned regularly.”
Shauna said: “I use Baking Soda a lot! I use it on my carpets, instead of spending the extra on the carpet fresh stuff I just use regular baking soda. I have 3 dogs, and it has helped! I also use it in my garbage disposal with vinegar”
Lorraine said: “I use 1/2 Borax, 1/2 Cornmeal, sprinkle over carpets, leave overnight, vacuum the next day… all odors gone!”
Amanda said: “This may seem obvious, but you can find cheap scented candles in the clearance section in craft stores (AC Moore, Michael’s) or discount stores (Walmart, Target). They’ll usually be ugly colors or containers, or leftovers from the previous holiday, but no one says you need to leave them out when you’re done burning them!”
Kathleen said: “In my bathroom, I place a small cup of Fabuloso floor cleaner behind the toilet on the floor. You can’t see it, and it smells so good!”
Keri said: “I clean with vinegar and water, mixed 50/50. I also bake bread. Visitors often comment how good everything smells!”
Melonie said: “I dump ice cubes in my disposal, sprinkle baking soda, and add vinegar…and let it spin It freshens the disposal and kitchen.”
Carrie said: “No matter what I tried, when we used to smoke, nothing could get the odor out. I washed walls and carpets when we were getting ready to sell our home and potential buyers still picked it up. I read somewhere that running an ionizer in your home worked, and when I mentioned it to a neighbor, she happened to have one. Two days and our house smelled like new construction. You can even set half an onion next to it and the next day the onion smells like NOTHING. I think you can rent them at Ace Rent-All.”
Do YOU have any tips or tricks for keeping your home fresh??
Leave a comment & share!
I put arm and hammer dryer sheets under my floor vents. One box at the dollar store lasts for months . And I just put a new one in the vent once a week or so.
In our bathroom, we have a ceramic bowl with scented Epsom salts for our baths. When you leave it out it makes the whole bathroom smell fesh. Also we leave bath bombs in the linen closet so that when you get out new sheets they smell fresh and not like a cabinet.