01/23/2014
What's Your Homes Signature Scent?!
Whether you know it or not, your house has a unique smell. It can range from a light, fresh scent all the way to a musty, stale, wet dog kind of smell.
The unfortunate part is, you get so used to this smell that you don’t even recognize it when you walk through your door. But, when other people come over do they ever notice? They may feel calm and happy when they walk in, or weary and somewhat turned off. What story does your home’s smell tell?
Think about it like this. Some people have signature scents... a favorite perfume or even shampoo and when you smell it, you think of them. But inside a home is a little different; the smell of a home literally imprints itself into your mind, like a signature on paper. The homeowner has no control over what that smell is (unless they do something about it).
That’s why I refer to it as a scent signature, because it’s a unique scent stamp of that space. When we cook, renovate, or neglect to clean certain parts of our homes, the scent signature can temporarily change or progressively get worse. Smelling garlic mashed potatoes at 6 PM on Tuesday is great, but smelling them at 9 AM the next day isn’t too desirable.
We remember scents and associate memories and emotions with them. That’s why so many stores invest in creating a scent signature that translates into dollars Just think about the last time you walked into an Abercrombie and Fitch store.
It’s quite simple to see the importance of having a positive scent signature at home! Companies will create products to do this for you, by offering up every scent combination they can think of in the form of candles, plug in air-fresheners and room sprays. This can become expensive, confusing if you use multiple scents and can put a lot of unnecessary chemicals into your home.
So, if you want to change your home’s scent signature, I have a few really easy and fun things to try, and they cost next to nothing do.
First, think about what scents you love; it’s different for everyone. You can even think about the seasons and what you want your home to smell like based on what season it is. Now, you know what to base your scents around. Also, you likely don’t want your bathroom smelling like freshly baked cookies (or perhaps you do) so consider a room-appropriate scent.
**How to Make Natural Home Deodorizers**
1. Cut any fruits and place in water, add spices, extracts and herbs.
2. Fill your pot with water; 3/4 the way full, and boil.
3. As soon as it reaches the boiling point, reduce to low heat and simmer.
Now, gorgeously scented v***r will travel throughout your home, changing the scent signature and overpowering other smells in your home.
Often times, realtors will tell you to bake cookies or boil cinnamon sticks or vanilla on your stove top to create a scent in your home, and this is an elaborate extension of that idea.
You can let the pot simmer (attended) for hours on end, continually adding liquid to prevent the ingredients from burning.
When you have had enough, you can jar the liquid and ingredients up, refrigerate once cooled and use a few more times (keeping in mind some fruits and herbs hold up better than others for prolonged periods of time). This can keep for about a week.
If you are headed somewhere for dinner, you can jar up your favorite recipe and give it to your host in lieu of wine or flowers. It looks quite pretty when placed in a mason jar. You can even get extra fancy and use twine or ribbon to tie it up.
