Everybody wants a fragrant home without off-putting odors like sweaty gym kit, dirty socks or wet dog! Did you know that there is way to achieve beautiful gentle scents without the need to spray chemicals in your home or install harsh air fresheners? Learning a little about the benefits of aromatherapy and how to use essential oils in the home can mean your life smells a bit sweeter and your health gets a boost too.
#1 Lavender
This is a wonderful scent to have in the bedroom as it’s known as a calming oil. It helps to soothe stressed out nerves and is used in many sleep aid products. A gentle scent of lavender is perfect for pillows and bedding or in a diffuser on a window sill. As well as using lavender aromatically, it can also be used topically. Adding a few drops to about 2 ounces water, you can apply it to bites, scrapes and burns. Applying it to your temples also works wonders for a stress headache and you can also add to a nice, relaxing bath before bed.
#2 Lemon
Lemon is ideal for cleaning and clearing. Use it on surfaces as the ultimate grime remover and use on a congested chest or sore throat for making you feel a little clearer. Mixed with honey, it works wonders for colds and flu but also just smells beautifully fresh if you want to air a room. A few drops will even get rid of gum stuck anywhere and adding some to your dish soap will provide extra grease-eliminating action while doing your dishes!
#3 Eucalyptus
Perfect for bathrooms as eucalyptus is antimicrobial so can be used as part of your cleaning regimen. Similar to lemon, it can also be diffused and used for respiratory problems such as coughs and blocked noses. Adding a few drops to a diffuser will also freshen up your inside air nicely. Cleverly, it can also be mixed into your pet’s shampoo to act as a flea-deterrent.
#4 Tea Tree
Such a versatile and useful essential oil to have in the home, Tea Tree is both antifungal and antibacterial. This makes the ideal choice for mixing up your own homemade household cleaner and it can be used to effectively soothe skin rashes. It helps to ease itching, can be used to naturally treat ear infections, added to your daily shampoo and used on feet to help fungal infections like athlete’s foot.
#5 Ylang Ylang or Sandalwood
These subtle, musky fragrances are perfect for adding to a clothes drawer to keep items smelling fresh. Placing a few drops onto a cotton wool ball and leaving in the drawer will result in a heavenly scent greeting you whenever you get dressed in the morning as the clothes absorb the aroma. Adding ylang ylang to bath water is also good for relieving anxiety.
#6 Frankincense
For a bit of pure indulgence, who says frankincense is only for Kings? It’s more expensive than other oils but works wonders for stress and headaches. If you’ve been having a particularly tough time of it then treat yourself to a bath with lavender, Epsom salts and frankincense for ultimate relaxation. Frankincense is also helpful in relieving pain and itchiness from bites and cuts and can be applied to scars daily to reduce their redness.
#7 Cinnamon
This is a great oil for using in the kitchen as it neutralizes cooking odors. Place an extra pan on the stove and let the water simmer with a few drops of cinnamon oil in it. The spice is perfect for masking other smells and your kitchen will be temptingly aromatic.
#8 Wild Orange
You could use this oil just for its incredible citrus scent but it’s useful for many other things too. It acts as an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and for stomach upsets. Diffuse in a room to kill germs and make it smell wonderful or mix with coconut oil for a chest rub at the onset of a cold or rubbed onto an upset tummy.
#9 Lemongrass
Got a whiffy pet? Lemongrass is just the ticket for ridding your home of pet pongs. Using a diffuser works fine but adding some diluted oil to a bucket of hot water and mopping around the heavily used areas will freshen and clean things up nicely. For carpet, if you put a couple drops onto some old newspaper and rub your vacuum nozzle over it, when you the vacuum the area, it will now smell fresh as a daisy…well, lemongrass anyway!
#10 Rose or Jasmine
A super easy way to get your clothes smelling divine is to add a few drops of rose or jasmine onto a piece of cloth and place inside your dryer. The subtle floral aroma will be absorbed by your clothes and you’ll be followed by a soothing fresh scent wherever you go.
