How Do I Make My House Smell Good?

Boil water with lemon in it - that helps creat a very fresh smell. Bath & body works has house wamers - they're like plug-ins but don't have that chemcial smell to them. Try out the fragrences though becuase some are very overpowering. Before compact fluorescent lightbulbs they had these rings you'd place on a light bulb and add a little oil to the ring. The heat from the light bulb would warm up the oil and it added a lovely sublte scent tot he room. I had citrus, pine, lavender, lilac, rose, etc. But they don't work with the CF light bulbs. Grrrr.

http://www.food.com/recipe/apple-cinnamon-crock-pot-potpo...

Have your husband shower before bed; if the cat has ever tinkled on carpeting-remove it (the carpeting, not the cat). Use your exhast fan when you prepare fish-if you don't have one-get one. Wash the clothes daily or as needed-don't let them pile up-and try the above! You at least, must have the healthiest hearts in Minnesota!

We rent and the owner lived here and basically did homemade brews of homeopathic remedies so needless to say, the house is permiated (sp?) with a weird smell. We are going on 4 years here and in Oct I bought 2 Sentsy warmers. They are not exactly natural/organic but they work great! Now people comment on how good the house smells. They are wickless candles, heated by a lightbulb. They have all kinds of different flavors. I'm even considering getting one for each of the kids rooms. Right now I have one in the front room and back room. These are the rooms we spend all our time in. I will message you the link if you are interested. Good luck!

ETA: Oh, I don't sell it, just a happy customer. =)

Here is a link for using essential oils to make air fresheners.

http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_air-freshener-essent...

I would also think you could get some old dryer sheets (ones that have been thoroughly rinsed out and then dried) spray them with the oils and put in the air vents in the house if you have central heat and air.

Hope this helps.

Also, vinegar is a natural odor eliminator. It takes urine smells out of fabrics and such. When you clean with it, it smells like vinegar but as soon as it dries, the vinegar smell is gone. Here is a link for cleaning and deodorizing with vinegar.

http://www.vinegartips.com/scripts/pageViewSec.asp?id=7

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

SCENTSY!!

Scentsy uses food grade wax and they use HIGH quality essential oils for all of their scents. Also, since the wax is warmed, rather than burned in traditional candles, there is no soot, no smoke and no wax being released into the air for you to breath. The only thing released into the air is FABULOUS fragrance.

Also the wax is only heated to just above body temperature so there is no burn hazard from hot wax either.

The best smelling homes that I have been in are Scentsy homes.

If you would like more information please feel free to message me. :-)

or you can go to www.flamelesswarmer.com to check them out.

I used to use plug-ins but read that they are very bad for you. Now I have a scentsy that was gifted to me. It's a nice mellow scenter.
I think smells get stuck in carpet, all upholstery, plumbing, and vents. So change the vent filters with charcoal filters. use baking soda to soak up bad odors in carpet, sprinkle on and vaccum up. was all possible curtians, linens, freshen the rest with febreeze. I run vingar or bleach through the sinks and drains occasionally. I clean with scented products so it smells really clean.- not the healthiest or greenest thing to do, but it achieves the goal.

I really can't stand a perfumy house, but I think our house smells OK. I think TOO MUCH scent is just as bad.

I would change the bedding more often. I'd get a deoderizing spray for the mattress. I would also wash all his bedding and clothes with some plain white vinegar in the wash. I do this with my DH's workout gear and it works well. About a cup a load.

I also air out the room and the house whenever I can, even if it's a little chilly. Open the curtains, crack the windows.

There are also products like FreshWave that you can tuck into corners, or use while cooking to eliminate smells.

If your husband has an odor, maybe consider what he eats or what he washes with. Old Spice has odor blocker shower products. He may also need a different deodorant.

Make sure that he and your son don't workout or work hard and then not at least rinse off. My stepson stank up the papasan chair by flopping into it after workouts or practice. I kept smelling *something* downstairs. I ended up putting it in the tub and stomping on it grapes to wine style but told him I wasn't doing that again. I was either throwing it out or he was showering when he got home.

And, boys frankly smell. My nephews did. My stepson did. They had to be TOLD that they needed to wash more and really scrub and that all their clothes needed to be washed weekly and their sheets changed at least bimonthly. If we didn't tell them, my SIL and I both would have kids wearing the same clothes til they walked and even my SD will leave her sheets for a month.

If your son's hockey stuff stinks, have him spray it with Lysol or something and put it where it is least likely to smell up the house. We let my stepson's football gear (the stuff we could not wash) air outside when possible. The rest was washed with vinegar.

Try Nature's Miracle or Anti-Icky Poo for the cat smell. Make sure your cat is not marking or missing the box b/c it is sick. Get or borrow a rug cleaner and use pet shampoos on the carpets where the cat smell is.

Not all of this is organic, but look and see where you can purchase organic/less chemical products.

Get the Bad Air Sponge! It's amazing. You can find it on Amazon.

It's more likely that your mattress is the stink culprit in your room. I steam clean ours about once a year. It's so gross to see the color of the water when you're done! Lol.
I can't say enough for baking soda and vinegar! Never thought to use them until these helpful moms on here told me about it.
Also, I love scentsy! Got a warmer as a gift at Christmas and I have it on as soon as I wake up. :)

Can you open the window's more often, we do that all the time. .while our house never smells, it's just always nice to get some good ol fresh air in the home. Additionally, we NEVER wear shoes in our home , which I think helps to keep the rugs clean and fresh smelling.. Also, as for your husband, if is body odor is smelling up the room, does he drink enough water? we had a friend whom no matter what, smelled.. He too showered every day.. Turns out, he never drank much water IF at all... I really think water makes a big difference. Lastly, I think furniture can pick up odors. if for example when we cook fish , I always have the door open/window to let out the odor and you mention your son plays Hockey, well on the days when my son has played a sport and is all sweaty... then the moment he gets home, he changes his clothes... this way, no smelly stuff on the furniture. now some might say, cleaning so much is ridiculous.. but I think NOT.. it's because we take care of our house that it doesn't smell. not to mention, well, I like things neat and clean ... doing all of the above has made the difference and hasn't cost me a penny..

best of luck in whatever you decide to do..

I am interested in your essential oil answers too. Might ask someone at the healthstore where you can buy the oils. Also, for the sheets/ etc. use baking soda in the laundry to help with the odor and oils. YOu can also use baking soda on the carpet - sprinkle before you vaccuum to help neutralize odors.