How to make your home smell incredible!

Now if you’ve found this blog post, the chances are you’re very house proud,  like myself, or you aspire to be. Having a tidy, clean and organised home is very important to me and believe it or not, how my home smells is equally important.

Let’s say you’re at home and you get a phone call from a friend who is popping by to visit unexpectedly. You want your home to not only look welcoming, but smell beautiful! I am going to share my top tips for quick fixes as well as things that you can incorporate into your daily routine to ensure that your house smells good enough to eat!

This is a long one, so grab a cuppa, put your feet up and find a comfy spot before you read on!

Let’s start with the first most effective step you can take to keep your house fresh and rid of any unwanted odours:

Open the windows 

 

This may seem completely obvious but it’s a step that I do every morning when I wake up – even if it’s snowing outside! I like to leave them opened for at least an hour. In the winter I have my heating on full and I’m always rushing around so I don’t tend to feel the cold at home unless I’m sitting watching TV which tends to only happen in the evenings with two young children to look after! I especially like to air the children’s bedrooms as soon as they’re up and about. I also like to open their windows for half an hour or so in the evenings when they’re having their bath before bed so it’s nice and fresh before settling down to go to sleep. Embrace that fresh air in your home!

Next I’m going to tell you about a product that I know you’ll be familiar with. If you’re part of the Instagram home community then you will certainly know this famous multi tasking wonder!

Zoflora

Zoflora is a highly concentrated disinfectant which comes in an array of scents. My personal favourites are Bluebell Woods, Twilight Garden, Apple Orchard and Hello Spring. The recently launched Very Berry is also divinely fruity.

You can use Zoflora neat, or you can dilute it in water which is what I usually do. The only job in which I would use it neat is to clean my bathrooms or worktops. I decant it into a little spray bottle and get to work! This leaves the room smelling clean, fresh and you’ve disinfected it at the same time!

If you want your entire house to smell of Zoflora, fill your kitchen sink with boiling water and add a few capfuls of your favourite scent. The fragrant steam will fill not only the room, but you’ll be able to smell it from the top of the house. I do this every morning after I’ve cleaned the kitchen and at night before bed. I’ve recently been leaving some hot water in the bath after it’s been cleaned and pop some in there too. Why stop at the sink? This tip is particularly good if you have an en-suite as you’ll be able to smell it in your bedroom too! Also, pop some down your plug holes, drains and toilet bowls.

Another way to use Zoflora to scent your kitchen is to soak your cooker hood filters in the sink with hot water and a few capfuls. When they’re switched on after being cleaned, the scent will bounce around the room when you switch on your extraction fan.

And lastly, this is one which I do every day without fail. I pop some Zoflora into my mop bucket with boiling water and buff up my floors. Not only am I  disinfecting them, I’m making them smell gorgeous at the same time.

The best places to buy Zoflora are B&M Bargains and Savers. They tend to have the large bottles and the biggest variety.

I mentioned previously that using Zoflora on your worktops makes your kitchen smell beautiful, but remember that Zoflora is just a disinfectant. You of course also need something with cleaning properties too.

Worktop Cleaner

I like to be able to smell my worktop cleaner and I find that many of the popular brands don’t cut it. Recently when I ordered my shopping online, my cleaner of choice was substituted with CIF Power and Shine Kitchen Orange and Tangerine. I loved the fresh citreous fragrance and I could smell it long after I’d finished cleaning. Lately I’ve also enjoyed ALDI Apple and Mint multi surface cleaner. Cheap as chips, comes in a huge bottle and you can use it anywhere! Another fairly new brand to me is Method. They have an array of pretty, colourful bottles which house glorious scents. My favourites are the Clementine and Wild Rhubard. Method are also known as a natural cleaning brand, using non toxic properties. What’s not to love?

I think my favourite smell in the world is fresh laundry. I wish I could find the perfect perfume which smelt exactly like my favourite. For me, there’s nothing nicer than when someone gives you a hug or walks past you in work and you can smell their fresh clothes. I always ask what people use!

Fabric Softener 

 

I have recently fallen in LOVE with ALDI White Peach and Musk fabric softener. When I hang a fresh load of laundry on the clothes horse I can smell it’s delicious fragrance filling my home for hours after. And of course, your clothes will smell incredible too. The other evening I hung two loads of washing before bed and I could smell it from my bedroom two floors up! It smells like summer in a bottle. I’m addicted. And the price is insanely low. If you see it, buy in bulk! Another softener which I’ve found to be particularly strong and long lasting is the bog standard Lenor Summer Breeze. There’s something beautifully warm and comforting about this scent. It makes me happy. I buy the huge bottles in B&Ms and they last an age.

Candles

Oh, how I love a candle. I dread to think how much I have invested in my stock piles over the years. It’s hard to enjoy candles when you have children, but I still use them in the evenings when they’re safely tucked up in bed. I use candles all year round, not just on cold and dark evenings. I just choose lighter scents dependent on the time of year. So often I see pretty candles that smell lovely in the shop, only to be disappointed in the lack of scent throwback. Often these cheaper candles simply have the fragrance sitting at the top of the wax, encouraging you to buy only to be left disappointed when you start to burn it. I always buy from the brands I love. I’m going to mention two here that I think has the best to offer. Yankee Candle is a brand we all know and love. I could spend hours pottering in their shops. My all time favourite scent of theirs is Snowflake Cookie. It smells like buttercream, marshmallows and vanilla. It so strong that you can even smell it when it’s unlit. This may be not be your taste at all if you don’t enjoy sweet scents. If you’re more of a fresh scent lover, I’d recommend Fluffy Towels which is exactly as fresh and warm as you’d imagine and finally White Tea. White Tea smells like a spa. It is so wonderfully uplifting and relaxing. I imagine this is how everyone would like their home to smell. It’s universal, neutral but perfect.

Another brand I’ve recently grown to love and trust is Daisy Blue Candles. A small family run business which is growing rapidly in popularity. The candle design is clean and white, just how I like it, so no matter what the scent, the candle matches my décor.  I absolutely ADORE Plum and Rhubarb. It’s fruity and fresh at the same time and the scent throwback is strong. It’s my very favourtire candle of the moment. Another recommendation is Thai Lemongrass, which has a beautiful zingy ginger element to it. I love this in my bathroom. It perks up the whole room.

Room Sprays

I don’t reach for room sprays too often. They often smell quite synthetic and heady. We’ve moved on a little from this method of making our homes smell fresh, unless you’re investing in a quality brand that offers a product that’s light and lasts. I’d highly recommend The White Company. To be honest, you couldn’t go wrong in investing in any of their scents. My favourite in the range is Sechelles. It smells like laying on a warm beach, laid under a coconut tree in a beautiful exotic location. What’s more, if you enjoy their room sprays, you can buy the whole range – candles and reed diffusers. Combining these would be a match made in heaven.

Febreze

I have loved Febreze for years. The fact that this product doesn’t just mask odours, it eliminates them is exactly what you need. I don’t use their air fresheners anymore, but the fabric fresheners are really beautiful. You can’t just whip your cushion covers and curtains in the wash every week, so a quick spritz of this keeps everything smelling fresh and clean. There are lots of scents available, but the original is still the best. It’s also great to keep in the bedroom to spritz over your bedding daily, in between washes. It makes getting into bed a real treat.

Scentsy Wax Melts

Now I’ve saved the best until last. I started using Scentsy about 18 months ago and I simply couldn’t live without my wax burners. There are loads of wax burners out there and indeed an array of wax melts, but believe me, nothing upon nothing compares to Scentsy. The company offers a plethora of delightful products, each time I receive a catalogue, I can’t help but notice the brand is growing and growing. I have five wax burners last time I counted. These come in the most beautiful designs, many of which light up adding a real feature to your room. What makes Scensty different from the rest isn’t just the unbelievable selection of mouth watering scents, but the electric warmers slowly warm the wax instead of burning it, making it an ideal choice for households with children and pets as it doesn’t get too hot. I use only one cube at a time and I change them every 2-3 days to keep the scent strong just how I like it. My favourite scent is Pink Tulips. I cannot possibly describe how good this scent is, I want to bottle it and wear it as a perfume! Quite frankly I have too many favourites to mention but I shall give a few honourable mentions in the form of Vanilla Bean Buttercream, Sweet Pea Vanilla, Painted Leaves, Blackberry Vanilla, Marshmallow Mint and Oodles of Orange (Perfect for the children’s bedrooms)

Oil Diffuser

Having grown to love Scentsy so much, I decided to try some of their other products and invested in an oil diffuser. I opted for this beautiful design with soft colour changing mood lighting. You can use any oil in these, but the Scentsy ones are really gorgeous. My favourite oil is Strawberry Caramel Vanilla. It leaves a gentle yum and diffuses the oil slowly into the room creating the most wonderful atmosphere you could ever imagine. It’s like having a little spa at home.

You need to find yourself a Scentsy rep to buy from which can be tricky. I recommend using mine, she will ship throughout the UK and she’s fabulous at recommending scents. Her Instagram page is Carrie

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my tips and products recommendations. I always welcome new scents to look out for, because let’s face it, we often get used to a scent and need to switch things up from time to time.

Enjoy making your home a beautifully scented haven!

 

Love