If you've spent any time on Pinterest you've come across pictures of oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks and other such goodness being used as a room air freshener.
I pinned such a link and immediately knew that I would try it out for myself sometime soon.
The problem though is that the budget doesn't really allow for "wasting" oranges and boiling them for no other reason than to make the house smell less like little boys and more like someone has been slaving over a stove.
One way to do this is to teach your sons how to aim better. But, there are just no guarantees here. Another way would be to slave over the stove all day. But, there's not a whole lot of room in the budget... oh, who am I kidding... I'm not going to slave over anything all day long. Here's a little secret, I'm kinda lazy.
So, I broke down and bought some oranges. I found cinnamon sticks at the Amish Bent and Dent (aka Carter's Discount Groceries) for fifty cents and for some reason I had some whole cloves from Plainview Country Store. I think they were a few years old, leftover from a hot apple cider experiment.
I filled a small pot with a couple of oranges that I quartered, the cinnamon sticks, cloves, a little vanilla and covered it with water. Put that on high until it starts to boil and then lower the temp to 2-3. When the water evaporates, add more. Pretty simple. Plus this concoction will last a few days.
Even Hotsauce loves the scent. I try not to burn candles as much as I like to, because they give S.O.S. headaches and I sometimes try to be a considerate housemate. :) This doesn't seem to bother her head much!
After doing this a few times I really started feeling like it wasn't the best use of the oranges... thereby not the best use of our money. So I stopped. It was sad.
But, whenever I get sad, I stop being sad and start being AWESOME!
That's when this brilliant idea hit me. The Turkey's love fruit. They especially love oranges and apples. So why not keep the orange peels and use them instead of the whole orange? I can still use the cloves and cinnamon sticks that I have, because I really have no other use for them. And whenever someone starts an orange and can't finish it I could use those pieces too.
And why not throw the apple cores in too? It would be worth a shot.
So, no where near as fancy looking as the ones on Pinterest. But, it still smells fabulous and for a lot less money!
Here's another tip if you decide to do this on the cheap! Once the cinnamon sticks boil in the water a few times they will start to unroll. Once you're ready to throw out the peels and cores or whatever else you come up with ... pull out the cinnamon sticks. Let them dry overnight on a paper towel or dish. When you wake up in the morning they will roll back up into their original state and be ready to use in your next batch! It's a frugal alternative to throwing them out every few days. And to be real honest I've used the same peels for up to a week. They start to look pretty gross when they cool off, but they still do the job!
I also just started using apple cores today and haven't noticed them giving off a lot of scent. But, I'm wondering if they're just being overpowered by the orange scent. I am going to keep a few cores in the fridge for a few days until this round of peels have gone "bad" and then try an apple cinnamon mixture.
I have also stopped using vanilla as I don't really pick up on that scent either, so why waste good vanilla??
I have also seen mixtures of lemon and rosemary as well as cranberry and pine. I'm sure the different mixtures are only limited by our imaginations... and budgets of course!
Have you tried any of these air fresheners? Do you have any combinations that you like best?
I pinned such a link and immediately knew that I would try it out for myself sometime soon.
The problem though is that the budget doesn't really allow for "wasting" oranges and boiling them for no other reason than to make the house smell less like little boys and more like someone has been slaving over a stove.
One way to do this is to teach your sons how to aim better. But, there are just no guarantees here. Another way would be to slave over the stove all day. But, there's not a whole lot of room in the budget... oh, who am I kidding... I'm not going to slave over anything all day long. Here's a little secret, I'm kinda lazy.
So, I broke down and bought some oranges. I found cinnamon sticks at the Amish Bent and Dent (aka Carter's Discount Groceries) for fifty cents and for some reason I had some whole cloves from Plainview Country Store. I think they were a few years old, leftover from a hot apple cider experiment.
I filled a small pot with a couple of oranges that I quartered, the cinnamon sticks, cloves, a little vanilla and covered it with water. Put that on high until it starts to boil and then lower the temp to 2-3. When the water evaporates, add more. Pretty simple. Plus this concoction will last a few days.
Even Hotsauce loves the scent. I try not to burn candles as much as I like to, because they give S.O.S. headaches and I sometimes try to be a considerate housemate. :) This doesn't seem to bother her head much!
After doing this a few times I really started feeling like it wasn't the best use of the oranges... thereby not the best use of our money. So I stopped. It was sad.
But, whenever I get sad, I stop being sad and start being AWESOME!
That's when this brilliant idea hit me. The Turkey's love fruit. They especially love oranges and apples. So why not keep the orange peels and use them instead of the whole orange? I can still use the cloves and cinnamon sticks that I have, because I really have no other use for them. And whenever someone starts an orange and can't finish it I could use those pieces too.
And why not throw the apple cores in too? It would be worth a shot.
So, no where near as fancy looking as the ones on Pinterest. But, it still smells fabulous and for a lot less money!
Here's another tip if you decide to do this on the cheap! Once the cinnamon sticks boil in the water a few times they will start to unroll. Once you're ready to throw out the peels and cores or whatever else you come up with ... pull out the cinnamon sticks. Let them dry overnight on a paper towel or dish. When you wake up in the morning they will roll back up into their original state and be ready to use in your next batch! It's a frugal alternative to throwing them out every few days. And to be real honest I've used the same peels for up to a week. They start to look pretty gross when they cool off, but they still do the job!
I also just started using apple cores today and haven't noticed them giving off a lot of scent. But, I'm wondering if they're just being overpowered by the orange scent. I am going to keep a few cores in the fridge for a few days until this round of peels have gone "bad" and then try an apple cinnamon mixture.
I have also stopped using vanilla as I don't really pick up on that scent either, so why waste good vanilla??
I have also seen mixtures of lemon and rosemary as well as cranberry and pine. I'm sure the different mixtures are only limited by our imaginations... and budgets of course!
Have you tried any of these air fresheners? Do you have any combinations that you like best?
