7gen Bloc

Lighting a match to rid bathrooms of smells after going to the toilet, is a great, eco-friendly method of air-freshening. If you have a fireplace, you can throw the used match in it so you aren't putting the match into a landfill. Clearly opening the window does the same job but some bathrooms don't have windows and sometimes even in those that do, opening the window does not make sense, e.g. in the winter.

You want your house to smell like cinnamon and apple pie? Don't buy an an air freshener. Bake a pie and share it with a friend. I love the scent of pies, cookies and roasts in the oven. Beats out any air freshener!

Another way to get your home smelling great is to put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and vacuum it up. Every time you vacuum, you release the scent into the air. Mmmmm, nice!

If you like a specific smell (like peppermint or lavender) look for eco-friendly air fresheners that use essential oils instead of petrochemical fragrances. A great company that makes these is Earthborne Products. She uses pure essential oils and water in combinations that smell great and offer aromatherapy benefits, too. You can also put essential oils in a special ring that sits on your light bulb. The heat from the light bulb warms the essential oils and makes the air smell soooo good without nasty chemicals! You can find those at most health food stores.

I love the smell of mulling spice in the fall and winter months. Buy some organic apple cider and simmer with mulling spices. Not only does it taste great, but your house will smell amazing and the aroma lasts a long time.

I mulled cider last week in the crock pot and the house smelled fantastic!

You can also buy a certified organic, earth friendly air freshener here. It is made by ONEgroup. If you have not discovered ONEgroup yet, you should check them out!

I never was big on over doing with air fresheners, perfumes and etc., but since my injury after using a product properly, put me into the hospital, a lot has changed.

Perfumes, hairsprays, air fresheners and solvents in general make me react. Breathing and headaches just to name a couple.

The coming of winter makes me dread having to close the house up. Having come from the Remodeling industry, I have always known what a "tighter" house actually means on both accounts.

So, I use real lemons and boil them and I really do open the house up even when it's winter on occasion for a few minutes at a time. I also make sure that if I shampoo the carpets, I do so without using harmful carpet shampoo. Knowing how to clean your carpets by using plain hot water is much better then using a shampoo and it does pretty good as well.

My bathroom fan is now rigged to turn on anytime someone switches on the light switch. There are many new fans that are very quiet but work well with helping keep odors down and moisture control. It also helps with the prevention of mold and all associated odors.

If you don't have an exhaust fan in your kitchen that exhausts out side properly (which I strongly suggest) then having that does not with a charcoal filter works good as a second choice.

Since I can't handle most cleaning supplies, I save tons of money using vinegar in the places I can!

I would love to learn how to make air fresheners as gifts for others so that I could visit them more often. (grin)

You can also keep some essential oil in the bathroom and just put some on a cloth or some tissue and then wave through the room when necessary. I use tea tree oil and eucalyptus and they both smell great, use very little, and are effective.

Don't forget how important it is to make sure that there is air moving through your house! 30% of the air in your home is supposed to be exchanged per hour...air exchange ventilators for new, tight homes, or a bathroom fan will help, too (but without the energy-efficiency of recovering the heat). It's especially important if your home is fairly new and was not built using environmentally/health-friendly materials.

Just as important in paying attention to what you bring into your home, is paying attention to what is already in your home, and how the air moves through your home. Now, if you live in an old leaky farmhouse, you probably don't have anything to worry about...!

I experienced chemical sensitivity some years back and even though I do not experience these symptoms any longer I try to stick with the naturals because they are best. I put drops of cinnamon essential oil in a simmering pot of water and people comment when coming in my home about how good it smells in the house. A bottle of essential oil goes a long way, so it is economically friendly and environmentally friendly. My daughter gave me this recipe for a natural freshener which I enjoy: 3 (4") sticks cinnamon 3 bay leaves 1/4 cup whole cloves 1/2 lemon , halved 1/2 orange, halved 1 quart water Combine in saucepan, bring to boil; reduce heat & simmer as long as desired. check often and add water as needed. Mixture may be stored in refrigerator several days & reused

Put drop(s) of essential oil on a bag of lavender that has lost its scent after much dryer use - to reuse over and over just repeat

When a match is struck, it produces sulfur dioxide, a "very pungent substance, to which the smell receptors are extremely sensitive." You can smell a minute amount of sulfur dioxide, but when you have done so, you will not smell anything else for a while. So, the match doesn't really get rid of the odor -- it just covers it up. All your smelling is the stronger smell.