How to Make Your House Smell Amazing Especially When You Have Kids & Pets

10 natural ways to make your house smell amazing, and hide those funky odors that can come with kids and pets. How to make your house smell amazing using non-toxic cleansers (Branch Basics is my favorite cleaner because it gets EVERYTHING out and you can get $10 off when you use this link plus, it’s completely non-toxic), and safe products. 

 

 

How to Make Your House Smell Amazing Especially When You Have Kids & Pets

Raising a family is a challenge, but keeping your home from smelling like diapers and as they get older, a locker room full of dumped-at-the-door sweaty athletic gear, becomes an even bigger one! 10 ways to naturally make your house smell amazing, especially when you have kids and pets in the house too. 

There’s something about the first smell you get when you walk into your house after a long day.

I like the inviting sense and warm that comes from a good-smelling house… not a nauseating “what’s THAT smell” knee-jerk reaction. And neither do guests.

Here are several ways to help you make your house smell amazing, and hide all those funky odors that can come with kids and pets.

10 Ways to Make Your House Smell Amazing

Let in Fresh Air Daily

There’s nothing that gets rid of funky smells faster than opening a few windows and giving your home a daily dose of fresh air to push out the air which has been bottled up inside. Even in the winter, I try to open our windows for a couple minutes a day to get fresh air in (plus, it’s good for you too!)

 

Set Air Cleaning Plants Around the House

Indoor plants are great at helping to clean the air of your home because they’re natural air purifiers. Some of the best kinds of natural cleaners (and some add to the pleasant fragrance of your home too) are palm trees, geraniums, orchids, Pottplam, Arabian jasmine, eucalyptus, gardenias, peace lilies, and Cuban oregano.

Related: 13 of the Best Air Cleaning Plants 

 

Add Essential Oils to Your Air Filter

You should change the air filter on your furnace every 2 – 3 months to keep the air in your home clean. While you’re at it, put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and then gently rub the cotton ball on the air filter covering all the pleats with the aromatic smell of the essential oil.

The smell will circulate in your home and smell amazing!

Lavender is a great essential oil for calming and Lemon is know for it’s fresh and purifying properties and this Marjorm is great for immunity health.

Diffuser & Oils

I love my diffuser so much, that I have two downstairs and two upstairs in our home and are constantly diffusing essential oils I love. A diffuser is so easy to use! All you do is fill the diffuser with water, put 3-4 drops of an essential oil in, turn it on and let it carry the scent throughout the house.

You can add seasonal oil blends for the Fall and Winter, and more flowery scents in the Spring, as well as powerful health-blends to purify the air and help detoxifying your home during cold and flu season.

 

Make a Stovetop Potpourri

Stovetop simmers aren’t just for the holidays, but are a quick and easy way to freshen up the smell of your home any time of year. All you do is fill a small saucepan with water, add citrus slices such as orange and lemon, add herbs such as lavender, mint, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and simmer on low heat. The heat permeates the wonderful scent throughout your house in no time. Seasonal potpourri blends are also an easy option to drop in water and simmer.

You can also use a min crockpot as your heat source too if you don’t want to run the stove on low for a few hours.

 

Tuck Away Dryer Sheets

I don’t like dryer sheets because of the chemicals and synthetic fragrances they emit into your air. Instead I use wool dryer balls for this.

Wool dryer balls scented with essential oils are an easy and affordable way to keep your home smelling linen fresh all the time and you can tuck them anywhere and everywhere out of sight, too. Tuck your wool dryer balls in drawers, behind curtains, tape them under chairs and tables, and inside toilet paper rolls if you have the small ones.

 

Add Vanilla to your Lightbulbs

This is an old realtor’s trick I learned but it works like a charm!

Turn off the lights in the area you want to use and wait until they’re cool. Add a few drops of vanilla extras to a cotton ball and then gently rub the cotton ball on the light bulbs. When you flip on the lights, the heat will gently disperse the scent and your home will smell like fresh-baked cookies in no time.

Note: This trick works well with incandescent bulbs, which get hotter than CFL and LED bulbs.

Clean Out the Garbage Disposal

The side effect of a garbage disposal, is that over time, they can start to smell pretty bad. To get rid of the smell, turn on the water, use lemon rinds or a fresh-scented dish soap and run it through the garbage disposal.

If the smell is still there, toss in 1/2 cup of baking soda or 1/2 cup of salt with running warm water and run the disposal for a few seconds. The salt will also help to dislodge any food that’s stuck in the disposal and can be causing the smell. Do this one a month, or as needed to keep things smelling fresh and not rotten.

 

Make Your Own (Fabulous Smelling) Fabric Spray

A once around the house to mask odors from the kids, pets and everyday life on furniture and rugs can improve the overall smell of your home quickly.

Simply fill a small spray bottle with water, add 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oil. Shake the bottle well and use as your fabric spray!

Don’t use smelling sprays and air fresheners though. These are loaded with chemicals and synthetic fragrances which can harm you.

Lavender is always an easy choice because of it’s beautiful smell and calm qualities, but citrus scents can invigorate your home and nutmeg, cinnamon and thieves can accentuate seasonal vibes in the Fall and Winter, too.

 

Related Home & Cleaning Resources: 

• Branch Basic: A Safe & Non-Toxic Household Cleaning for EVERYTHING
• The Organized Home; A realistic way to organize your home for less clutter & cleaning
• Make Over Your Mornings in 14 Days
• 13 Dirty Spots in Your House You Aren’t Cleaning Regularly – But Really Should
• The Best Organization Tool for Busy Moms to Help You Thrive in Motherhood
• Create a Cleaning Schedule That Doesn’t Take A lot of Time