Bring the scent of spring into your home in 12 different ways using fresh flowers and herbs. These simple DIY projects range from lavender linen spray and handmade sage smudge sticks to delicious-smelling herbal room scents and rose petal drawer sachets.
Lavender Linen Spray
The calming, relaxing scent of lavender can not only freshen up musty-smelling linens, but also help you sleep better. Make your own lavender linen spray with witch hazel, lavender essential oil and water. Get the simple tutorial at Design Sponge.
Sage & Rosemary Smudge Stick
While the use of smudge sticks in the home traditionally has spiritual components, with many people believing that the smoke they produce can clear away negative energy, they also make for wonderful DIY incense. You can assemble your own with no more than some fresh rosemary and sage, and a little string. Learn how at Vitamin Beautiful.
All-Purpose Sage Household Spray
Adding fresh sage to a basic all-purpose household cleaning spray can infuse your entire home with its scent. Don’t like sage? Use lavender, lemon balm, rosemary or any other herb you prefer.
Eucalyptus Shower Freshener
This simple trick works a lot like the menthol shower tablets designed to help open your airways when you’re sick. Simply hang a bundle of fresh or dried eucalyptus from your shower rod or from the base of the shower head fixture. You can find eucalyptus in the floral section of most craft stores.
Easy Rosemary Wreath
Rosemary is a highly fragrant herb, and just a few sprigs can bring a garden-fresh scent into your home for weeks. Try making a small rosemary wreath using a wire frame or embroidery hoop, rubber bands and some green wire. The instructions are at The Pretty Blog.
Rose Petal Drawer Sachets
You could substitute virtually any herb or flower you like in these DIY fabric drawer sachets, which could be made using reclaimed fabric.
Herbal Mattress Freshener
Ground dried herbs and a little baking soda can give your mattress new life, absorbing and replacing the musty odors that can develop over time. You simply sprinkle them over the mattress pad or cover, then top with a clean fitted sheet. You’ll enjoy the pleasant scent every time you lie down.
Lavender Dryer Bags
Reusable cotton drawstring bags filled with dried lavender buds can add a subtle scent to a load of laundry. Make your own with the simple tutorial at The Mother Huddle.
Lime, Thyme & Mint Room Scent
Most store-bought room scents, from sprays and potpourris to scented candles, are filled with artificial fragrances that can be irritating and toxic. Make your own custom-blended room scents with fresh ingredients like pine sprigs, sage, rosemary, cinnamon and citrus. The Yummy Life explains how.
Rose Petal and Lavender Potpourri
The secret to long-lasting homemade potpourri is a fixative that will stabilize the essential oils, fragrance oils and natural perfumes of herbs and flower petals. You can mix up any herbs you like along with dried citrus peel, bark and pine cones, add any essential oils you like, and use powdered orris root or oak moss as the fixative. Learn more at Save on Crafts.
Thyme Disinfectant Spray
Did you know that thyme is a natural disinfectant? Antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory, thyme is a great addition to household spray that needs to be a little more powerful for use in extra-germy spots. Make it by steeping thyme in boiling water, adding a little bit of castile soap, and pouring the mixture into a spray bottle.
Lavender Carpet Freshener
Pet odors, smells from last week’s cooking and other unpleasant scents can linger in carpets for far too long. Don’t cover them up – eliminate them with the odor-absorbing power of baking soda. You can purchase pre-made baking soda carpet fresheners, like this one from local harvest, or make one yourself. Simply mix some baking soda with fragrant crushed herbs like lavender, sprinkle over your carpets, let them sit for thirty minutes or more and then vacuum.

