How to Make Inexpensive Eco-Friendly Decorative Air Freshener for Your Home

We all like for our homes to smell fresh and clean, but a lot of the air fresheners on the market are not environmentally friendly. The aerosol spray can types contain chemicals that aren't good for you to breathe. Burning scented candles is a common way to bring pleasant aromas to your home, but you have to be careful and choose candles that don't have a lead wick and there are safety concerns with open flames. Some of the wall unit plug-in type air fresheners do a decent job of freshening the air, but they do not last very long and are expensive to buy.

So what are some alternatives to aerosol sprays, oil plug-in air fresheners, and burning candles? My favorite things to use in homemade air freshener and décor craft projects are coffee beans, faux greenery, bowl fillers, essential oils, and dried eucalyptus. With a little bit of creative thinking, you can put together a fun inexpensive craft project that serves a dual purpose: a beautiful unique home décor piece and an eco-friendly air freshener all in one.

Essential oils are very therapeutic and make great homemade spritzers that can be used to bring a wonderful aromatherapy scents into your home. You can make up several different scents to keep on hand for different areas of your home. To make your homemade spritzer, use one part oil to at least 4 parts water. You want to create a spray that still has fragrance but one that isn't too oily that it will ruin anything you spray it on by leaving an oily film. You may have to practice a little at first to get your recipe just right. Some oils are more potent and fragrant and may require more watering down. I also use different strengths of oil mixtures for different purposes, depending on the décor project and room size.

Here are my favorite ways to use the essential oil fragrance spritzers.

Bowl Fillers
(see photo 1)
Fill a wicker bowl or basket with potpourri or other natural earthy object such as pinecones, gourds, dried leaves, or dried flowers. You'll have a colorful centerpiece for your table that is attractive, decorative, and will fill the room with a delicate scent. Then instead of tossing out the fillers when they lose their fragrance, you can use your homemade essential oil spritzer to freshen up the items in your bowl or basket.

Faux Greenery Baskets
(see photo 2)
Silk greenery and wicker baskets are very inexpensive and are a great way to add color and fragrance to any room. All you have to do it pick your favorite greenery and arrange it in a basket of your choosing, then use your essential oil spritzer to add fragrance. I typically spritz mine every couple of days to keep a nice aroma going. The amount of greenery used will determine the size of space to use these baskets in. A large basket full of greenery will keep an fairly large space smelling fresh as long as you refresh the scent daily.

Candle Ring
(see photo 3)
I made this candle ring out of porous plastic beads. I simply threaded the beads to some thin wire and wrapped it around a candle as I went along. There are so many color options in the beads that it's easy to match the décor of any room. I take my candle ring off of the candle periodically and soak it directly in the spritzer solution overnight. The beads hold the scent for about a week. I like to use these in smaller spaces such as bathroom sinks or bedside tables.

Resin Vase or Plant Clingers
(see photo 4)
Vase clingers are a cute way to add a unique decorative touch to your potted plants or hanging baskets, and the vase clingers are made of porous resin and can be soaked in the essential oil spritzer solution to add a pleasant aroma to your home. I soak my vase clingers directly in the essential oils overnight and the fragrance lasts about two days. You can also put 2-3 drops of concentrated essential oil directly onto the vase clingers the fragrance lasts about a week.

If essential oil spritzers aren't for you, then you might like one of the following decorative home fragrance craft projects.

Coffee Beans and Hurricane Candle Holders
(see photo 5)
This craft project is a great decoration piece for the bathroom or kitchen area. All you need is some scented candles in your favorite color, your favorite aroma of coffee bean, and some candle holders or even old fashioned jars. For my project, I used tall white vanilla scented candles, black cherry scented coffee beans, and large hurricane type candle holders. Choose candles that are narrower than the candle holder and set the candle down inside the holder. Then pour in the coffee beans the holder to fill in the gaps around the candle. Fill until about 1/2 way full so that you can still see the candle. I find that a cluster of three will keep a small bathroom area smelling fresh for about a month. The coffee beans also tend to absorb offensive odors, which makes this craft décor project a favorite of mine for the bathroom area. Replace the coffee beans when you can no longer smell their pleasant aroma.

Candle Cluster
(sorry, no photo because AC limits to 5 photos)
I took some plant stands of varying height and placed an assortment of candles on them. The candles themselves are of different height and shape as well, giving an eclectic mix of color, texture, and scent. This is a great way to jazz up a dull corner of a room. By having multiple scented candles in a cluster, you don't have to burn the candles in order to capture and enjoy the wonderful fragrances. I find these larger candle clusters work well for a medium sized space such as a den or sitting room.

Dried Eucalyptus
(sorry no photo because AC limits to 5 photos)
I love the smell of dried eucalyptus branches and use them to create focal points in small areas of my home. Eucalyptus also comes in variety of very pretty colors that can be incorporated into just about any decorating color palate. I favor the burgundy colored eucalyptus myself and took a vase with a Victorian flair and filled it will long flowing branches to resemble a flower bouquet. Larger bouquets or gatherings of eucalyptus work well in larger spaces. I also take smaller sprigs and incorporate them into smaller spaces such as bathroom shelves. You will need to replace the eucalyptus periodically to maintain a fresh clean smell.

Adding décor and fragrance to your home doesn't have to be expensive or toxic. So throw caution to the wind and get those creative juices flowing! You'll be surprised at how often people walk into your home and comment on how nice it smells and will marvel at your creativity and decorating savvy.