Have you ever noticed how many products there are to freshen the air in your home, make rooms smell nice, and make your laundry smell good? Candles, sprays, plug-ins, weird gel crystal thingies, potpourri – the list is endless. So much money is spent on these products – but the worst part of it is not the wasted money, it’s the fact that most of them are actually harmful to your health. Just think about it – you spray these products all around your home and then breathe the chemicals. Not great!

Do you love those scented candles? I admit – I used to be addicted. I had Yankee Candles all over my house. Until I learned more about what burning the candles does – emitting soot and other airborne micro-particles in the air that can cause long term harm. Not to mention the phthalates from the artificial fragrances used to scent the candles.

But I think the room sprays are even more of a concern. I just read that Americans are expected to spend 1.72 billion on air fresheners this year. Yep – 1.72 BILLION dollars! Crazy. Are our houses that stinky? Yipes. But again – it’s not just the money wasted, but the health impact. A study done at the University of Bristol found that “frequent use of air fresheners and
aerosols during pregnancy and early childhood was associated with higher levels of diarrhea, earache and other symptoms in infants,as well as headaches and depression in mothers.” Uh oh.

So – I thought I’d share a few natural ways to make your home smell fresh and clean – naturally! Many of these options use essential oils, which can be purchased in natural food stores or online.

1) Toss some spices like cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves in a pot with some water and let it simmer. Or add a few drops of essential oil to simmering water. Just don’t forget about it!

2) When you are cleaning with vinegar and water – add a couple of drops of essential oils. Lavender is nice – it is calming and it also has a strong enough scent that it will linger awhile.

3) Put a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball and put it in a small dish. Hide the dish behind something if you don’t want it to be seen. Putting it behind the radiator in the winter will help spread the scent faster.

4) When doing laundry, instead of using a dryer sheet, put a few drops of essential oil onto an old face cloth and toss it into the clothes dryer with the load of laundry. Again – lavender is a good choice, as is rose geranium.

5) Use the old tried and true box of baking soda. Remove the top of the box of baking soda and leave it in the room to absorb the odors.

6) The next time you have a cup of green tea – don’t throw away the tea. Dry the leaves – then toss some on the carpet and vacuum it up. It will refresh the carpet and also deodorize your vacuum bag. Also – toss the tried leaves into the kitty litter box – it’s a great litter deodorizer too!

7) Mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 2 cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Shake well until mixed and dissolved. This can be used as a great air freshener just like the expensive ones you can buy at the store! (just avoid spraying above wood furniture)

Those are just a few options-get creative! And toss out those harmful, chemical-laden “fresheners”.

To be honest, if Garden Girl used synthetic fragrances for all of our products, it would be far easier. Working with essential oils can be tricky – they can be inconsistent, and it is challenging to get the exact same scent each time. This is why our Alive lotion, just as an example, can smell more like peppermint one time and a little more like basil another. Even though we use a specific proportion each time, the individual oils can be stronger batch to batch. So it isn’t easy – but we make the extra effort for good reason. Fragrances are typically jam packed with all kinds of ingredients – mostly chemicals and petroleum products.

Did you know that the word “fragrance” is all that needs to be listed on a label even though it can contain hundreds of ingredients on its own? One of the most concerning issue with fragrances is phthalates. You have probably heard me rant about phthalates before – they are of deep concern because they are considered to be key factor in birth defects in the reproductive system of male babies, plus there is a possible link to breast cancer, along with numerous other potential issues.

Fragrances are also considered to be one of the top five known allergens (again, likely due to the fact that there are so many components) and also a potential neurotoxin. According to EWG, “as far back as 1986, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences identified fragrance ingredients as one of six categories of neurotoxins (chemicals that are toxic to the brain) that should be thoroughly investigated for impacts on human health. However, this research has not been demanded or funded. The FDA has taken no action on a petition submitted to the agency in 1999 requesting fragrance components to be listed on labels.”

Doesn’t sound so great, does it? That’s why we have decided that the quirkiness of essential oils are a small price to pay to ensure the safety of our products.