There’s a craze for air fresheners. Everyone wants clean smelling air — except clean air doesn’t have a smell. What you’re really craving is the feeling you associate with a certain scent. So deodorizers and air fresheners that smell like apple pie and cookies abound. But the more we spray, the worse the indoor air quality gets.

Unlike other products that contain volatile organic compounds, the manufacturers of air fresheners are not required to disclose the chemicals that make up a fragrance. Thanks to various studies and reports, it is known that even products that claim to be ‘green‘ can emit carcinogens. One healthy option is to blend your own potpourri to scent your home.

Potpourri is easy to make and the ingredients are found in most craft stores. Potpourri is generally just a simple mix of dried flowers and essential oils. If you want, you can choose to grow your own flowers to make your signature scent.

When you create your own potpourri, you’re able to choose flowers that you enjoy instead of getting stuck with the low quality flowers in many sachets. Using the best ingredients or finding flowers that actually mean something to you is a very satisfying part of making your own aromatic potpourri.

Remember, the quality and the ingredients are entirely up to you. You can use only flowers grown in your own garden or you can choose flowers grown in sustainable farms with no pesticide usage. You can make your potpourri entirely from a flower that has a significant meaning in your life or use an essential oil that reminds you of a particular event or family member. The choices are completely yours to make and the product becomes entirely yours. It’s an amazing feeling to create something wonderful for you.

If you are looking for a way to add a little extra money to your bank account, consider making extra to sell. Talk to your friends to determine which scents are most popular–floral, herbal, tea, etc. You can then design specialty batches of potpourri for each individual. If you know someone who loves mint, your homemade potpourri can be custom mixed to highlight that scent. This creates a product that is unique.

Use green or recycled packaging for your creations. Create potpourri sachets for use in closets or drawers. Sewing lace to leftover cloth sachets adds even more individuality to your product. Filling pretty vases or mason jars with custom scents can add a decorative feel to the potpourri. You can even choose unconventional holders for your product. Remove the stuffing from a cute plush bunny or bear and make a potpourri gift.

Making potpourri allows you to express yourself creatively and lessen the toxic load in your home a bit. Unlike commercial scents, you won’t have to wonder about toxins. Since you made it, you know the ingredients are safe.

Indoor air pollution is a bigger problem than you realize. We tend to think of hazardous chemicals as something that nuclear facilities handle, but the truth is that we are exposed to hazardous chemicals everyday in the form of oven cleaners, aerosol sprays, and detergents that are heavily marketed to us.

No matter how we try to prevent it, the indoor air quality of our homes is under assault. Using aerosol sprays only mask the smells and adds more chemicals to the mix. Try these ideas to create air fresheners that help your home and the environment at the same time.

1. Use potpourri. Potpourri is eye candy that is actually beneficial. Using seasonal botanicals brings some of the outdoors inside and you can use plants and herbs that are in season locally. Using a few sprigs of fresh mint or sprinkling dried mint on the potpourri not only adds fragrance but mint is a natural ant repellent.

Be cautious, however, with store-bought potpourri. It usually has synthetic dyes and fragrances that can give you headaches and add to poor air quality. Making your own with natural essential oils is much better for the indoor environment.

2. Use hydrosols to scent the home. Hydrosols are the by-product of the distillation process of essential oils. Put it in a spray bottle to spritz potpourri and other natural arrangements in your home like a leaf garland or pine cones. They can also be used as room sprays. Their uses vary according to the flower they are distilled from, but common uses include:

• Aftershave
• Animal flea spray
• Breath freshener
• Cosmetic ingredients
• Face moisturizer
• Fresher for sheets and towels
• Fruit rinse
• House plant spray
• Ironing spray
• Room freshener
• Sore throat spray
• Spay disinfectant

3. Fruits make a great smelling wreath for the home. In Victorian times, oranges were such a rare commodity that they were given as Christmas gifts. Oranges with cloves stuck in them were a common way to scent the home and it still works. Of course you can use other fruit. Cut an apple, orange, and lemon into thin circles. Allow the fruit to dry on a cookie sheet. Overlay the fruit to create a wreath design.

It can be attached to a wooden framework or some wire. To preserve the fruit, cover with a bit of shellac or floor wax. They last for several weeks and can be hung on any door to freshen the room. Some people even use whole fruits and pierce the top to let the smell come through.

4. Beeswax candles are a natural air freshener. The candles give off a honey flavored scent that burns clean with no mess. Beeswax candles can be purchased, but why not try making your own? It’s not difficult and will make a nice family activity–as well as save a little money. If you do buy beeswax candles, avoid any color but the natural one if you want to remain eco friendly.

5. Combine all the above in a to make a centerpiece. Use some pine branches, pine cones, fruit,and candles so they are visible to everyone. Get imaginative and add some fresh dried herbs like mint, rosemary, or thyme. For a more seasonal smell, try some cinnamon sticks, fresh nutmeg, and some ground clove. Sit some beeswax pillar candles flat in middle.

If you do decide to buy ready-made instead of making your own, look for these eco friendly words on the packaging–

• Chlorine free
• Water based
• Citrus based
• No Dyes or perfumes

If all the above fail, you can always bake as a last resort. Nothing smells better than the scent of an apple pie or Christmas cookies wafting through the house.

Resources: Air Quality Test Kit | How To Grow Fresh Air