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how to make your house smell good naturally
15Oct

Make your house smell good naturally with these fabulous (and cheap) ideas!

Written by in Cleaning Tips, Get Rid Of Odors
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Knowing how to get rid of the odors in your home making it stink can be tricky, but luckily, it is easier than you think!  The key is to avoid masking odors and instead eliminate them which will make your house smell good naturally. Then you can level up and make your house smell absolutely amazing by using the just-right gadgets & scents!

In case you’re wondering if these tips and ideas will be a waste of your time, let me tell you how I know for a fact that they won’t be!

I have twin three-year-old boys and a two-year-old daughter – that means we’ve been knee-deep in poo diapers and potty training misfires for the past 3 years. *lol* Yet anytime I have guests, one of the first compliments I receive is “Wow, I did not expect your house to smell soo, not like children…what’s going on here?” That’s how you know these tips work!

room by room cleaning checklist printables
how to make your house smell good naturally

 1 // Clean Out The Fridge 

We’ve all opened the fridge door and had to ask “what is that smell!”  Unfortunately, that terrible smell is released into the air each time the fridge is opened which is no bueno. 

As a rule of thumb, anything more than 10 days old needs to go straight into the trash can. Be sure to wash the shelves off with your favorite dish detergent or all-purpose cleaner.  Use airtight containers with foods that “stink!” And please wash those bins out regularly.

Prevent The Fridge From Stinking // Utopia Kitchen Glass Tupperware + Super Popular Hinged Glass Tupperware + Better Than Baking Soda Fridge Deoderizer

2 // Use Baking Soda

It’s a powerful odor absorber and ridiculously affordable.   While most of us grew up seeing a box of baking soda in the fridge, it is great for cleaning and absorbing odors all over the house! I actually didn’t start using baking soda to deodorize until around 2016 – when my twins were born and I had a constant flow of poo diapers! *lol* I have not looked back since and use it as my go-to odor buster!

Here are a few ways to use it. Pour some into the garbage disposal and let it sit overnight. Sprinkle a bit onto carpets prior to vacuuming to deodorize the room. Add baking soda to your washing machine when washing stinky laundry to give your detergent an odor-fighting boost!

Purchasing Tip // I get my baking soda from Sams – they have the hands-down best price on this stuff!

READ | How To Have A Clean House For Life.  It’s a huge list of simple ideas & habits you can start using literally today to help you have a house that virtually stays clean forever!

 3 // Keep Small Amounts Of Fresh Produce On-Hand

If you want your home to smell enchantingly fresh, trust me on this one.  Keep an eye on your fresh produce. Once these items go bad, the smell can be off-putting to put it mildly. Try to buy as much fruits & veggies that you’ll need for a week – not enough for two or three weeks. That way you can have a chance to eat it all before it has the chance to go bad.

In general, make sure to keep fruits and vegetables where you can see them.  One time, I placed potatoes in a cabinet and completely forgot about them. Two months later, my entire family searched our house for an assumed dead animal–it was the potatoes.  *smh*

Check Out These 5-Star Gas Absorbers // Produce Preserver Packets + Bluapple Produce Saver + Veggie Life Extender

4 // Clean Upholstery More Often

Believe it or not, upholstered furniture and fabric hold on to odors.  Think of things like your sofas, snuggle blankets and curtains. Luckily, most of these items can go into the washing machine.  And anything else can be wiped off using your favorite cleaner and water.

I like to get a warm, damp towel, lightly spray it with a cleaner, and wipe my sofas off on a daily basis. I have small children so yes, daily *lol*

Noteworthy, Natural Upholstery Cleaners // Better Life All-Purpose Cleaner + Huntson Stain & Odor Remover + Saving Grace Carpet & Upholstery Deoderizer

make your bathroom smell good

5 // Keep The Bathroom Fresh

Yep, you read that right.  While the entire house needs to be cleaned regularly, keeping the bathroom clean will go a long way towards making your house smell clean.  (Afterall, a lot of smelly things go on there.) 

Easy Ways To Keep The Bathroom Smelling Fresh

  • Scrub the toilet bowl daily. Then make things smell amazing by pouring a bit of your favorite all-purpose cleaner into the toilet bowl.
  • Wash the bathroom rugs every two weeks or at least monthly. If you have fabric curtains throw them in there too!
  • Get rid of any urine odors with vinegar. Just spray, let it sit 20-30 minutes and then wipe!
  • Let’s get very personal for a sec. If it’s that time of the month *ladies* make sure your sanitary items are wrapped up tightly and disposed of daily! The blood being exposed to air is what causes that funky odor.

Here Are Things I Love For The Bathroom // Poo-pouri + Dawn & Vinegar For Cleaning + Dried Lavender Flower Buds

6 // Keep Air Moving

Walk into a house that’s been closed up for a while and the first thing you want to do is get some fresh air inside the place! Make sure you are allowing your house to breathe so that terrible smells are not trapped inside. Thankfully, it’s way too easy to keep the air moving in your house!

Run the air conditioner. Open the windows daily. Turn your ceiling fans on. Or get fancy & buy an air purifier! I don’t have one yet, but I’m doing my research right now. They remove allergens from the air including pet dander as well as odor so I’m really interested in getting one. I’ll link to the three I’m looking at & will give an update later once I purchase one.

Top Rated Air Purifiers On My Wishlist // PureZone Air Purifier + Dyson Pure + Alen BreatheSmart Flex

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ // The Smart Girls Guide To A Clean And Organized House | 10 Actionable Tips for more ideas on how to create and keep your house clean and organized!

7 // Keep Your Trashcan Clean

Trash cans are a major source of odor so aside from taking out the trash every day, be sure to clean those bad boys regularly.  The inner linings of most are plastic which means they hold on to odors. Rinse out the inside regularly or just replace your trash can if you feel like it is beyond saving.

I used to use odor absorbers in the boys’ nursery, our trash cans and in diaper pails throughout our house. Basically, the fragrance was kind of strong at first but would disappear in about 24 hours if I’m not mistaken. From there, I’d smell nothing. No fragrance & more importantly, no lingering poo smells from all those diapers.

You may want to toss a few into your trash can if you have a lot of smelly items going into your trashcan.

A Natural Odor Absorber Worth Looking Into // Bamboo Charcol Odor Absorbers + Fresh Wave Odor Absorbers

8 // Get Rid Of Pee Odors

My twin boys are 3 and my daughter is 2 which means we have potty training issues – like lingering “pee” smells. I use vinegar since it’s nature’s enzyme cleaner and I must say it works just like store-bought products. I wash the potty with vinegar and dawn every 2-3 days and clean up pee spills with vinegar in a spray bottle.

If you want something store-bought, get an enzyme cleaner specifically for urine odors. Regular household cleaners don’t have the enzymes needed to break down urine molecules that cause odors. I almost forgot to mention if you go the vinegar route, spray it on the area, let it sit for 20-30 minutes & then clean the area.

Products You May Want To Check Out To Get Rid Of Urine Odors // Nature’s Miracle + Rocco & Roxie Stain & Odor Remover + Vinegar, Water & A Spray Bottle

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ //  How To Clean Your House In 2 Hours (Or Just Super Fast!)  Perfect for people that ironically, never have time to clean!

9 // Clean Your House

While this isn’t the most clever or glamorous hack, it is the single most effective thing you can do to get rid of odors. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed by this one but trust me! If you are not regularly cleaning your home, thick, unpleasant odors are to be expected.  

If you could literally only clean three things to make your house smell good, I’d say clean your floors, the kitchen sink including the garbage disposal and the toilet bowl. Oh, and if you’ll let me sneak one more thing in there, take out the trash! *lol* But let’s get one thing straight – you need to be cleaning the whole house for it to smell clean!

My Favorite Delicious Smelling Cleaning Supplies // Almond Scented Wood Cleaner + Mrs. Meyers Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner


how to make your house smell good

10 // Add Drops Of Essential Oil To Air Filters

All of the air in your home passes through an air filter. It’s the perfect place to infuse something that smells wonderful that’ll cover the entire house. As with everything, quality counts!

I used to sell oil diffuser jewelry and from that venture, I can tell you that not all essential oils are created equal. Avoid the knock off department store essential oils and use one with zero fillers or additives.

Crowd-Pleasing Essential Oil Brands // Natrogix Bliss Oils + Cliganic Essential Oils + DoTerra Essential Oils

11 // Use Essential Oil Diffusers

Ok so if you have never tried an essential oil diffuser you have to put it on your bucket list! You just fill it with water, pour a few drops of essential oil in, and turn it on. Then sit back, relax and let the scent carry you away! You can use one essential oil or try a recipe to make all sorts of tantalizing aromas – the possibilities are absolutely endless.

Amazon’s Top Pick For Oil Diffusers // Beautiful Bamboo Oil Diffuser

12 // DIY Fabric Refresher Spray

If you don’t have a diffuser, here is another quick and easy way to improve the smells in your home with essential oils. Lavender is a natural choice because of it’s calming properties, but citrus oils like lemon, tangerine, sweet orange, and grapefruit are a great way to get a natural energy boost! This tip courtesy of One Good Thing!

A Fabric Refresher Recipe // Spray Bottle + Water + A Bit Of Baking Soda + Essential Oils // Shake Well, Spray & Enjoy!

13 // Scentsational Stovetop Simmers

If you want that “magical” smell in your house, try this! I’ve personally tried a few random recipes that and boy oh boy did they deliver. For a stovetop simmer, all you need are a pot, water and herbs (or just things that smell good lol).

Use This Amazing Aroma Recipe Inspired By William & Sonoma // Rachel Shultz’s Homemaking Blog.

14 // Natural Odor Eliminating Spray

If you want something that’s not a DIY, yet non-toxic and without harsh smells, you may want to try Fresh Wave odor eliminating spray. It does smell strong at first, it’s plant-based so it smells a bit “natural”, but it will disappear leaving nothing but fresh air. Personally, I like their pods but a spray is a great option. if you want something different.

A Fan Favorite Odor Eliminating Spray // Fresh Wave

15 // Candles Are King

Nothing can transform a room like candles! The soft glow really sets a relaxing mood but the drool-worthy scents you can choose from are absolutely endless. Technically, you can throw wax melts into the mix too since they are basically just candles without a wick!

When I am cooking, I like to use candles in the kitchen to keep the house from smelling like “food”. The wonderful thing about candles is they work fast! If you have guests coming over with little to no notice, whip out the candles and hide the clutter!

Drool-Worthy Candles Brand That I LOVE // Lulu Candles! + Soft Glow Wax Warmer + Farm Raised Wax Melts

make your house smell amazing

A Few More Tips You May Find Useful To Make Your House Smell Amazing //

  • Deodorize the whole house. Mopping floors is something everyone hates but it is the one chore that can make the entire house smell amazing!
  • Spray and wipe all of your doors – this is something I teach my staff to make sure you smell “freshness” as you walk throughout the house.
  • If even after thoroughly cleaning you still smell bad odors, the next move should be to clean or replace the carpets, wash walls and clean your vents.
  • To get rid of pet smell, use all the tricks above. In addition, wipe off your pet’s paws when they come back inside, dry them as much as possible when they get wet, and wash everything they touch at least weekly!

Quick Recap //

If your house stinks, simply spraying air freshener will not help at all. Here’s a quick recap of the things to do and things to get to make your house smell somewhere between good and amazing!

1 | Clean Out The Fridge

2| Use Baking Soda

3 | Get Rid Of Rotten Fruit

4 | Clean Upholstery

5 | Keep The Bathroom Clean

6 | Keep Air Moving

7 | Clean Trash Cans Regularly

8 | Get Rid Of Pee Odors

9 | Clean Your House

10 | Add Essential Oils To Air Filters

11 | Use Essential Oil Diffusers

12 | Try DIY Fabric Refresher Sprays

13 | Make Stovetop Simmers

14 | Use A Natural Odor Eliminating Spray

15 | Candles Are Scentsational

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make your house smell good
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