Winter temperatures are here and Christmas is oh-so-close. It is the time of year when we all crave the warmth and comfort of home. Making home a cozy and inviting space relies heavily on good smells. It’s so easy to light Christmas candles and achieve that comfortable vibe, but did you know that synthetic fragrances are simply not good for your health?
These fragrances are in so many of the popular home products found at the grocery store. That’s just one reason why I’ve created my own recipes like All Purpose Cleaner, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Linen Spray, All Natural Febreeze, Laundry Detergent, and much more. Each of these products is chemical-free, scented with essential oils, made from basic ingredients (that you probably already own!), and completely safe for you and your family to utilize and breathe in.
This Christmas pot pourri is an all-natural alternative to candles, wax melts, and room sprays. It’s an easy way to fill your home with the homey and nostalgic scents of Christmas without compromising the health of your loved ones. Bonus…pot pourris are very inexpensive and give you a great way to reuse certain food scraps from all your holiday baking. Now let’s fill your home with all the cozy scents in time for Christmas!
What You’ll Need:
- Cranberries
- Orange slices
- Apple slices
- Cinnamon sticks
- Whole cloves
- Pine or cedar twigs
- A touch of vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Place all of the desired ingredients into a pot and cover with water.
- Simmer on low and add more water as needed.
- Turn off the stove for the day, add more water the next morning, and begin simmering again! Pot pourris can be used for up to 3 days if fresh water is regularly added.
Keep in Mind:
- Not every ingredients listed above is necessary. Feel free to use some of these and whatever else you have on hand!
- I used lovely, perfect slices for the sake of esthetics, but using scraps of oranges or apples works well too and is a wonderful opportunity to avoid food waste.
- Go even further in avoiding food wast by composting the pot pouri scraps or feeding them to the birds.
If you make this recipe and love how it turned out, feel free to come back and comment about your experience. I’d love to see your creation and how you served it!
Why Avoid Synthetic Fragrances
Fragrance can also be labeled as ‘parfume’ and is considered a Trade Secret Ingredient. This means companies are not obligated to disclose exactly which ingredients make up the fragrance in their products. There are over 3,000 possible chemicals companies can chose from and hide under the term ‘fragrance’. These chemicals can cause health issues such as headaches, skin irritation, inability to focus, sinus and lung irritation, and may even be linked to more serious illnesses such as asthma, cancer, autism, birth defects, and allergic reactions.
The basic point is this. We, as consumers, are not told exactly what ‘fragrance’ means in a product. That is something I am not comfortable with, so I chose to rid my home (as much as I can) of those types of products and find replacements that are more natural. It gives me peace of mind to know what is in the products I place in my home, on my babies, and in my own body.
Living a toxic-free lifestyle is something we strive for, but please don’t simply take my word for it. I encourage you to do your own research and I believe you’ll find that my claims are not made up. In the end it is up to you to choose what things you fill your home with.
More Christmas Tidings
More Natural Home Recipes
- All Natural Febreeze Spray
- Natural Laundry Detergent Powder
- Non-Toxic Toilet Bowl Cleaner
- DIY Non-Toxic Dusting Spray
- DIY All Natural Linen Spray
- DIY All Purpose House Cleaner