Who doesn’t like to come home from a long day at work, open the front door and be greeted by the wonderful smells of home. Air freshener products are a billion dollar industry. Consumers rarely hesitate to hand over their debit cards to purchase a $15 dollar fragrance plug that requires replaceable fragrance bulbs, at an additional cost. Why? Because we want our homes to smell like freshly baked cookies, summer breezes and lilac forests.

Aromatherapy enhances our psychological and physical well-being. So, why wouldn’t we make room in our tight budgets to experience that feeling of happiness when we walk into our homes? Did you know that you could get that same feeling for a little more work, but less expense, by using natural herbs and citrus fruits that can be found in your refrigerator?

Pinterest is all the rage these days with everyone becoming an expert on DIY solutions. Recently, a Facebook friend posted a “recipe” for an all-natural air freshener that simmers on the stove all day while evaporating odors from your home. I thought I would give this Pinterest recipe a try. I call it Lemon Rosemary Delight.

Here are the ingredients. 1 lemon sliced. A few springs of rosemary. 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Fill up a medium sized pot about 2/3 full with water. In this picture I am adding the vanilla. It is probably best to use pure vanilla instead of imitation vanilla extract. The aroma is not the same if you don’t use the real thing.

You can’t tell in the picture, but the contents are well on their way to simmering. Within 5 minutes of simmering, you begin to smell the aroma from the herbs and citrus. I ended up adding a little more vanilla because it started to smell a little too much like incense or, as my children said, “It smells like church in here.”

Overall, this homemade, natural solution to making a home smell inviting wasn’t awful. The downside is that you really can’t leave the house and let it simmer. At least I wouldn’t. And once you put waffles in a toaster and accidentally burn them, any delightful smell you created in the house disappears. . . . I mean, I’m just guessing that would happen.

Here is another suggestion.

Try using lemon and sage, minus the vanilla for a earthy citrus smell. I actually preferred this combination better. Although, to be honest, I am too busy (aka lazy) to do this everyday. I suppose the best solution is still those overpriced fragrance plugs that make me feel like I am walking in the woods at twilight.

Have a pleasant smelling day!