Create a Scent-Sational Experience With Essential Oils

“Scents bring memories, and many memories bring nostalgic pleasure. We would be wise to plan for this when we plant a garden.”
– Thalassa Cruso, To Everything There is a Season, 1973

Many of our lovely customers often comment on how wonderful their packages smell, or write us to ask what the delightful scent is. The secret is simple: a little lavender and some select essential oils.

Here are some tips to make your space fresh and alive with all-natural scent. The best part? You don’t have to use harmful chemicals to enjoy a wonderful aroma. Of course, if you do have any sensitivities, it’s always best to check with your health care professional before trying anything.

Our top 3 favorite ways to create a scent-sational experience…

1- Fill a small sachet with lavender buds. You can purchase dried lavender from a variety of online retailers; we get ours from Amazon. We recommend using organic French lavender, but you can choose anything you want. For an ultra-luxurious treat, add some dried rose petals.

Tip: Repurpose old scraps of fabric into sweet little sachets. All you need is a small amount of fabric and some lavender to create a relaxing scent you can slip into drawers, totes, or anywhere you can think of. Use pinking shears to cut a simple square or rectangle, then sew ‘n stuff…voila!

2- If your fabric (or whole room) could use a refresh, try a more natural approach than a commercially available spray. Here’s a simple, natural homemade fabric refresher recipe to try. For other creative uses, check out this article on 25 ways to use essential oils, courtesy of Plant Therapy.

Citrus essential oils like lemon, lime, orange and bergamot are terrific for cleaning – we add these to our natural cleaning solutions. Not only do they fill the air with an uplifting, revitalizing aroma, they also make cleaning a breeze.

3- Repel pests and keep your linens smelling fresh with your favorite essential oils. Insects, particularly moths, can post a significant risk to your cherished linens, creating irreparable damage or at the very least, undermining the integrity of the textile.

The American College of Healthcare Sciences lists 10 essential oils that naturally repel pests. Topping the list? You guessed it…lavender. Here’s a quick summary of the list below; check out the full article for more info.

1. Lavender
2. Basil
3. Thyme
4. Pine
5. Vetiver
6. Bergamot
7. Peppermint
8. Tea Tree Australia
9. Eucalyptus
10. Lemon Eucalyptus

Looking for more creative ways to use essential oils? Try these:

• For a gentle scent, add a few drops of your favorite EO to a felt pad and insert into an essential oil locket. Then hang the locket on a hanger in your closet for a soft scent.
• Consider making your own soap, then cut into small blocks and place in a closet or drawer. If the idea of making soap from scratch seems overwhelming, no worries – you can easily make your own melt-and-pour soap scented with essential oils, in no time at all.
• If you have a walk-in closet or a larger linen closet, use a diffuser to fill the air with the pleasant scent of essential oils. This works great to eliminate closed-in, musty odors.

A word about using essential oils on wool dryer balls to enliven your next load of laundry. Sounds like a great idea, right? Not so fast.

Commercial dryer sheets are often laden with chemicals, and that’s not something we want in our home. Wool dryer balls provide an excellent alternative to harmful chemicals, and with the ever-growing popularity of essential oils, many people are adding their own scents to these dryer balls.

However, this practice may pose a significant risk of fire or other harm – for more information on this hot topic, visit this article which explains why you shouldn’t use essential oils on your dryer balls, and why you need to be cautious of what you’re putting in both your washer and dryer.

Choose Your Essential Oils Wisely

We’re not affiliated with any company or manufacturer; our personal favorite company is Plant Therapy because of the range of quality oils they offer at affordable prices, with excellent customer service. We’ve been purchasing from PT practically since they started their business some years ago, and we’ve never been disappointed.

The best piece of advice we can give you if you’re new to purchasing oils is to make sure you’re buying a quality, unadulterated product. Many low quality products are marketed as authentic essential oils, but in reality, are often little more than cheap perfumes – not genuine essential oils.

Some Closing Thoughts on Essential Oils

Even though we often think of essential oils as all natural or safe, they are still incredibly powerful and should be handled mindfully. Some oils, especially “blue” ones like Blue Tansy or Blue Cypress can also permanently stain fabric, so it’s always a smart idea to do your research and exercise caution if you’re unsure.

If you’re working with delicate fabric or you’re ever in doubt for any reason, always test a small, inconspicuous area of fabric first to avoid unintended consequences.

Remember that a little goes a long way when it comes to appropriate use of essential oils – you don’t need to use half the bottle to achieve a noticeable scent. A few drops will do just fine.

We’ll leave you with the words of Stephen Lacey from 1991’s Scent in Your Garden,

“Of all the ingredients we employ in the creation of a garden, scent is probably the most potent and the least understood. Its effects can be either direct and immediate, drowning our senses in a surge of sugary vapor, or they can be subtle and delayed, slowly wafting into our consciousness, stirring our emotions and coloring our thoughts.”