The Lighting Hack That'll Make Your Home Smell Like A Bakery

There's an old realtor's hack that says baking cookies just before hosting an open house will help your home sell faster because prospective buyers will respond to the delicious, comforting aromas. It's such a longstanding ploy, in fact, that it's become cliché. But why should that warm feeling of contentment be saved for others? Give your home that delicious scent without having to excel at baking. All it takes is a little vanilla extract and the lighting fixture of your choice, and you'll be able to infuse your home with its welcoming scent on a year-round basis.

A good light fixture can totally overhaul the look of a room, but a little vanilla extract can have that light doing double duty — and have your home smelling like a bakery. It's only a matter of heat, and it can be done every time you change your light bulbs or as often as you like. It's a simple, inexpensive trick that avoids chemical neutralizers in some sprays and is infinitely safer than having candles burning throughout the house.

To get that bakery smell throughout your home, just gather your light bulbs and some vanilla extract. For best results, use an eyedropper and place one or two drops onto each light bulb, then insert them back into your light fixtures as normal. Another option would be to soak a cotton ball in your vanilla extract, then rub it all around the largest part of the bulb. This will also prevent any of the liquid from dripping off the bulbs if you have ceiling fixtures instead of lamps.

When your lights are on, the electricity results in the light bulbs heating up to high temperatures — anyone who's ever tried to remove a recently working light bulb can attest to that. The heat interacts with the vanilla extract, releasing its signature aroma into the air. The only downside is that the vanilla scent won't linger nearly as long as your bulbs will last, so you'll likely need to reapply whenever you want to revive that lovely bakery aroma throughout your home.