Keep Your Home Smelling Fresh And Clean With Items You Already Own

There's nothing better in life than a clean and fresh-smelling home. Did you know that there are a ton of cost-effective ways to make your home smell truly amazing, all while using items you may already have on hand? One such hack is to use a panty liner and perfume to quickly create an aromatic oasis, as demonstrated by Instagram user katesi_inst.

To make this happen, simply unwrap a single panty liner and sprinkle or spray your favorite perfume onto the soft side of the liner. Cut the liner in half and carefully peel it off the plastic wrapping. Then, place the sticky side on any surface to experience results. We suggest under a desk, on the underside of an air conditioning unit, in your entryway, inside a dresser drawer, or tucked away in your closet. If you don't want to waste that expensive perfume you've been saving, consider a few drops of essential oil on the liner instead.

Using a panty liner and perfume isn't the only way to create a pleasant smell in your home. You can also use items you have lying around, like clothespins, fabric softener sheets, witch hazel, and vodka, to create a heavenly olfactory experience. Similar to the panty liner hack, take a clothespin and spritz it with your favorite perfume. You can clip the clothespin onto a ceiling fan pull chain or onto an air vent or AC unit to disperse the scent around the room. Clipping fabric softener sheets to vents has a similar effect.

Another clever deodorizing hack for a fresh-smelling living room is using witch hazel or vodka to evaporate nasty smells instead of covering them up. Spraying vodka on carpets and clothes helps eliminate bacteria that cause odors. Simply add vodka to a spray bottle and add a few drops of essential oils (lemon, orange, or lavender work great!) to evaporate odors quickly and efficiently.

An old-school way to keep your home smelling fresh is with a simmer pot — and you can create one using natural ingredients found in your kitchen. Slice up an apple, an orange, and/or a lemon, and add it to a pot filled with water. Add in cinnamon sticks if you have them, or sprinkle some ground cinnamon in. Other spices and herbs, like clove, lavender, mint, or sage, will also work for this hack, but just add in what you have on hand. Place the pot on your stovetop and let it simmer for a few hours. Be sure to keep an eye on it and refill the water if it gets too low; otherwise, the ingredients in the pot will start to burn.

You can also make an all-natural air freshener using common kitchen items. Fresh lemon juice and baking soda does wonders for a smelly kitchen, and both ingredients are naturally antimicrobial. Add one tablespoon of baking soda, a squeeze of lemon juice, and two cups of distilled water to a small bowl. Mix it thoroughly and store it in a spray bottle for a quick and easy, all-natural home refresh.