I am always trying to keep the house smelling nice and it is definitely not an easy task. The one place that I would like an ongoing nice scent is the closet, specifically my bedroom closet. It is a walk-in closet that seems to lose the scent that I place inside of it quite quickly. Replacing air fresheners on a regular basis can get quite expensive. So, of course, I wanted to try making my own. The only strange thing that I’m adding is sidewalk chalk for coloring. (The kind that kids use outside on the concrete or driveway). The other two ingredients are typical of what is added together to make an air freshener. If you don’t want to color yours, just leave out the chalk and just go all-natural or try some other type of product to color yours. Leave it to me to try something strange in a homemade item. So, let’s begin.
Ingredients:
- baking soda
- non-toxic sidewalk chalk (optional)
- fragrance oil (use any type essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice)
- containers
Instructions:
Before grating chalk, be sure to cover your surface. I am not sure if the chalk will stain the counter top. So, to be safe, I covered my counter top with aluminum foil and put a piece of wax paper on top. Begin grating the chalk or use any other type of substance that you think can be used to color a dry ingredient. I could’ve tried powdered food coloring but I didn’t want to spend much money. When grating, it should come out really fine.
Measurements of ingredients will depend on how large a container you will be using. Therefore, I am not going to give any specific measurements as it is not necessary. It will depend totally upon you. Mix in chalk until the color blends completely.
Add the amount of drops of essential oil that you would like. Of course, this too will depend on how strong the scent you would like. You may want to start off with at least 2 teaspoons of essential oil (or just start shaking the essential oil from the jar) and continue to add essential oil until you get to desired scent. You want to make sure that you can detect the smell of the oil in the baking soda. Stir. It will form little wet balls at first. Just continue to stir and press down the little balls until they blend into the baking soda.
I’m using cheese shakers that I had and an air freshener container that no longer had any scent to it. The great thing about these two types are that they already have holes in the top so you won’t have to make any holes.
For the cheese shakers, I cut out a piece of thick paper to use as a divider when pouring in the baking soda. I also used a large mouth funnel to make it easy to pour into the containers. If the baking soda starts to get stuck in the funnel, use a regular straw to push it through. Just remove the divider when you’re finished and the colors will be nicely lined up beside each other. For the other container, it was much easier to fill because I am putting the colors on top of each other and do not need a divider. Try not to fill up the containers completely. I poured too much in the jar from the old air freshener. The reason for not filling completely to the top is that when the scent starts to fade, you can add additional fragrance drops and shake or stir it up. It will be hard to shake or stir if you don’t leave space at the top. Actually, I can’t wait for the scent to start fading because I’m curious as to what color will form when I shake up these different colors. That’s all it is to making the air freshener….simple as pie!
You might also like the post that I did on Homemade Gel Air Fresheners.
Have you tried making a homemade air freshener? How did yours come out?
Other pics:
I loved your tip to add two teaspoons of essential oil at first and then keep adding to get the desired scent. Making air fresheners seems so easy! I’d like to make one for my car, but I’m not sure how functional it would be. I’ll have to look into buying some instead.
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Here’s what I dont understand, educate me! If baking soda ‘Absorbs’ odors, it obviously does not differentiate between good and bad scents. So how does it hold on to expensive essential oils for long? Isnt it a waste of EO? I mean, is there a better scent ‘holder’?
So, could it be that it is the chalk powder that is retaining the EO?
What do you mean by old air freshner containers?
Hi Marge! These were containers that I bought before I started making my own air freshener. The container that is in the middle was from an air freshener that contained beads. Saved it to use for later and it came in handy.
I just made some of the bicarb + oil air fresheners. House smells lovely now! I’ll have to get some more jars and made more!! 😀
Absolutely gorgeous. You really know how to put a beautiful ideas, thanks for sharing it with us 🙂
This is beautiful. I am gonna try it.
Thank you! Please give it a try. It is such a nice DIY to try….
Thank you so much, can not wait to try these money making saving .
You’re welcome Kay! Hope you enjoy them….
These are all great idears & I will be trying all these , another air freshener I make is use an orange & pack it with cloves great smell & also you could add a ribbon 2 hang it .
Thanks for the tip Tammy! I bet that smells great….
I see a lot of great tips that are very helpful!! I wanted to add, you can also use boric acid in your laundry and it helps to clean them. It also is good to clean with. My mom use to use it in our clothes. Now I use it in my laundry. It’s especially good when I have a boy and a girl that see 11 mon and 5 days apart and are both under the age of two!! It really gets their clothes clean like bibs and burp clothes!! Also good with the towels to get out the mildew smell.. Hope this helps. And I’m going to try the air fresher.
Thanks Jessica for the tips! Will definitely keep those in mind. I know that I have dishtowels that need a little extra boost when it comes to the laundry.
Sharon,
What a fun idea! I am sure my 2 year old will love doing this with his old sidewalk chalk.
Hi Jon! I’m certain that the 2 year old will love this….
This is a great idea – been using this for carpet powder as well. How long does the scent last for you before you have to “freshen” it up?
Hi Dawn! I don’t have an exact time on how long it lasted but it was at least a month or so. Now, my daughter seems to want to go around dropping additional scents in the one that she has in her room. When she does that, she makes it a must to drop additional drops in the other containers also. It really will depend on how many drops you put in from the beginning.
My son and I both smoke and if you fill the ashtray with kitty litter keeps down the smell so easy clean.
I have used baking soda for somany things, odor absorbing among them but never thought of adding any scent thank you!
I do however have a odor remover of my own that works great! Not only can this be used to remove odors, but to clean many things and I bet everyone has it in thier home. Vinegar! I had @ boys so you can imagine the odors I have had to deal with, that mystery odor in thier room you can not find? well a glass with vinegar left in the room for 48 Hrs and no smell for a week. then use the vinegarfor cleaning your windows, bathroom, Great for killing mold. Add it to backing soda and it cleans up those tough stains you can not get out on your counter, stove and if you have slow drains, or drain flies place baking soda in each drain, just 1/3 -1/4 cup add vinegar let sit while it bubbles, for half hour runn hot water and it clears it up. If you have flies in the house and want to get rid of them use apple cider vinagar and a drop of Dawn dish detergent. the flies are attracted to the smell of the vinegar and the dawn breaks the surface tension, so they drown!
Hi Bobbie! Thanks for all the nice tips. I like the one about sitting the vinegar in the room to remove odors. Brilliant idea. Going to definitely keep that on in mind….
Hi, I got over to your post via StumbleUpon. Not something I customarily read, but I like your opinions none the less. Thanks a ton for composing some thing worthy of reading!
blackboard/pavement chalk is just calcium sulphate, so Plaster of Paris, or talc, would do and then add food colouring etc. I don’t know the reason for the baking soda but the talc is just to spread the oils out to allow them to evaporate more readily. When they’ve gone, just stir in a few drops more.
Baking soda absorbs odours, that’s why I keep an open box in the fridge too!
I would to get your blog posts
Hi Loretta! Thanks for visiting. You can subscribe to receive my blog by emails. Just click on the email button in the right hand side.
great stuff
I must try this! I love the plug-in type air fresheners, but my husband always has an allergic reaction to them. Thanks for sharing at Throwback Thursday.
You’re welcome Alli! Definitely give it a try. It is so worth it….
Very interesting
Awsome !!!
Thanks Tracey!
If you add Orris root to this or potpourri it keeps the scent ….it is crushed or ground root of a certain iris ….works wonders to retain scent in potpourri …i guess it will work in with these ingredients
Hi Kathleen! That sounds like a wonderful tip. I always like when readers offer tips on something that might improve upon something that it is on the blog. Thanks for the tip…
Where can you find that orris root stuff? Thx u
Hi Christina! I’ve been trying to figure out where you get it too…. I’ve been googling to see where it comes from because I’m interested in it too.
I’ve been making this fragranced baking soda for a rug/vaccuum freshener (the stuff you sprinkle on your carpets and vaccuum up) for years. For some reason I never thought to use it as a room freshener. Great idea.
If you are worried about humidity, you can add a tablespoon of rice to the mixture. Its not pretty, but it will keep it from hardening. However, once it hardens, you can put in an old stray sock and toss it into your suitcase.
This is great! Love using Baking Soda for any thing and for every thing. My trick is my husband smokes, still. Any ways the smell of an ashtray is horrendous and very hard for me to clean. So years ago I started filling his ashtray with baking soda, already use Baking Soda for so many other things. And it was GREAT! When he puts is cigarette out in the Baking Soda, it snuff s it completely with no ash tray smell or lingering smell in the air, and I can dump the ash tray when full the same. NO SMELL. Win Win. Also fill the ash tray in cars. Works every where. Thank you Joni at being a Mom
Hi Joni! That’s a good tip! You’re so right…baking soda has so many uses. It has become a regular in my wash. Today, I’m actually trying out a homemade powdered laundry detergent. Gonna try and put a twist on it, though.
I hear you about the smoke. BLECK!
My bf smokes in the bathroom sometimes and it is
nasty! I have made the lavender/vanilla air spray, but my sprayer broke. :/ I am making this in a few minutes 🙂
Thank you..
My husband smokes too but he goes OUTSIDE to do it and not in the house what so ever!
I appreciate this tip!
Hi Veronica! Hope you enjoy making the homemade air fresheners….
Awesome idea!!
I actually used a bit of salt with the baking soda, and used whole chalk to stir in the color!
I added many different oils, as I have many related to aromatherapy!
This works great in any glass jar with holes in it!
Great idea, but simpler to stir the chalk in, just like in school projects!
You can make any scene this way, like sunset, ocean, and sand…looks nice in a bathroom!
Thanks Michelle. Great idea also. I would love to try it and test out making a sunset and ocean.
What and where to buy the best essential oils?
Hi Elaine. You can purchase them from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, GNC, etc. The Tea Tree and Jojoba Oils are a favorite but the scent will depend upon what you like. You can order them from Amazon which might offer a better price. The only downsize for ordering online is that you won’t be able to smell the scent before buying.
I have an idea, use colored glass, or plastic, or chunky glitter, instead of colored chalk!
Plus, it will be easy to shake and separate, and look pretty too!
Hi Perri. Thanks for the idea. I will keep it in mind the next time I’m making air fresheners.
I have lovebirds so I can’t use store bought air fresheners (sprays), and they ALL run out to soon. Fixed income here so, I think this would work great. Does any one know if this would be dangerous to birds?
baking soda is something you shouldn’t feed your birds. Buy natural fragrance oils and it won’t be harmful. None are harmful to smell. For example, mint oil is made from mint plants. Lavender scent is made from lavender plants. Its natural and its ok for both people and birds, but don’t place it anywhere where the birds feel like they should eat it.
Birds are very sensitive to things like perfumes, air fresheners and scented things like that. I think that was where she is concerned about bird safety, not whether they could eat it or not… I think just having the baking soda in the room with the birds would be the best bet, then use the scented mix for rooms where the birds won’t be.
This is a great little project to reuse baby food jars too. Just use a large nail to punch holes in the lid.
Hi Teresa! The baby food jars would be perfect.
I wonder if this will turn into a brick in humid climates (no AC).
Hi Juanita. Not quite sue if it would turn into a brick. The weather here is not that humid. However, I would hope that it wouldn’t.
It may, but if you put rice, colourful beads, glass rocks, anything that will shake up, it’ll break up the soda mixture easily and look decorative too!
I bet without the chalk coloring it would make a great carpet powder too 🙂
I read a comment some time ago that the baking soda will clog and ruin the motor of your vacuum cleaner. I haven’t tried it for that reason, I could be wrong, but I’m not willing to take that risk. I do hope this is not the case.
Baking soda will not hurt your vacuum…I use salt to kill fleas and baking soda for smells down…
i have been using baking soda on my carpet for years. after reading this a while back I started adding lemon essential oil to the baking soda then shake on the carpet and let set a while. then vacuum. in all the years I’ve used it I’ve never had a problem with the vacuum cleaner.
I vacumn a cotton ball with real va
nilla extract cleans the air when you clean the rug !! Glad for the hint about salt for fleas !!
I have done this twice. Two days ago I attempted to use my vacuum and noticed that it was picking up and was throwing the dirt back out. I took it to a vacuum replacement company who told me my motor was clogged. I had never had issue before only thing different was the usage of baking soda.
The gentleman said in his 30+ years of working on vacuums he’s seen numerous motors get clogged due to baking soda or those “carpet freshners” found.
He highly does not recommended using them. I’m now stuck at having to pay $60 to get a new motor.
That’s my experience.
Hi Danielle. It would definitely work as a carpet powder, without the chalk.
You could probably add dried lavender to this as well, right? Love this idea! Great project for my 3 year old also 🙂
Hi Julie! Though, I haven’t tried it myself, I’m sure that it would work just as well.
I’ve been trying to eliminate Chemicals in our house and one of the Biggies is air freshener. But we Need air freshener. Thanks so much for coming up with something that will do the job and not add more toxins to our home!
Hi Diva Mom! You are most certainly welcome! We love those homemade air fresheners….
Very pretty – would make some nice gifts. Thanks for posting. I live in Manhattan with old fashioned radiators and risers. I just put some essential oils right on the pipes and/or light bulbs. Saves me time and smells good, too!
Thanks Yvonne! Sounds like a great idea of putting the oils right on the pipes.
I started using baking soda to absorb odors in my fridge and closet, but I never thought of adding a scent! Brilliant.
Hi Vanessa! Adding the scent definitely gives it a boost.
Such a neat idea! And easy too 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing at last week’s All my Bloggy Friends – Linda and I look forward to seeing what you share this week! 🙂
Hi Jamie! Yes, it is quite simple to make and fun too.
O I need to try this for sure!
Thanks for sharing with us on Pin it Tuesdays! PowerfulMothering.com
Definitely try it! It is such a neat idea to try….
very good idea thank you for you help yes air freshners are expenseve
Hi Sherry! You are so welcome.
Hi! Newest follower here… I love your blog! I was hoping that you would pop on by my blog and follow me back!
Have a lovely day,
Sarah
http://www.enjoyingtheepiphany.com
Hi Sarah! Thanks for stopping by. Definitely going to scoot over and check out your blog….
Having more pets in the house I love the idea of prettying up the box into your colorful diy! Hope to see you again soon! Thanks for sharing & linking up! Don’t forget to enter the giveaways! Theresa @ DearCreatives.com (one ends today)
That is brilliant I gotta try it myself… I’m crazy about air freshener too. I use to buy a lot of packages at Bed Bath and Beyond to bring them here, I love how they smell, but your tips are much better and cheap !!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at Bewitch Me & Titi! Hope to have you back next Sunday with more awesome shares!
Hope you are having a lovely week
Hugs
Cami @ TitiCrafty by Camila
Hi Camilla! Definitely try it and it is definitely much cheaper…. You’ll love it.
Great idea!
We would love it if you would link up at our linky party:
Two Girls and a Party
Live every Wednesday to Sunday. Hosted by:
Dana @ This Silly Girl’s Life
Parrish @ Life with the Crust Cut Off
We hope to see you there!
Hi Dana! Thanks for the invite.
Great idea! My girls and I are going to have fun trying this out! So glad I found your blog!
Thanks Sue! You must try it. My daughter and I had so much fun doing this.
The bonus with this method is that it will not only freshen but all absorb moisture and odors. Thanks for linking up at Pin It Tuesday!
It definitely freshens…so I know it’s working.
I’ve never thought about making my own air freshener. This is great. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! You must try it. It came out fabulous!
The scents do fade fast in the closet and this sounds fun to make and I like that you can make the scent whatever you choose.
Hi Rosey! It was definitely fun! They turned out better than I could have imagined.
Great idea!
Thanks! I love it! My daughter keeps smelling them throughout the day….
Hi Sharon,
What an awesome idea. That is a good project as well do with children. I love creative new ideas. This one is awesome.
Thanks Cynthia! This is a good project for kids. My daughter actually helped me along the way to make these.
Gotta try this! I love that it’s natural 🙂
Hi Lisa! You must try this!
How do you come up with all these great ideas?
I’m impressed every time you create something new!!
Thanks Kim! The chalk just came to mind. My kids are always saying, “What crazy thing have you come up with for your blog now, Mom?” Even they were a little impressed with this post.
What a great idea. The chalk for color is brilliant.
Thank you for linking up to Raising Imperfection!
Make sure to check back on Friday to see if you were featured.
Leslie
http://www.violetimperfection.com
Thanks Leslie! Will definitely scoot back thru.
I love that you used sidewalk chalk to color your air freshener.
That is really clever.
Thank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. 🙂
¤´¨)
¸.•*´
(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
http://www.raising-reagan.com
Thanks Lanaya! Thanks for having such a wonderful party!
Do you use the paper divider to separate the colors? This sounds like such a great idea, I am pinning it for later I need to make these. I always get coupons for air fresheners and they are always on sale but I never like the flavors that they offer, they just smell to chemically. I am going to try this with some lavender oil!
Hi Angela! Yes, I used the paper divider to separate the colors since I was lining them up side by side. Definitely give it a try! When I purchase other scents I’m going to make another batch. Can’t wait….
I’ll let you know how it goes. Btw your picture has been repinned over 20 times!
Wow! Thanks for pinning! I’ve got to check that out. I always appreciate when someone pins something from my site and it continues to get repinned. And definitely let me know how your air fresheners turn out…..
Cool! Looks so simple and inexpensive to make, and the chalk makes it so pretty. I can’t deal with bad odors, and so I’m an air freshener junkie. But you’re right, it gets really expensive after a while. Definitely trying to make this at home soon.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Patty! You must definitely try this! I think I was more excited about the colors than the scents when I finished.
Chalk?! What a fabulous idea! As one of the co-hosts from the My Favorite Posts Weekend SHOW OFF Party! I wanted to personally thank you for linking up with us. Also, I’m hosting a Facebook like party on my blog where you can link up and increase your Facebook likes! I’d love it if you joined in too! It’s here: http://anyonitanibbles.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/skinny-apple-cherry-ombre-smoothie.html
Thanks Anyonita!