I don’t think anything can exemplify the very opposite sustainable living than product like the plug-in scent diffusers. Think about it. We’re using electricity to power some small motor to turn a fan or to heat some pack of synthetically scented gel and spread a concoction of who-knows-what around our homes. When the gel dries out, we pull it out, toss it in its plastic packaging, and replace it with another one. Or, if the entire plug-in quits working, we toss the entire plastic and metal piece into the trash and replace it with another electricity-using plastic and gel invention.
Yikes.
We can do better than that, don’t you think?
Again, let’s start with simple.
- Fresh flowers. The kind you can grow in your yard or your home, like roses, irises, gardenias. Gardenias are intensely fragrant and can fill a whole room with their scent. Plant a gardenia bush and you’ll have sustainable scent for several months out of the year, plus an evergreen bush all year round. Find other flowers you like. Other great options include hyacinth, scented geraniums, narcissus, heliotrope, wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, sweetpea, magnolia, and peonies. Some will only work to grow outdoors (wisteria, for example) and you can just pluck and arrange in a vase. Others make great houseplants (scented geraniums) or can be forced over the winter (hyacinth, narcissus) so you have the beautiful look and smell of fresh flowers all year. And the cost of purchasing seeds or bulbs is so cheap compared to purchasing fresh bouquets from a florist.
- Potted herbs. An outdoor herb garden in the summer is wonderful, but then winter comes. So grow a selection of your favorite herbs in pretty pots or window boxes or other containers. Make sure they get plenty of sun, but don’t feel like they have to all cluster together in one little spot. Spread them out. Let your kitchen smell like basil, your dining room like rosemary, and your living room like lemon balm, your bathroom like pineapple mint, and your bedroom like lavendar. In the summertime, when your herb plants are outdoors, clip a few sprigs and put them in a vase wherever you need a lift. I love basil and mint together on the butcher block in my kitchen, and it helps keep the gnats out.
- Diffusers. You can diffuse the scent of any essential oil in the room with a tea candle and a few drops of an essential oil. You can buy a diffuser, of course, or you can simply light a tea or votive candle until the wax on top melts, blow out the flame, and carefully put a few drops of your essential oil into the melted wax. Be careful because essential oils are very flammable. Relight the candle, and the scent will be distributed throughout the room.
Have fun!
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I don’t think anything can exemplify the very opposite sustainable living than product like the plug-in scent diffusers. Think about it. We’re using electricity to power some small motor to turn a fan or to heat some pack of synthetically scented gel and spread a concoction of who-knows-what around our homes. When the gel dries out, we pull it out, toss it in its plastic packaging, and replace it with another one. Or, if the entire plug-in quits working, we toss the entire plastic and metal piece into the trash and replace it with another electricity-using plastic and gel invention.
Yikes.
We can do better than that, don’t you think?
Again, let’s start with simple.
- Fresh flowers. The kind you can grow in your yard or your home, like roses, irises, gardenias. Gardenias are intensely fragrant and can fill a whole room with their scent. Plant a gardenia bush and you’ll have sustainable scent for several months out of the year, plus an evergreen bush all year round. Find other flowers you like. Other great options include hyacinth, scented geraniums, narcissus, heliotrope, wisteria, jasmine, honeysuckle, sweetpea, magnolia, and peonies. Some will only work to grow outdoors (wisteria, for example) and you can just pluck and arrange in a vase. Others make great houseplants (scented geraniums) or can be forced over the winter (hyacinth, narcissus) so you have the beautiful look and smell of fresh flowers all year. And the cost of purchasing seeds or bulbs is so cheap compared to purchasing fresh bouquets from a florist.
- Potted herbs. An outdoor herb garden in the summer is wonderful, but then winter comes. So grow a selection of your favorite herbs in pretty pots or window boxes or other containers. Make sure they get plenty of sun, but don’t feel like they have to all cluster together in one little spot. Spread them out. Let your kitchen smell like basil, your dining room like rosemary, and your living room like lemon balm, your bathroom like pineapple mint, and your bedroom like lavendar. In the summertime, when your herb plants are outdoors, clip a few sprigs and put them in a vase wherever you need a lift. I love basil and mint together on the butcher block in my kitchen, and it helps keep the gnats out.
- Diffusers. You can diffuse the scent of any essential oil in the room with a tea candle and a few drops of an essential oil. You can buy a diffuser, of course, or you can simply light a tea or votive candle until the wax on top melts, blow out the flame, and carefully put a few drops of your essential oil into the melted wax. Be careful because essential oils are very flammable. Relight the candle, and the scent will be distributed throughout the room.
Have fun!
Image Credit: SantaRosa OLD SKOOL.
