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Not feeling festive yet? Try a little simmer – it will get your home smelling festive in a hurry. Gather any combination of the following ingredients – you only NEED one or two things, but you can combine to your heart’s content. (This isn’t just for holidays either – it’s a great way to scent your kitchen anytime!)
- lemons
- oranges
- cinnamon sticks
- whole cloves
- cranberries
- fresh herbs
- essential oils (just a drop or two is all you need)
- 4 cups water
Combine ingredients with water in a saucepan and put on your stove. Set heat to low and let the ingredients simmer away as long as you’d like. (Keep an eye on the water so it doesn’t boil over or scorch.)
This post is part of a series designed to help you Simplify the Season. You can see all the posts here.
Linda Pina Says...
My mother used to put a pan of water on top of our coal & wood burning stoves to add moisture to the air and she occassionally added cinnamon sticks and fruit slices for fragrance. Later on, in our new home, she would put pans of water inside of our floor register vents with the same results.
I have ceiling vents in my home so it is not practicle to do this but I do put a small pan of water of these fragrance items underneath a room heater that we have (it stand on legs and the heat comes out from underneath) and this also works well.
lois holz Says...
Oh yea, my dad would hide a pan of water behind the piano in the winter and the piano wouldn’t go out of tune.
Lisa Pedersen Says...
There are so many great ideas in this post!
I have a fireplace/woodstove that we use primarily for heat in the wintertime
(and I live in Canada…so heat is key!)
The biggest problem we have is moisture…or should I say lack of it!
I was asking my readers what they would put in the stove pot….
We used white pine or spruce for the festive smell…but I also use Lavender or eucalyptus when the kidlets have sinus issues. Citrus smells like oranges just make everyone happy! Super mood booster!!!
reminds me of the olden days when they used to stick whole cloves into oranges.
Thank you for your post!!!