DIY Natural Room Scents

DIY Natural Room Scents

Ingredients
Citrus, sliced -- lemons, oranges, limes (may use peel only, if preferred)
Herbs -- rosemary, thyme, & bay leaves
Spices-- whole cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice (optional), anise (optional); may substitute ground/powdered spices
Ginger (fresh or powdered)
Extracts--vanilla, almond, mint
Pine twigs (or other fragrant twigs)
Directions

Use a pint (2 cup) jar, container, or pot to combine scent waters. Add ingredients to container, cover with water, and choose from these options:
simmer on stove top, topping off with more water as it evaporates
add heated mixture to a slow cooker, fondue pot, or something similar that will keep mixture heated.
Preheat waters to a boil (in microwave or on stove top). As water evaporates, always top it off with HOT water to keep the temperature as high as possible. Higher heat = more fragrance.


FRAGRANT COMBINATIONS:

1. Orange, Cinnamon & Spice. 1 orange, 2 cinnamon sticks (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon), 1/2 tablespoon whole cloves (or 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves), 1/2 tablespoon whole allspice (or 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice), 1 anise star (optional)

2. Lemon, Rosemary & Vanilla. 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 2 lemons, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

3. Lime, Thyme, Mint & Vanilla. 3 limes, 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, 1/2 teaspoon mint extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla.

4. Orange, Ginger, & Almond. 1 orange (or peel from 2 oranges), 1 4" finger of ginger, sliced (or 1 tsp ground ginger), 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

5. Pine, Bay Leaves, & Nutmeg. Handful of pine twigs or needles, 4 bay leaves, 1 whole nutmeg, outer layer grated into mixture.

Scented waters may be refrigerated between uses. Reuse for 2-3 days, or as long as they still have a pleasant fragrance.

Cost saving tips

You can save, use and reuse a number of fragrant ingredients. These scents don't need to be expensive.

Leftover ginger -- If you ever cook with fresh ginger and end up with leftover pieces , this is a way to use them up...

House Cleaner

 
 http://www.littlebrickranch.com/2011/04/what-is-wet-pink-and-gross-all-over.html


White vinegar 
Orange peels,limes, lemons, grapefruit
to make it smell better but also to harness the cleaning properties that citrus fruit oils contain. 

After 2 weeks I strained the dark orange vinegar out and placed it in a new container. I then took my spray bottle and filled it 3/4 of the way with water then added the orange infused white vinegar to the top.

 The great part about this is you can add additional fruit peels as you go so there is no need to cut and peel your whole 8lb bag of oranges all at once. These 2 bottles (old pasta sauce jars) took about 5-6 orange peels each.

THIS IS DIY, do at your own risk, not mine!

Clorox Cleanups

Fake Clorox Cleanup
1 Empty and Rinsed-Out Bottle of Clorox Cleanup/Empty Plastic Spray Bottle
1/4 Cup Bleach
1 Teaspoon Laundry Detergent
Fill the rest of the bottle with Water and Shake!

Credit

To make this, I picked up a gallon jug of Bleach at the Dollar Tree, so with 16 Cups to a Gallon, that one jug could potentially make 64 Bottles* of Fake Clorox Cleanup! WOW! The laundry detergent I had on hand, of course.

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake Clorox Cleanup (Bleach, $1.00/Gallon, Laundry Detergent, negligible)

Total Fake-It Cost:  $0.02/Bottle

Compare to Real Clorox Cleanup:  $4.99

Total Fake-It Savings:  $4.97

*Just For Fun:  64 Bottles of Fake Clorox Cleanup:  $1.00,
64 Bottles of Real Clorox Cleanup: $319.36,
Total Savings:  $318.36  Wow! Isn't that incredible?

Fake It Expensive Laundry Soap

Credit - Soap.com

Ingredients:

2 bars of sunlight laundry soap ($2.19)

1 1/2 cups of Borax (aprox. $6/box but makes 6 tubs)

1 1/2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (aprox. $6/box but makes 8 tubs)

Ice cream pail with lid

*Optional 1/2 cup of Oxy clean no name brand laundry booster NOT necessary, but my hubby works in the oil patch and well....sometimes it just makes me feel better to add it in =)

Grate both sunlight bars right into a old ice cream pail WITH lid!

Add your Borax

Add your Arm and Hammer

Stir it up and done!

ONLY PUT IN 2 TABLESPOONS OF DETERGENT!!  

That is ALL it needs, if you have a front load add the soap first.

Make sure that you seal the lid while storing your soap as it will dry out. I put the recipe right on my ice cream pail that way anyone can make more without the excuse of not knowing how!

Use the cold cycle for washing machine which saves further. Clean laundry at a fraction of the cost.

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:  

Fake Tide Coldwater HE ($3.12/pail)

Total Fake-It Cost:  $0.06/load

Compare to Actual Tide Coldwater ($15.95 for 63 load box, $0.25/load)

Total Fake-It Savings:  $7.17 or $0.19 per load!

Thanks again to Teresa for sharing her awesome recipe for saving money!

Fake Tide Coldwater HE

Today's Great Fake is a Guest Submission by one of Fake-It Frugal's wonderful readers, Teresa Braun from Alberta, Canada!  She writes, "I have an oldie but a goodie. I have made my own High Efficiency Tide for a couple of years now. This recipe costs next to nothing to make and it is better than Tide!"
 http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/04/fake-tide-coldwater-he.html

Fake it Dishwasher Rinse for Pennies!

Fake Jet-Dry, Less Than A Penny Per Wash!

Simply add White Vinegar to your Rinse Agent repository in your dishwasher!  I didn't believe that it would work all that great until I tried it and discovered that the vinegar even did an amazing job of cleaning off all that gunky stuff & film from the bottom/sides of my dishwasher as well!  Just Fabulous!

I am starting to understand why many of you have often touted the great uses for plain old vinegar!


The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Vinegar Rinse Agent: 32 oz Bottle, $2.39 (or cheaper), 304 Washes

Total Fake-It Cost:  $2.87/year (365 washes),  $0.008 per wash (less than a penny!)

Compare to 8.45 oz Jet-Dry Rinse Agent:  $4.99/80 Washes, 365 washes = $22.76 per year, $0.06 per wash

Total Fake-It Savings:  $19.89/year

akeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/01/fake-jet-dry-less-than-penny-per-wash.html

Static Cling and Aluminum Foil

photo credit: core77.com



 A balled up piece of good old Aluminum Foil thrown in the dryer with your clothes is just as effective as a dryer sheet!  It's true!  I've been using the same ball of foil for the last four weeks and it's still working just fine. 

One thing I learned, however, is that if you have a load of flannel mixed with polar fleece (a static superload!), throw in two balls of foil.  That's more than one ball can handle!

Why does this work?  Check out the answer and more tips here at eHow!


The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Aluminum Foil "Dryer Sheet":  Just about $0.00

Total Fake-It Cost:  It may cost you $1.00 over the course of a year to make new balls

Compare to Snuggle Dryer Sheets ($4.99 for 80 sheets), $0.06/load

Total Fake-It Savings: $25.00/Year (based on my usual laundry pile of 8 loads/week)
 http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/11/ditch-dryer-sheets-static-cling.html

Fake It Shower Cleaner

alice.com PHOTO CREDIT.


 To Make Fake Clean Shower:  
1 Empty Spray Bottle (I used an old Clean Shower bottle)
1 Tablespoon Jet-Dry (or similar Dishwasher Rinse Agent)
2 Tablespoons Dish Detergent
1/4 Cup Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 Cup Rubbing Alcohol
Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake!

A few notes:
1.  The Rinse Agent & Dish Detergent take care of hard water problems.
2.  The Peroxide & Alcohol take care of soap scum, bacteria & mold. 
3.  The smell of my mix isn't as "fresh" as the original, but it is a clean smell that dissipates quickly.
4.   Bottom Line:  It works!  I've been using it daily for a month, and there is not a spot of mold, mildew or hard water in my shower.

The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake Clean Shower (1 T Jet Dry $0.18, 2 T Detergent $0.02, Peroxide $0.06, Alcohol $0.06)

Total Fake-It Cost: $0.32

Compare to Original Clean Shower:  $3.00

Total Fake-It Savings: $2.68

Yearly Savings:  $64.32 (24 bottles)
 http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/10/fake-clean-shower.html

Green Cleaning Recipes