Need to freshen up your house? Learn how to make your house smell good all the time with some simple cleaning hacks!
When you or guests walk into your home, you want it to feel comfy, cozy, and inviting. What you don’t want is for there to be a funky smell lingering in the air.
Keeping your home feeling fresh isn’t always easy, especially when there are kids and pets in the mix. People and animals have unique scents and when you add in cooking smells and other aromas, it can lead to nose overload.
So what can you do, short of moving? Today, I’m sharing some of the best ideas for how to make your house smell good and feel fresh all the time.
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How to Make Your House Smell Good (Easy Hacks)
Keeping your house smelling great shouldn’t be a hassle. The tips I’m sharing here are all ones I use or have used to keep my home (which includes two teenagers and five pets) pleasant-smelling.
1. Simmer spices on the stove
A little stovetop simmer pot is an instant fix for a smelly home. Just simmer some cinnamon sticks, cloves, and citrus peels in water for a warm, natural fragrance.
2. Use a diffuser
Essential oils can help set the mood and keep your home smelling good all the time. Try using a diffuser with lavender, eucalyptus, or lemon to create a relaxing, calming, or invigorating scent.
Note: Essential oils are considered to be volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and are unregulated in the U.S. Learn more about essential oils and their potential health impacts.
3. Try baking soda for carpets
Baking soda is an excellent odor absorber and it’s a super-simple fix for freshening up smelly rugs or carpets. Just sprinkle some baking soda on your carpets, let it sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum to absorb odors.
Pro tip: Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter and clean it regularly to prevent baking soda from damaging the machine.
4. Set out potpourri
Growing up, my mom always had a bowl of potpourri somewhere around the house. I never understood why someone would want to decorate with a bowl of what looked like wood chips but it always smelled great.
You can buy premade potpourri but if you find the scent too overpowering, you could make your own with dried flowers, citrus peels, and herbs.
5. Use activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is another excellent odor fighter and it’s relatively inexpensive, too. You can get some activated charcoal bags and put them in the corners or closets to neutralize unwanted smells. If you have cats, consider getting a litterbox that has an activated charcoal filter you can change out to banish strong odors.
6. Burn scented candles
I used to be a huge candle collector but since I’ve acquired some nosy curious cats, I’ve had to put away my stash. If you’ve got the space to burn scented candles safely then you could use them to add some instant freshness to any room in your home. Look for ones that have a decent burn time and aren’t too overwhelming, in terms of scent.
7. Invest in an air purifier
An air purifier helps to clean the air which in turn, reduces odors. There are a lot of air purifiers on the market so as you comparison shop, consider how much space the unit takes up, how much square footage it will purify, and what kind of contaminants it filters for.
8. Sweep/vacuum daily
Daily sweeping and/or vacuuming can help you keep dirt, dust, and dander under control and reign in yucky smells. For example, when our pets go outside they always track some dirt back in, which has a distinct earthy odor. To combat that problem, I use my Eufy robot vacuum to sweep it all up.
If you don’t have the budget for a robot vac just yet, you can try a stick vacuum or a regular broom.
9. Clean your trash can
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve noticed a funky odor in the house and traced it back to my kitchen trash can. It’s amazing how much something like a little sliver or onion or a tomato that’s past its prime can stink up the place.
If you don’t have cleaning the trash can on your weekly cleaning schedule, be sure to add that in.
Pull out the liner and use soapy water or your favorite cleaner to wash the can inside and out. If your can sits inside a cabinet like mine, wipe down the cabinet too. Spray some Lysol inside the cabinet or around the area where your can sits and replace the liner for a full odor protection game plan.
10. Freshen up fabrics
If your couches or chairs are getting a little smelly you could try some fabric spray to freshen them up. You don’t have to buy it either. You can mix water, baking soda, and a few drops of essential oil from your diffuser in a spray bottle for a quick and easy DIY fabric spray.
11. Try oranges and lemons
Oranges and lemons have a naturally pleasing scent (unless you’re the kind of person who just hates anything citrus.) You can use them to combat bad odors at home by:
- Grinding a lemon or orange in the garbage disposal
- Placing fresh citrus peels around the house or in a bowl on the countertop to create a light scent
- Adding them to a stovetop simmer pot
- Blending citrus essential oil, olive oil, and a dash of white vinegar for DIY furniture polish that smells AMAZING!
12. Place dryer sheets in closets and drawers
Dryer sheets are great for freshening up closets and drawers, especially if they don’t get opened that often. If you don’t use dryer sheets in your laundry routine, you could also try some premade sachet bags to add nice scents to those tucked-away spaces in your home.
13. Put baking soda in your shoes
If you have a shoes-off policy like we do you might notice that smells tend to congregate around where everyone takes them off. Sprinkling a little baking soda into everyone’s shoes overnight is a simple fix for absorbing smelly foot odors.
14. Use essential oils as a room spray
Essential oils smell wonderful in a diffuser but you can also repurpose them into a DIY room spray. Just mix a few drops of your favorite scent with a little water and add to a spray bottle for an instant scent boost.
15. Try the coffee grounds trick
You might love the smell of coffee but did you know you can use the coffee grounds to make your home smell good?
Place used, dried coffee grounds in a bowl in your fridge to knock out food smells. Or add some coffee grounds to cheesecloth bags and place them in areas of your home where bad odors tend to collect to get rid of the smell.
16. Change your air filters
Regularly changing your air filters can keep your HVAC system running efficiently and help to tackle musty smells. Most people can get away with changing out their air filters every 90 days or so. And according to my HVAC servicer, you don’t need to drop a bunch of money on super-expensive filters. The less costly versions can work just as well.
17. Open windows and doors
If you need an instant refresher to make your home smell better open the windows or doors. Open them on opposite sides of your home to create a cross-breeze and flush out stinky air. This is a fast (and zero-cost) option for how to make your home smell good any time of year!
18. Get a wax warmer
Here’s a confession: I’ve recently become obsessed with using a wax warmer to make my home smell good. Mine sits right by the front door and I’ve got a whole basket of different wax melts to use, depending on my mood for the day. It takes a little bit for the wax to hear but once it does my whole house ends up smelling like cheesecake, cookies, flowers–whatever I’m melting for the day!
I bought a simple white one for under $10 at Walmart but you can find tons of options on Amazon.
19. Use white vinegar
Vinegar is one of the most effective and cheapest DIY cleaners and odor absorbers you can use white vinegar mixed with water to mop floors, wipe down counters, or simply place a bowl of vinegar in the kitchen or bathroom for an instant scent improvement.
20. Decorate with dried herbs
Placing dried herbs (or fresh ones) in a vase or jar is a simple way to add some fresh scents to your home and upgrade your decor. Try rosemary, basil, eucalyptus, or lavender to create some inviting scents.
21. Bake something
Baking can be a relaxing activity and it can make your house smell delightful if you’re cooking up something yummy. Some of my favorite things to smell baking include sugar cookies, banana bread, and cinnamon rolls. And the best part about using this idea for how to make your house smell good is that you get to sample the end result!
Free Weekly Cleaning Schedule
Need a simple way to keep track of your cleaning routine? Grab this free printable weekly cleaning schedule! (Just click the image to download.)
What Ideas Do You Have for How to Make Your House Smell Good?
These hacks offer a quick way to make your home smell fresh and inviting without relying on heavy chemicals or air fresheners!
Need some extra help managing your time as a busy mom? Check out The Organized Home for tips on how to create routines that keep your days running smoothly, your house in order, and your family happy. It’s one of my go-to resources for calming the chaos of everyday mom life!