10 ways to remove odor from your clothes closet

The pleasant aroma from clothes and linen always lifts your spirits and gives you a feeling of cleanliness and freshness.

Even if you use a very good washing powder and high-quality conditioner, the fragrant fragrance can disappear from things quite quickly, especially if they lie in the closet for a long time.

There are several ways to make sure that the things in your closets and chests of drawers always smell pleasant, literally soaking in your favorite aromas.

METHOD 1. AROMATIC SACHETS

One of the most popular options, but many of its disadvantages include the fragility of the sachets and the need for their frequent replacement.

Similar sachets can be bought in stores - they can contain either dry aromatic herbs and flavoring, or simply synthetic flavoring. If you prefer natural scents, you can sew the sachet yourself, especially since in this case you can make a bouquet of scents with your own hands.

Read about how to sew and what to fill such a sachet in our step-by-step master class:

How to make a sachet

Choose natural fabrics that ventilate well: cotton, linen, silk, bamboo, burlap. A sachet packed in a synthetic bag will quickly lose its aroma.

Cut a rectangle of fabric measuring 10x33 cm. Fold it in half with the wrong side out, sew the top and side edges with tight stitches to make a bag. Turn the workpiece out through the remaining hole.

Before pouring the prepared mixture of flowers and herbs inside, make sure that all the ingredients are thoroughly dry. Otherwise, your bag will smell not of a pleasant aroma, but of mold. If desired, add a few drops of essential oils (lavender, verbena, mint, orange) or rose oil. Crushed violet root has a strengthening effect. Add it at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 25 g of dry mixture. It will make the aroma of the sachet more persistent, without overpowering it.

Once the filling is ready, tie the bag tightly with satin ribbon, braid or leather cord. You can decorate it with lace, beads, beads or stripes.

Sachets are bags (pads) filled with spices, herbs, and flower petals. For a more lasting aroma, various aromatic oils are used. Such pads are used for closets with clothes, drawers with linen, children's rooms, offices, bedrooms. They use natural materials, herbs and oils. Making sachet with your own hands is not difficult. For decoration you can use ribbons, lace, fringe. Sometimes, instead of a bag, a vase or basket filled with petals and herbs is used.

METHOD 2. ESSENTIAL OILS

The healing properties of essential oils have been known since ancient times, because each scent has its own effect on our nervous system and health in general. If you have your favorite essential oil scents, it would be a shame not to use them to scent things in your closet. There are several recipes for this:

1. Apply 5-7 drops of your favorite essential oil (or mixture of oils) to a cotton ball and place it in a plastic bag with small holes. Place several of these bags in linen drawers and closets with clothes.

2. You can also use a spray bottle by pouring clean water into it and adding essential oils at the rate of 15-30 drops per 1 liter of water. Then spray this mixture onto your linens or clothes if you are sure that no marks will remain on the fabrics. It is better not to spray this mixture on delicate fabrics, such as silk. If in doubt, it is better to spray it on the cabinet walls.

3. To scent linen and clothes, you can use an alcohol mixture: add 6-8 drops of essential oil to 10 ml of alcohol. Pour the resulting mixture into a stable bottle and place it, without closing the lid, in the corner of the cabinet so that it does not tip over (therefore, it is better to choose square bottles that will fit well in the corner).

How to use essential oils?

In France, Italy, England and many other countries, bags with aromatic herbs are traditionally used, which are placed on the shelves of cabinets, and in Asia, for example, dried flowers and sticks made of precious wood are used for these purposes.

However, today there are many different opportunities to give your linen and clothes a subtle aroma and rid things of various unpleasant odors (which often “live” in closets, especially old ones).

Here are three easy DIY ideas to help you give your closets a fresh look.

If you have a favorite perfume, you can use its aroma to scent your linen and clothes (and you don’t have to put perfume on your things). To do this, you just need to buy... soap from the same line as your perfume.

Soap “seals” the aroma and it does not disappear for a very long time, which is why soap in a muslin bag is very often used as a fragrance for linen, for example, in Provence. Well, in general: using perfumed soap to scent wardrobes is an old trick of courtesans and ladies of the demimonde, who “marked” all their clothes and bed linen with scent. You will need a bar of soap, muslin or lace (loose fabrics that allow air to pass through), threads and a needle .

If the bar of soap is large, you can cut it into several smaller bars and place them on different shelves. Just wrap the soap in a cloth (so it doesn't damage things - soap leaves whitish marks on the fabric), and secure the edges with simple stitching. You don’t have to try too hard: it’s not a decorative object and no one will see it anyway.

This spray can be used not only to scent cabinets, but also to freshen a room (for example, you can apply it to curtains and upholstered furniture).

Well, the easiest way to scent your closet shelves is to place sachets of aromatic herbs on them. You can take dried herbs that already have quite a strong scent (like lavender), or take any dried herbs or flowers and infuse them with the scent you like.

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You will need:

• muslin bags (jewelry bags work great) or pieces of muslin and ribbon
• herbs
• essential oils (optional)

Aroma lamps

The classic ones consist of 2 parts: the lower one is intended for a small candle, water and oils are poured into the upper part, at the rate of 2 drops per 5 square meters. m of room area. Catalytic ones look like a vessel filled with oil; a wick with a catalytic burner (platinum-coated ceramic) is placed there. The burner is lit, after 2 minutes the flame is blown out and covered with a special protective lampshade. The room is aromatized, plus, unpleasant odors are removed and bacteria in the air are destroyed.

You can install the aroma lamp in any room, but in an area inaccessible to children. Do not place it on flammable surfaces (tablecloth, plastic, oilcloth). Before use, ventilate the room well, and then light the lamp, closing all doors and windows to prevent the aroma from escaping into space.

Ideal for use in the bedroom or while taking a bath. Candles do not mix with electricity, so when you light candles, turn off the lights and enjoy. In such an atmosphere you can create a romantic and even intimate mood or meditate.

There are a lot of advantages:

• Naturalness (100%!)
• Hypoallergenic ⠀
• Safe for children
• Rich smell
• Doesn't run out of steam for a long time
• Economical consumption (30-90 hours)

Sachet

A scented pad designed to scent a room or linen. Fragrant sachets can be placed anywhere: in the kitchen, in the children's room, in the closet or bathroom. For example, a pleasant mixture of lavender, rose petals and yarrow is suitable for the bedroom, and in the nursery you can put a sachet with chamomile and lavender.

Room spray

Flavoring in aerosol packaging. You can buy or mix water and oils in a spray bottle: let it be a small home ritual, a little meditation. You can spray water with a few drops of lavender throughout the apartment to disinfect the air or put it in the toilet instead of artificial sprays.

Wax cubes for aroma lamp. A good alternative to scented candles without an open flame. Just put them in a bowl, and when the wax begins to melt, the room will quickly fill with aroma.

Fragrant mixtures

A set of natural flowers and herbs poured into an open bowl and sprinkled with essential oils. Such aromas are placed on a table, window sill, shelf, they are not heated, they are already ready for use.

Diffusers

They consist of three parts: a bottle, a set of sticks, and an aromatic composition. The diffuser does not need to be set on fire, extinguished, or monitored. It is enough to adjust the intensity of the smell once: if you want a strong aroma, put all the sticks on. If you like a faint smell, remove a few. If you have placed all the sticks and the aroma seems weak, turn the sticks over. The diffuser lasts for about three months, but it all depends on the volume.

This is a small device designed to diffuse essential oils. During operation, the device also regulates the humidity level in the room. You determine the intensity of the smell in the room yourself: From 5 drops of essential oil (for a light aroma) to 20 drops per container. If you want an atmosphere of maximum relaxation in your bedroom or have difficulty sleeping, place such a diffuser near your bed. Can also be used in the toilet, bathroom, living room.

For kitchen

Citrus aromatic oils are suitable for the kitchen: orange, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, lemongrass. They lift your spirits and effectively neutralize odors.

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Lifehacks for the kitchen:

• You can prepare a mixture of 5 drops of cloves and 4 drops of limetta oil (Mediterranean sweet lemon).
• Want to fill your kitchen with the aroma of coffee? Add 4-6 drops of citrus oil to ground coffee
• You can soak towels and napkins in water with oils. In addition to the pleasant aroma, bacteria and unpleasant odors are destroyed
• Add 2-3 drops of rosemary to your dish soap and it will smell perfect.

For the bedroom

Soothing aromas are needed here. Priority is given to rose, fir, lavender, violet, as they best induce healthy sleep.

Lifehacks for the bedroom:

• If you want to have a great night, get acquainted with the scent of love: ambergris. It improves mood and increases attraction to a partner. This popular aphrodisiac is formed during the digestion of sperm whales and is a dense substance with a pungent tarry odor. You can use fragrances based on it
• Vanilla is a simple scent that most people like. The smell of vanilla gives energy, harmonizes the atmosphere around, creating an atmosphere of trust. It gives a feeling of joy, improves memory, promotes concentration, revives the thirst for life
• Prepare a sleeping potion: 200 ml of water with 10 drops of lavender essential oil. Pour into a spray bottle and spray on bedding before bed

To feel good and pleasant when entering your home, use the aromas of coffee, cedar, lemon, pine, tea tree, bergamot, orange, and lavender.

Lifehacks for the hallway:

• For the hallway there are aromatic assistants that neutralize unpleasant odors coming from the entrance: citrus and pine
• There are also “magic wands” for closets: lavender. She drives away moths. But lately, preferences have been given to floral and fresh scents: cotton, violet

Here the principle “this and that will do” does not work. The aroma can be anything. And no one can pick it up better than the owners of the house. Find “your scent.” Fruit and floral compositions are often chosen. Experiment with sandalwood, mint, tangerine, honey. Many people enjoy figs for their sweet, exotic aroma.

The bathroom is not only a place to relax, but also an important element in keeping your home clean and fresh. Washing powders, gels, etc. are used here. In the bathroom you want not only to take a bath, but also to spend a pleasant time, forgetting about a busy day. Floral scents are ideal for this: delicate rose, soothing lavender. Create an atmosphere of relaxation with candles, petals and beautiful music, and the aroma will unobtrusively envelop you and give pleasant emotions.

Most often we use air fresheners in the toilet: this is where odors appear that can only be destroyed by strong aromas. Store-bought air fresheners contain harmful ingredients that enter our body through the lungs, so it is better to avoid them. Fill the diffuser with fresh fruity, citrus scents and take it to the toilet. Room spray can be used additionally. You can apply a few drops of oil inside the toilet paper roll.

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Many people have their own work corner, here’s how scents can be useful in it:

• To increase concentration, use scents of lemon, jasmine, mint, rosemary
• Essential oils of chamomile, ylang-ylang, marjoram, rose, palmarosa will help get rid of irritation and fatigue. Add 35 drops of your favorite essential oil to 150 ml of water. Pour the resulting mixture into a spray bottle and mix thoroughly by shaking it. Use the mixture as a body spray
• Scents of tangerine, neuroli, coriander, rose or bergamot will help boost creativity
• Grapefruit oil will give you self-confidence and optimism.

• A few drops of tea tree or cypress oil added to the shampoo you use to wash your pet will help protect your pet from parasites.
• Use a vacuum cleaner to suck in a cotton ball soaked in essential oil and forget about the unpleasant smell of dust that usually envelops your apartment during cleaning.
• If you find a stain from oil, fat, or food on the tablecloth, apply a little essential extract (lemon, mint, lemon balm, fir, juniper, spruce, lavender) 20 minutes before washing.

METHOD 3. SCENTED SOAP

Many people use this method because it is extremely simple and quite effective. You will need soap, but not just any soap, but a fragrant one, with a strong and bright perfume composition that you like.

Remove the soap from the packaging and place it in a muslin bag (to prevent the soap from staining your items). One bar is unlikely to be enough for an entire closet, so lay out several so that things are sure to be saturated with its aroma.

Instead of soap, some people use scented candles, but, as a rule, their scent is weaker and less lasting.

How to make a sachet with your own hands

You don’t have to be a great needlewoman to sew such a sachet yourself. It is enough to be able to hold a needle and thread in your hands. The simplest bag can be sewn from a rectangular piece of fabric, folding it in half and sewing up the sides. The resulting bag is turned right side out, filled with a pleasant aromatic filling and the last side is tied or sewn up.

You can create a decorative item that will decorate the room. To do this, you will have to work hard and decorate our bag: with sequins, lace, sew an aromatic sachet in the shape of a heart, a flower, in a word - there is a lot of room for imagination.

A real needlewoman will figure out how to create a masterpiece even from such a small item:

• you can decorate the sachet with embroidered designs (in this case, the embroidery must be done before you sew the sides of the workpiece);
• sew a sachet using the patchwork technique;
• sew an aroma bag of an original shape.

Show your imagination, and an interesting and useful item is ready. All that remains is to fill it with the fragrance of fields and forests.