This past weekend was wonderful. A fellow foreigner hosted a day of hiking, BBQ, and s'mores at the house he and his wife renovated in Damyang. The best part was that we all have dogs, so we took a fun-filled walk through the rice paddies, where our furry friends were able to be off-leash. A great time was had by all!
Nate took those photos you see above, and many more amazing ones that I'm sure you'll see in a later post. Anyway, we came home happy, content, and smelling like campfire. It's a nostalgic smell, but not necessarily one that I want seeping into our furniture and filling our home. Fortunately, I have a great formula for an effective and family-friendly air and furniture freshener. I've been making my own air freshener and room spray for a while now, so I thought I'd share the super simple recipe with you today!
One thing I can wholeheartedly say is that this spray really works. I don't know how it happens, but no matter how often you clean your bathroom here in Korea, it tends to still take on a funky smell. Fellow foreigners have said the same of their houses and bathrooms. Somehow things get very musty! This air freshener I make takes care of that problem, as well as freshening up any smell on furniture (which is a MUST if you have pets). I also rest assured that I'm not slowly poisoning myself by breathing in the scent since the ingredients are natural! To get started, gather these things:
-Small spray bottle (mine holds about a cup of liquid)
-1 Tablespoon vegetable glycerin
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
-Essential oils/extracts of your preferred scent (in this batch I used coconut extract and lime essential oil for a more tropical smell)
-Warm water
First, combine your vegetable glycerin and essential oils. The glycerin helps the oils spread evenly through the spray. There is no exact measurement for the oils, but I use about 10 drops of each oil. If you use extracts you'll need to use more since they aren't as strong as essential oils.
Add your vinegar to the mixture, and mix until combined. Pour into your spray bottle, fill the rest of the space with warm water, and shake to combine. Your D.I.Y. air freshener is ready to go! Spray in rooms, on furniture, or even clothes if you need to freshen them up!
If you need help deciding on scents, here are a few ideas:
-Lemon Lavender (10 drops lemon E.O., 10 drops lavender E.O.)
-Lemon Basil (10 drops lemon E.O., 10 drops basil E.O.)
-Lemon Rosemary- I love this one! (10 drops lemon E.O., 10 drops rosemary E.O.)
-Vanilla cinnamon (2 Tablespoons vanilla extract, 5 drops cinnamon essential oil)
-Coconut Lime (2 Tablespoons coconut extract, 10 drops lime essential oil)
-Citrus (5 drops lemon, 5 drops orange E.O., 5 drops grapefruit E.O., 5 drops tangerine E.O.)
The options are endless! Try in out and tell me what you think. Enjoy!
If you are in Korea, here is where you can get your ingredients:
Spray bottle- Daiso or any supermarket
Essential oils- Iherb.com
Vegetable glycerin- Iherb.com
Vinegar- Supermarket