It is that time of the year when we prep our homes for the festive season ahead. In these times of economic difficulties, we have to find smart and innovative ways of doing more with less. As we seek to spruce up our homes, we should explore the many budget ideas to get that home looking and feeling fresh. Here are a few Do –It-Yourself (DIY) tips to help freshen up your homes with natural materials. You can’t go wrong with natural materials; cost savings and way healthier, win, win. Shall we?
Natural Air Freshener
Everyone wants to have a clean, fresh smelling home, but regular indoor living sometimes renders that home less than fresh. Do you want to know a secret? One word. Vinegar.
Mix vinegar and water in a new spray bottle and spray to freshen a room and eliminate odors. The vinegar odor will dissipate within a few minutes taking other odors along with it. To keep a microwave fresh and clean, put a microwavable bowl of vinegar and water in the microwave and turn on the microwave for 20 or 30 seconds. This will eliminate food odors and the microwave will easily wipe clean with a damp sponge.
Open Your Windows
Open the windows and let the fresh air indoors. It will surprise you that as regular as it sounds, some inhabitants hardly open windows to let in air. Our AC generation is such that it is easy to go long period without opening the windows especially for those of you who have sliding windows. This is the most obvious and least expensive way to freshen your house. The air in your home can become stale if the house is closed up all the time. Open the windows and let the fresh air circulate through your home. Even a few minutes of fresh air helps remove stale odors.
Fridge Care
Ever wondered what to do about the scent in your fridge? Well, keep a box of baking soda in the refrigerator to eliminate food odors. Remember to replace with a new box each month and smell the difference it makes in your fridge.
What about dusty and musty smell in your carpets and sofa? Sprinkle carpets and upholstered furniture with a light dusting of baking soda, wait for a few minutes and then vacuum or sweep thoroughly to remove smoke and other household odors. It will amaze you how fresh your home will be after this simple care.
Fresh flowers
As cliché as this might be, fresh flowers do add a therapeutic natural scent to the ambience. Roses, lilies, plumeria, queen of the night, or whatever you like really, there are varieties of assortments to choose from.
If you happen to have roses in a vase, when the roses have withered, do not throw them out remove them from the vase, pluck the petals and place them in a bowl and discard the stems. Crush them a little and place them on a neat bowl in a central place in your house. This is called potpourri. Not only do they smell good, but they also look good when thoughtfully placed.
Those are your nuggets for the coming yuletide, get that home of yours feeling fresh and don’t forget to invite over for a few bites. Happy freshening!
The writer is the Executive director of Yecham Property Consult
& Founder of Ghana Green Building Summit.
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin: Cyril Nii Ayitey Tetteh
