Candles and Air Fresheners

Keeping our home smelling fresh helps us feel our home is clean and gives us a sense of calm. It's important, however, to be aware of what we are actually inhaling!

When it comes to air fresheners, wax cubes, and candles, the general consensus is to simply stop using them. There are none that are considered non-toxic, and they are only layering over other odors in the home.

EWG recommends removing these products from your home completely. In fact, anything with the following terms listed in the ingredients should no longer be used: Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Cologne, Musk, and Fragrance. In addition to candles and air fresheners, these ingredients can also be found in your beauty products, household cleaners, etc. For more information on this, check out this article: https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/ask-ewg-what-fragrance Choose fragrance free and dye free products.

You've probably noticed how strong the scents are in candles and fresheners today. You don't even need to light the candle and the room is filled with its scent. This isn't normal, and your sense of smell will become more sensitive over time to natural sources of freshening the air in your home.

I use an essential oil diffuser in my home - https://amzn.to/4bKfX6v. You can add more essential oil or less depending on the strength you are looking for. You can also use diffuser sticks (https://amzn.to/49CJwVN) in a nice glass vase or jar.

I've also used various mixtures in a simmering pot on my stove. My favorite "recipe" is below:
• Orange peel
• Rosemary (or other herb you want)
• Fresh ginger slices (or other spice you want, like nutmeg or cinnamon)
• Place ingredients in a large pot and fill ¾ water
• Simmer. Add more of each ingredients to reach desired scent (don't let the pot dry out!)

Additionally, I will cut fresh herbs or flowers from my garden and place these around the home. Rosemary is my favorite herb to use, but I also have rosemary essential oils for my diffuser: https://amzn.to/3ULLM99.

The hard part is giving up the nice ambience and glow that candles offer. It's a bit sad, isn't it! Today, I use flameless candles (https://amzn.to/3SOQgsG) to give me the look I want, but I can rest assured I'm not breathing in any toxins and the air filters in my home are cleaner!