Scent Booster Fun
Scent boosters. Downy Unstoppables. Gain Fireworks. More and more brands are coming out with jars of scent beads that were designed to be added to your wash to enhance the smell of your clothing. I have a confession. I am OBSESSED with scent. Professionally, I'm in the wine business- so my nose and taste buds need to be on point. I'm a foodie. I make soap, bath care, lotions, candles... all involving scent. Even though I make these things, if I find a scent I like, I'll buy it. Admitted candle hoarder here. (Mostly because you can ALWAYS use candles.) Scent plays a huge role in our memory, and I love walking into a house that smells of things other than food, dogs, and dirty diapers. Right??!!? Give me a cool linen breeze. Coconut verbena. Cinnamon apple spice. I want to wrap myself in woody scents like amber and tobacco. I enjoy so many various scents, I can't commit. I probably own well over 100 fragrances. Fragrance is a go-to gift for me because I get bored. One day, I'll feel like fruit, the next, it's dark, seductive mossy woods. I switch up my laundry detergent often, and again, now that they are making fragrances for the laundry seem like shopping at Bath and Body Works, I have to refrain from having a buffet line of detergent pod choices in my laundry room. And then they introduced scent boosters... and I thought to myself- "You greedy, clever bastards." They got me. Of course none of the boosters match the detergents (why, I'll never know) but they make just enough to have me sniffing the whole darn aisle to see which compliments what. Yes. I do that. It's a thing. I'm also a bargain shopper and the stores around me love to put them on a buy 3 get two free promotion, or bogo, or...or..or... Ack! They find ways to get me every time. So what to do with the hoards of scent booster beads besides the laundry? Besides taking up space in my laundry room cabinets? Lots. For many of the following ideas, you can also use those cute (and equally as addictive wax sprinkles from Pink Zebra) #1- What it's intended for: Laundry Listen, no one is going to judge you- but admit it- as amazing of a house running, mommy, chauffeur, superhero, chef, Wonder Woman, Jane of all things, and just awesome- you have forgotten laundry in the washer. And it smells like ripe, moldy butt when you remember. Am I right? It's like no amount of washing gets out that funk. Except these beads. Use them. Use them on your son's soccer gear. Use them on your daughter's karate gi. Use them because they smell amazing- and those things you're washing don't. #2- Drawer Sachets You know those cute little mesh bags they sell to put Jordan Almonds in for wedding favors? Yep. Grab a couple jars of your favorite booster, and put a couple tablespoons in the bag, and knot. Toss them in every drawer. Closets. Storage bins. Shoes. Gym bags. I even have a couple in this huge trunk I store extra blankets in. They keep your clothes from smelling stale in storage. Bonus: Hang a sachet in your heating vents. The warm or cold air comes up and releases the scent through the house gently. #3- Wax Warmer Scent Yep. A scoop in your electric warmer is all you need. It smells STRONG, so go easy. Some DIY folks say to put them in an ice cube mold, and microwave to make a tart. I don't agree because the microwave and your ice tray doesn't need to smell- or taste like them. And the beads melt just fine without the extra work. I'm all about no extra work here. #4- Garbage Can Drop a scoop in the bottom of your pail to keep the can smelling fresh. (Hint: baby's room!) #5- Litter box freshener I just sprinkle about a 1/4 cup into the litter box once in a while. It really helps. #6- Home Made Febreze There's a recipe floating around the internet to make your own fabric refresher. I'm not including it here because I haven't tried it, and I hesitate to endorse anything you spray on fabric that is intended to be rinsed off AND has some kind of color to it. I only listed it here to be thorough. #7- Car Air Freshener Poke a few holes in a little plastic storage container, add a scoop or two of booster, cover, and stick under the seat in your car. It will passively faintly scent the air, but as the temperature rises outside, the wax will warm, maybe melt (so make sure your lid is on well) and release a bunch of scent. It's nice to get in your car and have it smell like freshness all the time. #8- Vacuum Cleaner Boost- Just sprinkle a little on the carpet and vacuum them up. It's a great alternative to those horrible powders that seem to make EVERYTHING dusty! Etc- I saw suggestions that you add them to your bath, soak your feet in them, add them to your home made or unscented baby wipes. I vote against these. Look, they were designed to freshen clothes. Why anyone would want to soak their bodies or wipe the delicate skin on a baby's bottom with them, I don't know. I don't recommend it at all. Also, I saw a lot of folks putting it in their home made or unscented laundry detergent powder. It's a good idea for fragrance, I suppose... but I felt it is counterintuitive. Most folks that use unscented or home made detergent do so to avoid scents and chemicals. Why go through all the trouble just to add chemicals back in to the detergent? So many different uses... I'm always experimenting with these things- I'll update as I discover more!
