Scenting Your Space with Potpourri
Scent is a big deal. The right scents can help us remember good memories, rejuvenate our spirits, and shift our moods from sadness to joy. Our brains relax into memorable aromas, but incorporating these smells into our living spaces with plug-ins, candles, diffusers, and essential oils can be costly and potentially toxic. Let’s discover how to turn basic culinary goodies into simmering potpourri pots while transforming our homes into exceptionally fragrant spaces.
Cinnamon, cloves, orange, and cider are a few of the most loved scents of the holiday season. These fragrances, combined with roasted nuts, pine, cedar, and fresh herbs, bring a feeling of gladness to our senses and happy thoughts to our hearts. The good news is that you will probably find more than a few of these ingredients lying around your house, yard, or spice cabinet. Let’s get started on how to enhance the scents in your space today.
First, remove the trash and open the windows for a few minutes to allow fresh air into your space – no matter the temperature. If you have a pet, you may also want to spray an odorless air freshener, especially if you will entertain guests. Clearing the air before adding new smells into your environment will always produce the best results.
Find a glass or other non-porous pot, or use a slow cooker. Next, collect the ingredients that will create your potpourri. Try adding a few items at a time to the pot until you are pleased with the smell of the mix. Common additives include cranberries, orange or apple slices, cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, pine sprigs, vanilla, almond or other extracts, peppercorns, star anise, and nutmeg. Add water, wine, cider, or a mixture of these to cover the potpourri. Bring the entire mixture to a simmer and smell the goodness!
The same potpourri pot may be left on the stove for a few days before changing to fresh ingredients. Just make sure to continuously check the water level in your pot while simmering and turn the heat off completely whenever you are sleeping or away.
Dried apple and citrus slices or peels are outstanding potpourri ingredients. They can be dehydrated in your oven along with pine sprigs and herbs and then kept in airtight containers until used later in the year. If you want a fresh start in January, middle to end-of-winter potpourris include sliced lemons, rosemary, mint, and vanilla. Spring and summer add-ins are lime, ginger, basil, berries, pineapple, and coconut.
Remember, there are no rules or exact recipes for great simmering potpourri pots. Changing your recipes frequently simply allows more spice in your life. Have some fun starting this season by making your own recipes and enjoying a healthy and well-scented space with potpourri.
Happy holidays and blessings to you all!
This article first appeared in the Traveler Weekly Newspaper December, 2023
