Use Food Scraps to Make Your Kitchen Air Freshener
Whether you are thrifty, environmentally conscious, or just love efficiency challenges, there are many reasons to conserve leftover food. Well, mostly to stock up. And the rest is compostable. But some of your scraps aren’t just good for making soup – they can also be a starting point for a smart air freshener.
We all know the power of something aromatic on the stove or in the oven, a fresh and homely scent that, if we’re lucky, lasts for hours. Well, why wait until the next time you bake to smell great in your house?
Instead, start stockpiling the leftovers of anything that smells good. The next time you squeeze lemon juice, scrape a vanilla pod, or peel a ginger root, store the leftovers in the freezer. (If you had a can of lavender tea in the back of a pantry after Obama’s first term, you can probably count it as a “crowbar,” too.)
When you have enough ingredients that go well together, place these babies in a pot of water and place them on the stove to simmer. Some favorite combinations:
- lemon and ginger
- cinnamon and apple
- lavender and vanilla
Keep an eye on the pot and don’t let all the water boil away – set a timer on your phone if you need a reminder. You can top up the water while it boils, and this will increase the humidity a little as winter comes.