Free DIY Air Freshener

I’m one of those people who are really sensitive to smells. My olfactory sense is overwhelmed by most artificial scents and as a result I don’t like plug-in air fresheners, reed diffusers, room sprays, those cardboard car air fresheners, strongly scented candles, fabric softeners, etc.

In my home, this is not really an issue. I open my windows to air my apartment out all the time. It’s a natural air freshener and as a result my home smells like nothing most of the time which I think it great because then yummy cooking smells and the smell of fresh flowers (if I have them) aren’t masked.

In my car, I’ve noticed more of a problem. I think it was the more than 4,500 miles of driving we did in a month last fall as we took road trip after road trip after road trip. The car doesn’t smell bad; it just smells kind of stuffy, like a room that’s been closed up for too long. I rarely drive, so the car does get closed up for long periods of time.

The frugal way I’ve found to combat this is to use those little perfume and cologne samples that come in magazines. I just rip the advertisement out of the magazine, open the little flap and then shove it under the seat of the car. It doesn’t really matter what the scent is because you can’t really smell it per se, the car just smells good. One keeps the car smelling fresh for a couple of weeks.

I only use one at a time because I don’t want a strong smell, but if you like stronger odors, you could use more than one. If you don’t get any magazines or catalogs with perfume samples, I bet you could use those little cardboard scent sticks that you get at perfume counters for the same effect.

This same idea also works well in drawers in place of potpourri sachets.