Monday, March 17, 2014

My favorite housewarming gift and spring cleaning smell

Yesterday, we spring cleaned this transitional apartment that we are calling home. It was MUCH needed for many reasons... Ansley and Patrick suffer from all kinds if allergies and with the unknown tenants before us combined with paint overs, we are certain that we are dealing with pet dander, remnants  of cigarette smokers, and mold/mildew... (Patrick can't build this house fast enough...ahem)

That said, we spent the better part of yesterday cleaning every inch of our small space, washing bedding and stuffed animals and cleaning bath toys. It was starting to smell amazing...until we made hamburgers... And even with the doors open and vents blowing, the smell would NOT got away...

I pulled out my secret weapon:
This is my favorite gift to bring to friends who are settling in a new home and my favorite neutralizing/purifying smell. I call it the Williams-Sonoma smell.

Here's the trick. Fill a pot with a shallow amount of water. Add 1 sliced lemon, 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, and 1-3 Tbsp of vanilla. ( I go a little heavy on the vanilla.) Bring the mixture to a boil and then let it simmer. Add water as needed and enjoy for hours!

14 comments:

Jesse Faris said...

This sounds AMAZING! Even having lived in this little rented house for 9 years now, it has its own "smells" that are not my fave. ;) Can't wait to try your trick!

Anonymous said...

How is this a gift? Am I missing a step???

Anonymous said...

Put it in a mason jar.

M1n10n said...

This may be silly, but once the ingredients have been brought to a boil, do they simmer or once they cool will they continue to have a fragrance? Also, is there a vanilla subsitute?

Anonymous said...

Again, how do we make this a gift ? What happens when it comes off of the stove ? How can I use this in vacant homes?? I am a Realtor and would love to try thus! Thank you

Unknown said...

You could use a small potpouri electric plug in.

Unknown said...

You could use a small potpouri electric plug in.

Unknown said...

This sounds wonderful. We are currently snowed in, but I have lemons. Can I use some dried rosemary instead of fresh? Maybe 1/2 tsp?

Anonymous said...

Yeah u can use other essential oils.

Anonymous said...

Yeah u can use other essential oils.

Anjeleigh L. Partridge said...

I literally just saw this and its on the stove. I will let you know how it goes. I can say that it smelled good from the time that I put it in the pot together. I expect it to smell good in here shortly. :-)

Anonymous said...

If you want something a little different, you can use an orange, a cinnamon stick, a quarter tspn of cloves, and a half tspn of nutmeg. Smells like fall/apple pie. Yum. :)

Unknown said...

An idea is to use one of those little candle burners?

Ken and Brenda said...

I tried this William Sonoma recipe but we couldn’t smell any fragrance without standing directly over the saucepan. Any suggestions?