Trader Joe's Room Spray: Coriander and Bergamot

My bathroom occasionally smells less than fresh, as I'm sure yours does. I've actually avoided (even eco-friendly) room sprays for the most part, but Trader Joe's has a way of talking me into things I wouldn't otherwise consider!

Last time I was there, I nabbed a bottle of their essential oil-based coriander/bergamot "Next to Godliness" room spray and I'm really enjoying the scent. I've had the urge to spray it on myself a few times. Never felt that way about Lysol spray, that's for sure. Now granted, I could make this stuff myself with the essential oils in question ($17 for coriander and $13 for bergamot; I already have the bergamot.) and some water, and I may try that. But I have to credit TJs for selling this stuff cheaply and giving me the idea for the scent combination (and for making it non-aerosol.) The scent could linger a bit more, but it seems to mask stinky bathroom aromas nicely, at least temporarily.

Depending on how much air freshener spray you go through and whether you'd use the essential oils for anything else, you might be saving money by buying the TJs version.

Most essential oils have directions on the packaging for how much (distilled) water to combine with EOs to make a room spray or linen spray. My favorite linen spray "recipe" = 18 drops of oil for every 1 oz water combined in a spray bottle.
(Aura Cacia also sells prepackaged EO blends for those of you who don't have a full medicine cabinet of oils like I do.)

Autumn Potpourri

So I am making a homemade autumnal potpourri this weekend. Poor potpourri, it has such a bad reputation. All of those awful bags of prepackaged potpourri left out in grandma's house with their weird perfume that gets up your nose. I actually love the word potpourri. I like to sprinkle it about in conversation- i.e. "that was a strange potpourri of sounds." I also seem to recall from French class that it means "rotten pot."

Anyway, I am using a recipe from Naturally Clean Home again:

2 cups dried apple slices (I simply bought these)
1 cup bay leaves
1 cup sage
1/2 cup chopped (not peeled) gingerroot
1/2 cup whole cloves
8 1-inch cinnamon sticks

and am combining them in a glass jar. Basically, you shake the jar daily for about a month until it smells right to you, and then either display it nicely or simmer it in water. It also is lovely added to pillows or sachets.
I found an apple wood bowl on etsy to display it in. I'll have extra so I can think up other crazy things to do with it. I may work on a holiday mix to give to friends come this winter, but I suspect most of my friends and family aren't as scent-driven as I am.

(I don't have the glass jar yet. Sadly, I was just at Home Depot and Target today and I forgot.)

Method Aroma Ring

I was tempted to title this post "Method Stink Ring", because I'm feeling a bit lazy, and I couldn't remember what it was called. Turns out, I was pretty close. Anyway, my need to stick one of everything scented in my apartment (sorry jhimm), prompted me to bring one of these home as soon as I saw them. I also nabbed one for my sister's birthday, as she likes the Method "Cut Grass" scent. (She claims it reminds her of the old Gap "Grass" perfume.)

So, two grass aroma rings later, I was home and placing the white plastic ring on my bathroom shelf. I was impressed to actually be catching whiffs of the thing when I walked into our tiny bathroom as well.

Basically, you get two foil-wrapped scent disks per pack, and then you can buy refill 2-packs in any scent as often as you want. (They claim a single disc lasts at least 2 weeks.) You peel off the foil, revealing a thin membrane. It's tempting to poke at the thing, but will probably lead to alien mutations (so I've refrained thus far.) The white ring takes two aroma disks for maximum scent, but I've never used two (seems too wasteful, even to get more scent.)

In our new apartment the thing sits on the back of my toilet, and I swear I've never caught even the faintest whiff of it. I tried the second grass disk and then moved onto a "Eucalyptus Mint" one. (It was the only kind that passed the husband-sniff test at Target.) For some reason, the EM scent isn't on Method's site. Mine is blue like their "Sweet Water" version, but perhaps it's been replaced.

I am honestly about ready to give up on the aroma ring. It reminds me of the "diffuser sticks" I bought at Whole Foods a couple of years ago. Never smelled those either.
I'm willing to concede that my small nose (seriously) might be keeping me from properly whiffing the aroma ring. I just put the last EM disk in today... the ring is on its last chance before it gets replaced with some home made potpourri or a cute nicknack. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't chuck it (I may have a change of heart and want to refill it), but it's becoming a waste of space.

I'll have to track down my sister and ask her what she thinks.

Anyone tried this? Do their aroma sticks work better? I like the look of the little white vase.