I have a great love for beautiful scents. A pleasing scent can lift not only your own spirits but also send a special message of welcoming to guests in your home.

Scenting one’s home is not just a new invention of the 20th century. Historically the wealthy would also scent their homes in various way such as tossing fresh herbs across the floor, and using herbs to clean surfaces.

These days there are many ways you can adjust the aroma level in your home and some of them are very frugal I might add.

The key is choosing the right scent and method for you.

The Various Ways to Scent Your Home

You're in luck that there are numerous ways to enjoy scents in your home. There are a few factors to consider though when making your choice.

• What room are you scenting
• How long do you want the scent to last
• Safety factor
• Favorite scent

What Room are You Scenting:

When picking a fragrance keep in mind what room you are scenting. I don't think you want to pick something like fresh baked cookies for the bathroom or clean linen for the kitchen (although that might be okay). Or maybe you want a scent for the whole house. Something like Eucalyptus would be nice.

How long do you want your scent to last:

This can help you pick a method of scenting. Need a quick refresh? Use a room spray. Want something to last a long time? A candle, reed diffusers, or plug in diffuser last longer.

I enjoy candles and the subtle scent they send through a room along with the warming glow from their lightly fluttering flame. Candles can also be used to quickly omit odors. Just light your candle. Let it burn a few minutes and then blow it out. The smoke from the burned out wick will eliminate a lot of odors too. A great home fragrance candle to try would be Diptyque winner of the 2009 Best Home Fragrance Range from the Basenote Awards.

Scented oils are another great long lasting way to scent rooms you might not be in at the time. Wall diffusers can slowly release the scent of your choice to give off your signature scent. Another way to use scented oils is to add them to a light ring and then place on a cool light-bulb. Turn the lamp on to slowly release the scent. You can really bring a nice scent into a room. If you don’t have a lamp in the room you are scenting a diluted scented oil a few minutes in a warmer and your favorite scent can be wafting through your living room.

Room sprays I feel are for emergencies. I have a few of them but usually only use them as last ditch efforts and they seem overpowering and cloying. My one exception is X-O which quickly removes odors in an emergency (think sick cat or baby accident).

I admittedly have never tried the reed diffuser simply because of house they look. I couldn't get past the twigs sticking out of the top. But they get such fabulous reviews I would like to try some. It's just now about picking the best product.

Safety Factor:

Do you have small children? You might want to forgo the candles. Candles are lovely but can be a fire hazard. Never leave a candle unattended. And candles are not recommended around small children or pets. 

Choosing Your Favorite Scent: The most difficult part of scenting your home will undoubtedly be choosing a scent. There are so many lovely ones that choosing can become mind boggling. I say the first is to choose the company or brand you are going to go with and then start to review how you feel about certain scents. When picking personal scents I tend to gravitate to clean green scents. My personal fragrance for years has been Clinique Wrappings and recently at a perfume fair (birthday present) a presenter introduced me to Eau de Cartier which she not only wears but uses to scent her home (can be pricey). So the home scents are tend to enjoy are ones with 'clean', 'fresh', and 'linen' in the descriptive titles. I also love the clean natural scent of eucalyptus leaves drying in my home. If you have this plant in your yard pick some stems and hang them to dry around the house.

Natural ways to scent your home:
Just open the windows. The oldest method in the book and it works wonderfully but can be a bit chilling in the winter.

Simmer a little water with a few drops of vanilla in it on the stove.

Bake bread

Bake cake

Fresh eucalyptus in vases around the home.

Lavender in bowls in the bathroom and living rooms.

Your favorite essential oil