An easy home tip.

As the mother to four pets, I often fear that my home smells.... well... animaly.  I try to stay very on top of things in this area because, I'll be honest, I don't want to be that house that always smells vaguely of wet dog.

One trick we've worked on is a carpet freshener.  As you probably know, baking soda is a major scent absorber and the main ingredient in all commercial carpet fresheners. But once they put the baking soda in, what gets added afterward is probably not good for you. And they are expensive for being nothing but baking soda and chemicals!

So we handle it in house, like this:

1) Pour two pounds baking soda into a bowl big enough to get your hands into.
2) Add one cup of salt.
3) Add twenty or so drops of your favorite essential oils. (My favorite combo is lavender-lemon.)
4) Mix! I use my hands to make sure I do a thorough job.

The next thing you need to do is sprinkle, wait a few minutes or even overnight, and then vacuum. Your house will subtly smell of the lovely scent you choose and less of whatever awkward scent you'd rather it didn't.

The total cost of this project is around two dollars, and yields two and a quarter pounds of product. Compare this to the cost of commercial carpet freshener at 3.00 for a half pound. You won!