Simmering Potpourri - Make Your House Smell Great All Winter

In winter, when all your windows are shut tight, your house can take on a stale smell.  Odors from your furnace, from cooking, even laundry, can make the air in your house not very pleasant to smell.  But there is an easy fix for this!  Simmering Potpourri is easy to make and gives your house a most delicious fragrance.

Winter Wind Potpourri

• 1 whole orange, sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks, broken
• 1 cup of fresh evergreen needles (crushed a bit) or 3 drops pine oil
• green pinecones (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cloves, whole or ground
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
  

Fresh Vanilla Lemon Herb

• 2 whole lemons, sliced
• zest of one lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons rosemary or 2 freshed sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablepoon vanilla
  

Spiced Apple

• 1 lemon peel sliced
• 1 whole apple sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cinnamon sticks broken
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves

Sweet Orange Ginger 

• 2 whole oranges, sliced peels and fruit
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cinnamon sticks. broken
• 4 pieces star anise
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger or 2 tablespoons powdered Ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon almond extract
  

Winter Citrus Breeze

• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 3 three inch cinnamon sticks
• 6 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup whole cloves
  

Cut the fruit into slices or quarters. Combine fruit and all other ingredients with 2 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil and simmer. Add more water as needed. Cover any left over mixture, refrigerate and reuse.  Throw away when it stops being fragrant.

What do you simmer it in?

You can actually use several things you can simmer potpourri in.  The easiest, I feel is a crockpot.  You can simmer it on low and keep a minimal eye on it because your stove cooktop is not on.  My favorite crockpot for this is a small one that does not take up much space on the counter and has just basic controls, like this: 

Proctor Silex Slow Cooker

1.5 Quart

You can also use simmering potpourri in a regular saucepan, on the stove.  When this method is used, you have to keep a close eye on it because it can boil dry quicker than you
think and start to burn....which smells terrible!

T-Fal Saucepan

3 Quart

Both of these cost about $15, and you can use for other things besides potpourri.  I prefer the slow cooker which I feel is safer because you don't have to check it as often, but I have used a saucepan when I am making something in the crockpot at the time!

You can make your own recipes with any ingredients you like, so experiment till you find something you love!

Have a great week!

Jade    :)

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