Fake Febreze

My husband and I have a dog, Wiley the Wonder Dog, and two elderly cats, Howard and Kibo. Because we allow the animals in the house, he worries excessively our house will develop an odor.

"Really?"  I asked incredulously.

"You don't smell like a rose when you come home after working outside all day in our lovely 105 degree Kansas weather.  Plus, in case you haven't noticed, that's not perfume I'm wearing, it's Ben-Gay. Instead of being worried our house smells like the dog, you should be worried our house smells like us".

I sometimes wonder if animals come inside and think, "Oh great, the house smells like people. Gross!" 

Because we both like a strongly scented house, I burn lots of candles and spray lots of deodorizers.  I started wondering how I could save money on  this smelly obsession.  Of course, I am not alone in this scent obsession since Febreze is Proctor and Gamble's fastest growing brand and just crossed over the one BILLION mark in sales. 

Almost $6 bucks for Febreze? Give me a break!

So I started looking around the internet and found several recipes for homemade Febreze.  It's simple:

Dissolve 3 Tablespoons baking soda in enough hot water to fill your spray bottle.  Add 1/8 cup fabric softner to water, fill bottle with the mixture and spray around your house to your content. I would use common sense and not spray, say directly on your grandmother's antique dresser.

I also went to Hobby Lobby and bought some additional fragrance to add to my mixture.  A bottle of Lavender fragrance cost $2.99 at Hobby Lobby (found in the candle making section). I added about 7-8 drops of fragrance to make my Fake Febreze exceptionally smelly.  I really can't tell a difference.

I told my daughters about my Febreze experiment.  "I've been making my own Febreze for about five years," said daughter number two with obvious disgust at my lack of knowledge of how to make your own products.  I seem to always be embarrassingly behind the curve.

"I even saw a warning on a bottle of fabric softener warning to not dilute with water and store in a bottle," she laughed. "Do-it-yourselfers must really be cutting into the market."

So I guess proceed at your own risk--I certainly am. 

$2.99 for scent at Hobby Lobby