Pennyroyal, Cinnamon, & Lavender Air Freshener

Look what we saw on our walk the other day!

The lilacs are starting to bloom! FYI this is the perfect time to collect some and try that Candied Flower recipe – you know you want to.

Or maybe you’d rather make some air freshening mixes that aren’t toxic. I saw some great dried lavender at the farmers market the other day, so maybe some local shops around your town have some as well.

Gather:

• Cedar shavings – 1-2 ounces (I like mine Cedar heavy, but most people like the lavender to shine through more).
• About 1/4 – 1/2 ounce dried pennyroyal (air dried best, but most of us don’t grow it so…)
• Dried lavender; about 1 1/2 ounces.
• A few whole cinnamon sticks.

To make:

Break up pennyroyal and lavender. Place on a cutting board and slighting crush over with wooden rolling pin. Mix in bowl. Add Cedar shavings. Grate some cinnimon sticks into the mix – you don’t have to grate an entire stick, just grate enough to allow a sprinkle of cinnamon to fall into the mix. Then pop the whole sticks right into the mix.

You can put this in a clay or other earthen bowl in your closet, or remove the cinnamon sticks and sew it into a bag and hang it in your house. It’s best in a bowl I think, because this is a pinch-generated mix. Meaning, once the smell starts to wear of, you can pinch, or in this case, re-crush with a rolling pin, and re-grate the cinnamon to perk the mix up. I’ve perked up this mix maybe four times before it starts to not work.

This mix has a homey, earthy, woodsy, slightly spicy scent. Of course experiment if you like or even add a few drops of essential oils. Oh, with homemade potpourri, you should keep it up if you have small children or pets. This mix is pretty safe, as far as mixes go, but pennyroyal in large amounts can be dangerious, and cedar shavings for pets have not been proven totally safe.

[photo via Jennifer Chait's "daily walk to the park" collection]