How to Make a Natural Room Freshener Using Leftover Flowers This Monsoon

Tired of that damp, musty monsoon smell and harsh chemical sprays? The solution is in your puja room! Use leftover flowers to create a fragrant, all-natural room freshener for free. Your home will smell amazing.

Lifestyle Tips: The rain is drizzling outside, and a cool breeze is coming through the window. But inside, your home has that typical damp and musty smell. Your bedsheets, the clothes in your cupboard—everything has that peculiar monsoon odour. You might buy a room freshener from the market, but after a couple of days, that strong chemical smell just doesn't feel good.

The solution is right there in your puja room. The hibiscus, marigold, rose, and jasmine flowers you offer for puja are usually thrown away the next day. Instead, you can use these leftover flowers to make a fantastic, fragrant room freshener. This way, the flowers aren't wasted, you save money, and your house stays as fresh as a garden.

Flowers contain natural oils. Even a day after the puja, they still hold a light fragrance. When you put them in hot water, that scent is released beautifully. And since this is completely natural, it's perfectly safe for children and elderly family members.

Making it is very simple. First, pick the flowers from your puja thali. Remove the leaves and stems, keeping only the petals. In a pot, bring about 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, turn off the gas. Now, add all the petals to the hot water. To tackle the musty monsoon smell, you can also add a small piece of cinnamon or 2-3 cloves. These not only enhance the fragrance but also help reduce bacteria in the air.

Next, cover the pot and let it sit for about an hour. This allows all the floral essence to infuse into the water. After an hour, strain the water using a sieve. This scented water is your room freshener. Pour it into a spray bottle.

You can spray this on your curtains, sofa, bedsheets, and in the corners of your room. It will instantly get rid of the damp smell in the bathroom or the oily smell from the kitchen. You can even store it in the fridge and use it for up to 4-5 days.

If you don't feel like making a spray, there's another way. Don't throw away the boiled petals. Tie them up in a small, thin cotton cloth bundle, like a potli, and place it in your wardrobe or car. The musty smell from your clothes or car will vanish completely.

Puja flowers, after being offered to a deity, have a certain sanctity. Instead of just throwing them in the dustbin, using them this way also helps the environment. So, during these damp monsoon days, keep your home filled with the beautiful scent of flowers. And you won't need to spend money on chemical sprays either.