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By Ooi Teng Loon

Keeping your home smelling fresh and lovely is often mood-lifting. Besides, buying home fragrances or home perfume sprays to freshen up your home, having homemade potpourri at home is another way to make your house smell good.

Potpourris are a mix of natural ingredients such as dried citruses, leaves, flower petals, spices and herbs that are placed in bowls, jars, containers or sachets with sheer fabric to release their natural fragrances. The scent of potpourris could last from a few months to a few years. 

The smell of potpourris is amazing and the scent could spread throughout a large room or living space. Making a homemade potpourri is also less expensive and you could easily get these ingredients for affordable prices in grocery stores, florists and even in your own garden. 

After compiling all the ingredients, you can spread them out on parchment paper and dry them in an oven for about two hours. You could also dry the ingredients under the sun. If you would prefer a particular scent, you may spray some essential oils that are mixed with water after the mixture has dried. Allow the potpourri to cool before placing them in a bowl or potpourri sachet. To extend the life of the potpourris, you may add some fixatives. You may also place potpourris in tiny sachets and place them in drawers and also wardrobes. 

Besides having a pleasant smell, potpourris are also delightful to the eyes. During the current lockdown, as we spend most of our time at home, pleasant smells could indeed add positive vibes at home and enlighten our mood. 

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher