I love using essential oils to fragrance your home, but purchased products can be very expensive. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to make your own homemade reed diffuser.
This project requires a glass container with a narrow opening and 5 or 6 bamboo skewers. You’ll also need the essential oils of your choice and a carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil or sweet almond oil.
To assemble your reed diffuser, mix together ¼ cup of your carrier oil with 20 to 25 drops of the essential oils of your choice. Grapefruit, lemon, peppermint, or lavender are good choices that will appeal to most people, but you can also try making an aromatherapy blend if you want. AromaWeb has a good blending guide that will help you get started.
Pour your oil mixture into your container, then insert the bamboo shelves. Once your oil has had time to travel up the skewers, you’ll be able to smell your fragrance. Then, all you need to do is flip the sticks every few days to refresh the scent.
The oil will eventually need to be replaced, but how long this will take depends upon the size of your container, the quality of your essential oils, and the moisture level in your home. When you need to replace the oil mixture, you should also replace the bamboo skewers.
[Photo credit: F Delventhal via Flickr]