Here’s an affordable air freshener we use in our very own bathroom. We’ve taken a small bowl from Target and filled it with scented bath salts from Kmart. We also added some vintage Avon fudgcicle-shaped hair combs that compliment our sweets-centric bathroom motif, but one could replace these with long candles, decorative branches, artificial flowers, or numerous other decorative items.




Sorry but that makes no sense to me
Hi Lucy. Is there something I need to clarify? It's basically an easy and cheap air freshener that can be "refreshed" just by stirring up the salts every once in awhile. Please tell me if I need to explain it better...don't want to be unclear.
I like this "outside the box" solution. And I think the look is very fresh and camera-ready for a ReadyMade tip page. No further explanation necessary. (I've said it before, gregory: "Oh, you so crafty.")
I like your idea, and the combs are very cute. My sister recently bought something similar to your idea. small bowl with scented rocks, just walk by and shake up a bit and the whole room smells amazing. Admitedly your idea is way cheaper, I think she said the rocks were $20.
Sarah. Just a heads up in case you do want to go the route of your sister and use scented rocks. In the luxe men's grooming aisle of Target (near women's cosmetics), there is a line of men's toiletries and shave accessories called Caldo. They stock 2 different sizes of scented rocks for around 20 bucks. [There's also a Caldo bath salt that is attractively packaged in a heavy glass bottle topped with a giant cork and raffia.]
so, are the sticks/combs even important? are they just for looks?
what are scented rocks? how have i gone this long & never heard of that? hahaha
anyway, thanks i'll probably do this. :) maybe i'll use chopsticks or bamboo or something.
mg: The sticks/combs are merely decorative :) I came into this idea accidentally while trying to look for a way to display the vintage combs. I was just going to use aquarium rocks, but the scented salts had the dual use of providing a nice scent.
i was just noticing this the other day whilst transferring bath salts from the big plastic tub they come in to my pretty vintage 'salts' container. while pouring the salts from one container to the other, i was all, "ooooh, now the whole room smells like lavendar!" it lasted for quite awhile, too. don't know why i didn't put two and two together... though my roommate would probably accuse me of the Most Heinous Offense of Potpurri if i started leaving bowls of bath salts around.
This is cute and all, but I don't think I would ever pour the salts into my bath at the end of the month... the bacteria they must accrue sitting on the counter or the back lid of the toilet after a month would make me think twice! Other than that I think it's a decent idea. :)
(You could probably refresh the whole mess by starting with a very natural fragrance like lavender or rosemary to begin with, adding a few drops of matching essential oil at the end of the month, and stirring with something wooden and tossable. Then you could replace the salts after every couple of months. I wouldn't worry about the bacteria involved in something *sitting around*, just in something sitting around that I then planned to pour into a tub of water and soak in, you know?)
miranda: because salt, sodium chloride, is actually a natural antibacterial agent that effectively restricts bacterial growth (salt in high enough concentration withdraws water from microorganisms via osmotic pressure, a process in which bacteria and any microorganism lose water to the surrounding sodium chloride), using exposed bath salts should not pose much of a problem. In fact, it should leave you with less bacteria than you started your bath with.
I've never had any problems personally, but of course, if someone is worried, they could simply toss it away. The truth is our own bath mats, hand and body towels, tub/shower drain, and door handles harbor more bacteria and virus than any salt mixture could ever allow.
if you put your favorite essential oil in baking powder, the scent remains strong and lasts for several weeks.
oops, essential oil plus baking soda, not powder