Winter Room Spray

With Just 3 Ingredients!

Although I am not entirely fond of snow and cold weather, I truly do love winter. Perhaps it is the change in the seasons that I love most. Or maybe it is because winter brings with it the holiday season.

When I was a child, my mother and I always had a real Christmas tree. It happens that my birthday is in December and we often purchased a tree on or around my birthday. It was so exciting. We even cut our own tree down one year, which was quite an experience for a single mother and daughter! But we did it!

When I got older, fake trees became all the rage. And, although, I haven’t had a real tree in decades, I can still smell the scent of a real tree in my home at Christmas time from years past. I miss that. One of these years, I’m going to have a real tree in my home to experience it once again. My children would absolutely love that!

In the meantime, I’m relegated to adding that evergreen scent in my home in other ways. I used to burn pine scented candles in my home to try to achieve the same scent of a real tree. Although that is certainly an option, I have become concerned about what scented candles are made of and have been avoiding them in recent years. Instead, I’ve turned to essential oils to add scents to my home.

What Is In This Winter Room Spray?

I’ve tried many winter, holiday and Christmas essential oil room spray combinations over the years and many of them just didn’t have the scent I was looking for. Many of them added an orange scent in the mix, which completely ruined it for me. I really just wanted an evergreen scent, without the fruity smells.

After much experimentation, I was finally satisfied with this winter room spray recipe. It includes the following 3 ingredients:

Essential Oils (Spruce, Pine, Fir Needle, Cedarwood, Peru Balsam, Frankincense)
Vodka
Water, filtered or distilled

Essential Oils

I, personally, love the Edens Garden Brand, as they are passionate about providing high-quality and affordable essential oils to those searching for natural products, like myself. However, there are plenty of other fantastic brands on the market, such as doTERRA, Healing Solutions, Plant Therapy & Young Living. Whichever brand you use, be sure you know how the oils were sourced and how they were extracted.

The essential oils I chose for this recipe are as follows:

1. Cedarwood

Cedarwood essential oil is derived from the needles, leaves, bark and berries of cedar trees. One study has shown that the cedrol found in cedarwood oil may have soothing effects on the mood and may reduce stress and anxiety.

2. Fir Needle

Fir Needle essential oil is derived from the soft, flat, needle-like “leaves” of a fir tree, where most of the active chemicals and compounds are found. Not only does the woodsy and earthy scent of this oil smell good, but it also has many health benefits. One of its many benefits is that it helps fight colds and respiratory infections, which we all seem prone to getting in the winter.

3. Pine

Pine essential oil is derived from the needles of, none other than, the pine tree. Its strong woodsy scent will certainly remind you of a Christmas tree! Like, fir needle, the uplifting scent of pine is not only helpful in clearing unwanted odors, but also in clearing up infections.

4. Spruce

Spruce, also known as “black spruce,” essential oil is derived from the needles of the black spruce tree. The oil has grounding, calming and focusing effects when inhaled. It is also known to support the adrenal glands during times of stress and fatigue.

5. Frankincense

Frankincense essential oil is derived from the resin of the Boswellia tree, which grows in the mountainous regions of India, Africa and the Middle East. Most people may recognize frankincense as being one of the gifts Jesus received from the three wise men. Its name comes from the term “franc encens,” which means quality incense in old French. As such, it has been used for thousands of years for both sacred and medicinal purposes. Today, it’s sweet, woodsy scent can still be used to ease stress and boost immunity.

6. Peru Balsam

Peru Balsam essential oil is extracted from the balsam of the Myroxylon balsamum tree found in El Salvador. It has a sweet, vanilla-like aroma that calms nervous tension and can promote a tranquil environment.

Blended together, these oils create a wonderful woodsy, evergreen scent that I love during the winter months. I find it interesting that all of the scents seem to relieve stress and anxiety. Could this be why we all crave the scent of evergreen during the holidays?! In any case, I keep spray bottles around the house and periodically spray this recipe to clear the air and to enjoy its wonderful scent.

Diffuser Blend

This mixture also works well in an oil diffuser. Just scale the number of drops per oil down to equal the amount you would normally put in your diffuser. For example, my diffuser takes about 15 to 20 drops of essential oil. Therefore, I add 3 drops each of Cedarwood, Fir Needle, Pine and Spruce oil, as well as 2 drops each of Frankincense and Peru Balsam oil (a total of 16 drops). Fill your diffuser with water and turn it on to enjoy the scent for hours!

Alcohol

If you are making room sprays, however, it is beneficial to add alcohol, such as Vodka, to your recipe. I add alcohol in a 1:1 ratio to essential oil drops.

Without the addition of alcohol, the essential oils mixed with water do not smell as good and the scent doesn’t last as long. The ethanol in grain vodka combines the oil and water together to create one unit, which causes the scent of the oils to be stronger and hang on the air much longer. If you don’t want to use a grain alcohol, you might be able to substitute rubbing alcohol or witch hazel. However, I have not tried this.

How Should I Store My Room Spray?

You should always store natural room sprays in amber, cobalt blue or green glass spray bottles to protect the essential oils from damaging light. It is also important that glass bottles are used. If essential oils are placed in plastic bottles, they will leach the toxic plastic chemicals into the spray blend, which will defeat the purpose of making your own naturally healthy room spray. However, if stored properly, the natural room spray should last for months or even years.

Although this room spray is great to have in your home during the holidays, it really is wonderful to have all season long. After all, the holidays are really just the kickoff to the winter season. I hope this room spray brings the scent of winter and evergreens into your home, as well as relief from all of the holiday stress!